Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
One of the best films I have watched is definitely La La Land. For the longest time, I have heard so much about this film and how it is so many people’s favorite movie. But I never understood the hype for it until very recently.
La La Land is a musical centered in Hollywood as two individuals fall in love. Emma Stone plays Mia, an aspiring actress, and Ryan Gosling, plays Sebastian, a struggling Jazz pianist. The characters meet and fall in love as they try to pursue their dreams. This is a beautiful movie about following one’s dream, falling in love, and the hard decisions that can intervene between the two lovers.
This movie is filled with beautiful Jazz music, many colorful and beautiful scenes, and moments that make you fall in love with the story. The soundtrack in particular is very compelling. My favorite tracks from the movie are “Mia and Sabastian’s Theme,” “Planetarium,” and “City of Stars.” The Music Library actually has a score dedicated to the music in the film. The score focuses on piano, vocal, and guitar chords arrangements for anyone to try.
If you have not yet watched or heard about the amazing film La La Land, I definitely recommend giving it a try!
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
If you or a musician you know have ever learned a challenging piece, one of the most important things you can do to successfully practice is count as you play. Measures, rhythms, polyrhythms, fingerings, tempo… numbers are all over music, whether explicitly or hidden between the notes. What you may not realize is that the mathematics of music has been studied for thousands of years and is a widely expanding field today. In the book Mathematical Music: From Antiquity to AI, Nikita Braguinski explores this relationship from 550 B.C. to the present-day and future.
If this doesn’t sound interesting yet, here are a few fun facts from the book:
– The first machine entirely dedicated to “composing” music was designed around 1650 and combined random snippets of notes to generate a melody. Referred to as a “musical thinking machine”, this demonstrates just how long people have been using machines and mathematics to create music – hundreds of years!
– Some of the same names we know from calculus and other advanced math reappear on the music scene as well. Both Euler and Leibniz published works searching for the hidden mathematics behind what makes different ratios of frequencies (or intervals) delightful or unappealing to the human ear. Although they didn’t find anything concrete, they introduced the idea of listening as an art of subconscious counting.
– The (then) newly-formed Soviet Union had an intense interest in structural formalism in music and created multiple initiatives dedicated to art as a science. This coincided with an era of musical exploration into dissonant, atonal music and shows how the new revolutionaries distinguished themselves from the traditional Russian music of years past.
– Today, we have the computerized tool of neural networks, a deep learning AI technique to generate music on the spot given a certain style (or input parameter). Where do you think this will take music?
All of these stories, experiments, and techniques can be found in the Parsons Music Library. If you’re intrigued, be sure to check out this book along with others on the interdisciplinary nature of music.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Amy Winehouse’s album Back to Black has been my top album since I was 16. Not only is the unique quality of her voice astounding but her lyrics perfectly encapsulate the realities of an abusive relationship.
Back to Black was Winehouse’s sophomore album and the title track, “Rehab,” suggested the album would be nothing like its predecessor Frank (released in 2003). Frank sounded as if Winehouse had taken the lyrics of an artist like Michael Bublé and added a bit of hip-hop to it, the most notable piece was her voice.
These raspy painful notes that begin “Rehab,” a Top 10 hit in the UK and US, point to the three years between Frank and Back to Black being far from easy. After Frank debuted, Winehouse began a very topsy-turvy relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, a music video assistant. Fielder-Civil has come forward and admitted to being Winehouse’s introduction to hard drugs. The two would get into physical and verbal altercations in public, the catalysis of this being Fielder-Civil leaving Winehouse at one point for his ex-girlfriend.
Fielder-Civil leaving was the inspriation for the song “Back to Black.” It described the dark moments of depression she felt after he left. It also described how she went back to abusing alcohol after he left because she didn’t have anything else to cope with.
