Adam Keys is Thinking

Virtuosity and speed are nice, in music and life. But you leave some space between the notes or slow things way down? Make some space in between the music for the music to happen? Now you’re cooking something good. For example:

• Aretha Franklin, the greatest of all time at making the most of the space between notes. As I’m fond of saying: there is no song Aretha Franklin could not perform slower and better than anyone else. Compare the tempo of Otis Redding’s Respect to Aretha’s version, both recorded in the same year.
• AC/DC, “Back In Black” or “Highway To Hell”. This is where I’d start rock and roll songwriting 101.
• D’Angelo, “Untitled (How Does It Feel?)”. Most of his work is an exemplar, he’s a master of making songs feel spacious.
• Joe Cocker, “With A Little Help From My Friends”. Take a jaunty, mid-tier Beatles song and draw it way out. This makes room for the huge, stacked vocals chorus. Suddenly, it’s right in the feels.

Related: the funk is the notes you don’t play.

Funk is unique amongst musical genres, in my perspective, due to the importance of the notes you don’t play. The space between notes, and not “shredding” every possible moment, is important in all genres. But I find that the funkiest stuff gets that way from missing expected notes and shifting expected notes to moments where they shouldn’t be.

Funk was a rhythmic system of tension and release over time, but also simultaneous tension between some players exercising maximum restraint and others exhibiting maximum expressiveness. Most of all, funk was a science of subverted expectations, syncopation taken to its ultimate destination. With funk, things weren’t always where you thought they’d be.

– Dan Charnas, Dilla Time

Digital Underground, Rhymin’ on the funk. Recommended.

Funk not only moves, it can re-move, you dig?

– George Clinton, P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)

It’s Ludwig van Beethoven’s birthday. Here are a few ways to celebrate the old piano-biter:

• small: try his other famous piano sonata, No. 8 “Pathetique”
• medium: try the third movement of Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor”, wherein the transition from the slow/middle movement into the final/fast movement is a brilliant sneak attack
• large: the pretty good (but mid-tier for Beethoven, IMO) Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” aka the one where he wrote a piece for Napoleon but got mad and renamed it at the last minute
• extra-large: the symphony that changed the game, Symphony No. 9 (the Ode to Joy one)

Previously: Beethoven’s Symphonies No. 7 and 8 are top-tier, Beethoven’s symphonies visualized.

Andre 3000, New Blue Sun – come for the over-the-top song titles, stay for what sounds to me like an ambient and (astral?) jazz album.

Earth, Wind, and Fire, “Serpentine Fire” – this is the Certified Jam of the Month™ in our household. It is literally made of slap (bass).

Return to Forever – been listening to a lot of jazz-fusion lately. If Weather Report isn’t your thing, give The Mothership Returns a try.

WONKY – pudding.cool analyzes what makes J Dilla special. Particularly good if Dilla Time (previously) is still in your to-read list.

• “Uptight”, Steve Wonder
• “Summertime Blues”, The Who
• “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”, The Beach Boys
• “Good Vibrations”, The Beach Boys
• “Jungleland”, Bruce Springsteen
• “Once In a Lifetime”, The Talking Heads
• “Flashlight”, Parliament
• “Rhythm Nation”, Janet Jackson

• Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
• Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys
• The Blueprint, Jay-Z
• Songs in the Key of Life, Stevie Wonder
• Sign ‘O The Times, Prince
• Symphony No. 9, Beethoven
• The Rite of Spring, Stravinsky

• “Summertime Blues”, The Who, Pete Townsend
• “Estranged”, Guns ‘n Roses, Slash
• “Glory Days”, Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band
• “Highway to Hell”, AC/DC, Angus Young

• The Rite of Spring, Igor Stravinsky
• The Planets, Gustav Holst
• “Good Vibrations”, Brian Wilson
• “Losing My Edge”, James Murphy
• “I Feel the Earth Move”, Carole King

• “Unchained”
• “Everybody Wants Some”
• “Hot for Teacher”

• “Also Sprach Zarathustra”, Richard Strauss, the opening
• “Symphony No. 6”, Beethoven
• the rest of the Western classical music canon

Were I faced with an intelligence not of this earth, but one that shares our understanding of what music is/for, these are the exemplars I would hold up for them to understand our cultures through my favorites:

• Hip-hop: “So whatcha want”, The Beastie Boys
• Rock and roll: “Highway to Hell”, AC/DC
• Symphonies: “Symphony No. 7”, Beethoven
• Pop: “Walkin' on Sunshine”, Katrina and the Waves
• Jazz: “Giant Steps”, John Coltrane
• Funk: “Mothership Connection”, Parliament

• “Rhythm Nation”, Janet Jackson
• “Holding Out For a Hero”, Bonnie Tyler
• “Footloose”, Kenny Loggins
• “Partyman”, Prince