Travis Hoffman

The first time I really ventured out on my own and found a band I really liked was sometime back in '93/'94. "The Crow" soundtrack had come out and it was THE rock soundtrack to get. Tons of great songs that I can't even bring to mind right now (how memorable); but there was one that caught my attention more than the others: "Slipslide Melting" by For Love Not Lisa.
There was a name I'd never heard before. How weird...I thought. I wondered if they had an album out. So, a trip to the Wherehouse turned up Merge, their major label debut with Slipslide Melting on it. I gave it a whirl and was presently surprised.
After following the strict rules of CD listening (which I didn't know I had at the time) I found that the "hit" (as usual) was not my favorite song. It was a song called "Travis Hoffman" which was a 6-minute song that never seemed to drag or repeat.
I won't go into long descriptions, but taking that one chance on FLNL and Mike Lewis really shaped a great deal of the music I came to like in the future and even today. I can sense their influence on my ears when I pull out the album every couple of years or so. I'm instantly transported back to the days I listened alone in my room or in the car. I tried to get others to listen, but they couldn't hear what I heard. Very few of my friends became fans of their music.
It was frustrating, but I was OK with that. Everyone needs to like what they like for their own reasons. Especially with music, you know? Become a fan of something because YOU like it...not just because everyone else does.
FLNL was also the first (and only) band I ever wrote a letter to. A few months later, I even got a letter back. I ended up on their mailing list and found out about the new band (Puller) and other things throughout the years. It was fun - all because of a soundtrack and a man named Travis that I'd never met....

How To Listen To A CD

That's right. Your ol' uncle Olaf is here to tell you what's what in the ways of CD listening techniques. OK, you got me. It's just me spouting off on what I think. I'm a sham...this blog is merely opinionated non-factual gobbledeygook.
Anyway
Music is something I enjoy. I mean really enjoy. I love to listen. Something that irks me are people who only listen for one song...one hit...one person..with no intention of hearing the rest. They leave a whole CD/Tape/Album languishing in silence while the hit song gets played out.
I understand we're in the 21st Century and iTunes can allow us to choose only the songs that we love (uns, dos, tres, catorce...Bono!), but I really want to speak to those of you who have a record that you haven't listened to fully.
(Oh, by the way, record/LP/Album/CD/Tape....it all means the same thing in this post.)
Let me start off by saying that as often as not, the "hit" song release from an album is not necessarily the best song on the album. You've got a 50-50 chance of missing an amazing song or songs by not listening to the entire thing. Trust me...it's happened many times.
Also, it just doesn't make fiscal sanity to purchase a CD for $17 (or more) only to listen to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" over and over again. Please, you might be missing out on your own musical revolution!
OK OK...maybe I've convinced to you take a gander at tracks 2-12 instead of playing 1 on repeat. So how do you do it? Well, ideally it takes 2-3 complete listens. You've heard to not judge a book by its cover or don't count your chickens before they're hatched? Maybe look before you leap? Somewhere in that combination is what I'm trying to get at. Listen and you might learn. Listen before you leap (to the next song). Listen to love...or hate! You may find out the album is crap. That's the chance you take in our one-hit-wonder society.
But back to listening

1. Play the album through in its entirety. Preferably alone or in a room without distraction. Someplace where you can hear it all clearly. A car will work, but only ideally on a trip long enough to sustain one entire run-through. Some caveats: do NOT skip any songs, do NOT repeat any songs, do NOT read the lyrics yet, do NOT do anything else but listen. No TV, no talking, no video games, no phone, no reading (well...maybe reading). The goal is to get acquainted with each song and how it sounds.
2. Now it's time to get out the lyrics. If you don't have them with you, try and find them online. If you are driving, I cannot recommend reading the lyrics. The best you can do without the lyric sheets is to try and hear the lyrics. Listen to the entire album again while reading the lyrics to each song as it goes along. I've found that songs I love have lyrics I love even more. They redefine a song for me and it sounds forever different. Even how a word is said can change the entire emotion of the song (and therefore me as the listener). To me, if they lyrics are completely meaningless, it's almost as if the album is meaningless. If you've got something to say, say it. If you've got nothing to say, well, find someone who can! (This is not a slam on classical music, soundtracks, and the like. There is even some popular music I like that have ridiculous lyrics. Remember "When the dogs do find her, got time, time to wait for tomorrow to find it"? What the crap?)
3. Third time through is the charm. By now you've hopefully made mental notes of where the songs that caught your ear are. This is the time to go through and listen to the songs that, to you, earned another listen. You can really listen to each song you like and maybe even figure out why you like it! It's also a good time to read the liner notes. Who wrote the songs? Who played the instruments? Who was thanked? This stuff is important to the band/artist and shaped their album...it might be good to know!

Have you wasted 3 hours? Man, I hope not. Hopefully you now have an album that you know you like/love and you know why. Maybe you learned a little bit more about what you bought. My hope is that you have a greater appreciation for what went into what's in your cd player....

CD

well...i was going to do some lines on cd listening habits, but my thoughts fail me. I gotta come back when I know what it was I was going to say....

Still Alive

Man...how do you people do it? How do people post mulitiple times per day? Every day?
I'm certainly not the busiest man in the world, but this thing takes some time.
I'd really like to keep it going, but I need some more time. I have plenty of thoughts but I don't always get them down.
I'll write something soon.....