Another of her famous singles “Love is a Losing Game,” a long metaphor for love being an unfair game, the song, while quite simple with lyrics like “Know you’re a gambling man/ Love is a losing hand,” is considered to be one of Winehouse’s most powerful songs because of its deep meaning.
My personal favorite song, “Tears Dry on Their Own” is an anthem for those who need the hard truth: it is time to get over it. In an interview with BBC, Winehouse described her inspiration for the song: “I was with someone that I couldn’t really be with and I knew it wouldn’t last. But I think because I knew it couldn’t last, it’s kinda like saying, “I’m upset, but I know I’ll get over it, I guess.”
After a stint in rehab and an arrest for marijuana possession, Winehouse won five Grammy Awards in 2008, an award ceremony she was not able to attend as the US denied her visa on grounds of use and abuse of narcotics. That same year, Back to Black was said to be the second-highest selling album in the world. Winehouse died of accidental alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was one of the most famous Russian composers. The general public greatly enjoyed his music due to its tuneful melodies, perfect harmonies, and attractive orchestration, all of which together invoke a strong emotional response. He is known for the ballets Swan Lake (1877), The Sleeping Beauty (1889), and The Nutcracker (1892).
Tchaikovsky took up serious composing at the age of 14. In 1862 he began his studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and starting in 1866, he began teaching at the Moscow Conservatory. Tchaikovsky revolutionized ballet: transforming it from a grand decorative gesture into a staged musical drama.
I’ve found Tchaikovsky’s music to be particularly useful for helping me focus while studying. Although his work can sometimes hijack your attention, I find it useful to break away from the books and listen to Tchaikovsky’s melodies as a break.
You can check out this book in the Parsons Music Library if you’d like to learn more about Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and his work.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
A newer Disney classic, the musical movie Moana hit theaters in late 2016. The story follows Moana, a Polynesian Disney princess on a mission to return the heart of Te Fiti that was once stolen by the demigod Maui. Throughout the movie’s twists and turns, a lively soundtrack mostly written by Lin-Manuel Miranda makes the audience feel as though they are part of the adventure. Known for the creation of the Broadway musical Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda is a beloved song writer and performer who makes all of his work memorable for years and years to come.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
The innate attraction we have towards music as humans have always fascinated me. Nicknamed the “universal language,” music seems to be so deeply embedded into society. The way it evokes certain emotions within us feels like a concept too abstract to be explained. Why do we enjoy certain combinations of tones over others? How does music remain the same or change over time and cultures? Why do different scales induce different emotions? Music as Biology by Dale Purves was an interesting read that helped me formulate concrete ideas about some of these questions through a biological perspective.
Dale Purves is a highly accomplished neuroscientist who is currently a professor at Duke University. His lab studies the neurobiological underpinnings of our perception to different stimuli, including sound. Dr. Purves takes an empirical approach to music, incorporating data and research from biology to support his arguments on how we react to music. He provides additional links to more information on certain questions throughout the book if you were interested in further research as well. Overlapping music theory and biology offered a refreshing insight into how we perceive music. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in music or science!
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Slumdog Millionaire flashes between Jamal’s life as a teen and his childhood, showing the realities of living on the streets of Mumbai as a young child. The story is compelling, and the acting is phenomenal, but the thing that makes this film is the soundtrack. With artists like M.I.A. involved, it is easy to understand how this film won the Golden Globe for best soundtrack in 2009. A. R. Rahman, the score’s creator, wanted to create a mix of both modern and old India in the soundtrack.
While this movie discusses and portrays hardship and is not indicative of every success story, I think it gives hope to those who feel stuck and like they won’t succeed. You can check out the soundtrack for Slumdog Millionaire at the Music Library!
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
The Parsons Music Library has a collection of albums, LPs, and books that can help one expand their musical knowledge. In this digital era, there are many CDs that can be found and one of my favorites that I have reconnected with is Lady Gaga’s album, The Fame Monster.
