Mood Music

 

I wrote this a few days ago.

It’s snowing in Oklahoma right now. Actually it’s “Oklahoma Snowing” which means it’s some kind of mix between rain and snow. I see scattered wet flakes falling slow amidst the heavier rain droplets that threaten to overwhelm the lighter stuff. I’m trying to keep myself busy on this Saturday in which I have more time than I really should. I’m avoiding painting the kitchen because it’s a lot of work and I can be pretty lazy. Last year I at this time I painted both the dining room and the TV room. Most people call that the living room but the house is pretty small and everything kind of blends together.

I put on a Kenny G streaming station on Prime music because I like music light and easy when I write or read. You know how those stations work, plug in an artists’ name and get back similar styles one after the other. It’s never a perfect formula but how does anyone best evaluate a ‘style’ of music. The resulting mish mash is collection of smooth jazz instrumental and soulish groove with deep throaty singers. For me it’s either instrumental or not. I don’t like when the stations mix it up. I don’t even like the Kenny G tracks with famous singers like Aaron Neville and Michael Bolton, Toni Braxton. Those turn the great saxophonist into a side prop because the strong voices overwhelm the horn. 

Not to mention I can’t focus on writing when I’m distracted by lyrics. I start listening much closer and lose my place.

There is a default station called “Lo-Fi-Hip-Hop Chill” that offers slow paced beats and piano melodies. I’d put emphasis on the latter half (chill) of that since it’s what really piqued my interest. Chill to me is either no singing or singing but with a very light touch. The hip hop part comes to it through slow rhythmic beats, punctuated by sampled sounds. A lot of the tracks feature various different sounds introduced as the track moves along. Most are electronic and strange, is someone talking or this some feature that dopey regular guys like me don’t get? Whatever, I like it. Bring the peace and bring the chill.  I rarely check to see who the artist is. I don’t think I’d buy anything unless I noticed a pronounced trend of great stuff over and over. The advantage with listening to music this way, by letting the algorithm pick the selection, is the lack of effort from the listener. Don’t like a track? Click the thumbs down icon and move on.

This attitude likely puts me in the category of non-music aficionado, a dope with no taste or knowledge of the creative professionals. After all a true collector/fan would patronize the industry and support the artist. Side bar—aren’t these DJ’s and EDM music creators more programmer than musician? I don’t say it as an insult. It’s a different genre that doesn’t lend itself to the word “musician” very well. I wouldn’t argue it in either case but it’s interesting just the same.

The tricky part in all of this is answering the question “Who do you listen to?” Well um. . . Pandora is great. Prime is also a solid favorite. I don’t know who or what to patronize because music for me has become a mood driven affair. There are exceptions to the rule of course. I mentioned Kenny G at the top. I’ll select the Rolling Stones station over a lot of others because of the regular dose of Mick, Keith and the boys. I’ll search Bethel for the worship and Social Distortion for the punk.  I do feel bad for bands that can’t play clubs anymore due to these ‘getting long in the tooth’ restrictions on gathering. It’s also impossible to make money when it’s playing free on some streaming service. But life is tough is all over. I went to school to work in government or as a traveling businessman and ended up working retail. I might have saved a little money on the educational side of things but it wasn’t so. Some industries are a scratch and claw operation with little chance of success, that’s life.

So whether doing yard work to thrash metal or dozing off to instrumental lullabies, mood drives my music choices. I don’t worry much about which artist/musician/programmer’s track is up next. Like it or hate it I know how to tell the ever important algorithm how to steer my choices. Snowy days feel like Kenny G and smooth jazz right now.