Lady Gaga is one of my favorite childhood singers, her music was very experimental compared to a lot of the music my family exposed me to. And although I never considered myself a big fan of hers, now I hear her music and become nostalgic. The Fame Monster album in particular has many songs such as “Bad Romance,” “Alejandro,” and “Poker Face” which I consistently heard on the radio. As we get older, the songs that were once the most famous become ingrained in our heads and remind us of our childhood, and that is the case with Lady Gaga’s music for me.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Known for his phenomenal Broadway show Rent, Jonathan Larson was a musical genius of the 80s and 90s. Recently popularized by Netflix in the film tick, tick… BOOM! starring Andrew Garfield, this musical tells the tale of Jonathan Larson’s trials and tribulations as an almost 30-year-old musical writer in New York City (before the creation of Rent). Although Larson sadly passed away before he could see Rent’s Broadway debut, his impact on the world of music will never be forgotten.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
The question that typically comes up every time and again – a question that I find disrespectful to everyone but one, and yet worthy of the highest praise for that one in question – is one that is hotly debated. I have seen friendships one word away from disaster over the lunch table regarding this one question. I have witnessed other’s whole argument lose its pull as soon as someone had a worthy counterargument. I have seen people argue over the topic on Twitter and Instagram as if their opinion was slated in fact. I have seen people get so emotionally invested in this question that their face begins to get red, their eyes stand on the verge of tears, and every single vein in their body is one more second away from exploding. That question – the one I hate – is who is the best musical group ever?
Where does this question even get its basis from? Are we saying some genres are better than others?
Are we saying we can compare every single artist together despite no two artists being the same – with different vocals, different instruments, different cultures, different pacing, different everything? I get humans have the natural inclination to tier and rank – competition drives the world. But honestly, to me, this is an unanswerable and impossible question. Yea, we may be able to rank albums off charting positions and sales numbers. And then logically, we can say the artist that has the most cumulative sales across their whole discography is the best. That is a LOGICAL WAY to determine it. It still blows for literally every other artist other than number one – BUT – that one artist lives enshrined as the best for forever. And yet, despite me not liking that way to derive who is the “best”, it is logical. But, also, on top of the fact that humans have the natural inclination to tier and rank, humans are not the most intelligent. And instead of deciding who is the best logically, we let emotions, opinions, and our own experiences decide for us! As if it is not obvious enough, that is a one-way ticket to disaster. It brings up some pretty interesting debate, however but humans are also stubborn, and we can only imagine that nothing will ever be accomplished.
For those reasons, and just the idea that music should be appreciated for the piece of art it is and its individuality, not ranked against others because Jeff likes drums more than strings, I think that question is pretty lame.
However, I am going to explain a little bit about one album from one group that typically scores high on America’s meaningless “tier list.” Even better, I so happen to love this band, although they are not one of my everyday listens. But, since they have some of the most gripping and innovative music of the 1960s, I thought it would be a worthy choice to write about. And, even funnier, it leads into an interesting contradiction to say that I agree with the world in this case. I do not know if that now pigeonholes me into the broader term of being “basic,” but in this case, I will put aside that argument and agree with the world.
This leads me to this point: If I were to rank all bands, and put my differences aside with that impossible question, I would put the Beatles up at the very top – maybe not one, but top twenty. More specifically, if we were to rank albums, Abbey Road would be even higher.
To begin, Abbey Road is the 11th studio album of the Beatles, their second to last studio album and 11th in just over six years. The group itself is composed of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, although Ringo was not one of the original members of the band (he replaced Pete Best in 1962). Together, the Beatles shot to worldwide prominence outside of their home country of the UK and more specifically their hometown of Liverpool. Their rise to American prominence began in the early 60s as many British bands were beginning to come to America in what was known as the “British Invasion.” If were to use the LOGICAL approach, the Beatles would be the most popular band of all time, selling 183,000,000 albums throughout their history. The album itself was a bit of a distance from some of the previous albums – they almost reverted back to their beginnings. The album did not contain many psychedelic hits as the majority of their later albums did. However, despite this, the band recorded the album at their breaking point; this was the last album that was released when they were all together, as John Lennon had made his exit from the brand prior to commercial release.
The album, in my opinion, demonstrates complete duality. Although the music is praised for being one of their best, with hit after hit, the band’s health, and the health of each of the members were deteriorating behind the scenes. The members were all annoyed with each other and George Martin played saving grace, trying to get the project to the world and to completion, whilst attempting to reduce the trouble brewing between the members. The wear and tear of fame, constant studio work, and trying to deal with it all took a toll on the Beatles by 1969, which caused a lot of the issues. They had faced adversity, as the band would experiment with cocaine, LSD, and marijuana in the mid to late 60s, followed by a crippling heroin addiction by three of the members. Behind the scenes, the Beatles were at their lowest and were struggling in their personal lives. It is still amazing that despite all the negatives, they somehow put their troubles, their conflicts, and their egos aside and created one of the most iconic songs of all time.
Some of my personal favorites off the album, are “Something,” “Here Comes the Sun,” “Oh Darling”, and “Because.” A large portion of the songs that I like most (in this case “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun”) were written by George Harrison. You could almost immediately tell when Harrison was the writer, with a distinct sound. In the case of Abbey Road, his songs were more melodic and slower, a slight diversion from the rock-infused roots that rose the band to prominence. They make for some of the most beautiful songs in their entire discography, but slightly behind my all-time favorite song from them – “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” In my opinion, that song, with Eric Clapton playing the guitar in the background is the greatest Beatles song. The slower and melodic piece, with the guitar sounding almost as if it really was crying is nothing short of a masterpiece. And so, I consider myself biased in response to my favorites – George’s style and influence was something that resonates with me. That is yet another reason why I dislike ranking. Because in this case, my opinions, and biases seep through heavily.
Finally, as for the most influential and iconic portion of the piece, the Abbey Road album cover has become one the most definitive images of the band. Although an album cover that was very simplistic in nature, the image holds a variety of meaning and captures the Beatles’ spirit and careers all in one image. The image itself features all four Beatles walking along a crosswalk on Abbey Road, which is a street in London where EMI studios, the recording studio of the Beatles was housed. From left to right, there is George Harrison, in a jean shirt, jeans, white boots, long hair and a beard. This encompasses their later years, in which most of the members began to grow their hair out amidst the war years and counter-culture movement. To his right is Paul McCartney in a blueish-grey suit, a cigarette in hand, and a shorter hairstyle that is reminiscent from their pre-fame days. Afterward is Ringo Starr, dressed in a black suit. Finally, John Lennon finishes the image, with his long hair and all white appearance. Although not traditionally associated with the image, John being last in line wearing all white to me symbolizes heaven and the idea that the band is nearing their end. They are looking to the light and waiting for their come to end. The final piece of the album cover that many do not know is that the photographer only took six images of them. The Beatles walked down back and forth along the street three times. This cover image was the fifth image taken, and they were walking away from the studio. If we were to blow up the image, EMI would be on the left. This also foreshadows their immediate exit, as them walking away from EMI hints at their careers together ending.
Image 3 (of 6) from the Abbey Road album cover shoot. Photo: Iain MacMillan
The everlasting impact of the band and this album is one that will live on forever in the minds and hearts of all music lovers. It is so popular to this date, that in 2019, 246,000 vinyl copies were sold. This comes over fifty years after its initial release. And so, to close, despite saying in the beginning of this piece that I hate rankings and considering a band to be the “best,” if I ever had the chance to make my opinion fact and that that becomes the standard everyone will have to adhere by – I would place Abbey Road in the top 15 albums of all time.
If you are so inclined to relisten to this masterpiece, or grace your ears for the first time, you can check out a copy of Abbey Road at Parsons Music Library today.
