Slackers
Why do we like the things we do? Always a tough question, and I doubt there's an answer. Sometimes you eat something or hear something or see something and you just like it, right then and there. We bought a few things on the road this trip, and we saw many examples of some of the kinds of objects we ultimately purchased (like jewelry and pottery - and t-shirts!) – but the ones we did buy had something about them that made them speak to us in a way that the others of their kind just didn't and that really can't be explained clearly to someone else. Attraction is that way, in my experience, on all sorts of levels. I have learned over time, for example, to not bother trying to figure out what binds a couple together. Attraction just can't be rationalized.
It works the other way, too. There are musicians and other artists whose work and talent I respect without liking it. Take Sinatra, for example. I understand his appeal and ability, but he just doesn't do it for me (Tony Bennett does, though, and early Bing Crosby).
Traditional and slack key Hawaiian music, on the other hand, I've liked since I first ran into it on – that's right, folks! – a Ry Cooder album, Chicken Skin Music, which featured the late Gabby Pahinui, a Hawaiian musician who reinvigorated slack key. Today's listening is Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Master Collection Vol. 2 (just acquired; I've owned Volume 1 for some time); two of Gabby's sons, Cyril and Blas, appear on it and one one track Cyril performs with acoustic steel guitar virtuoso Bob Brozman. The slack key finger-picking style was developed back in the 1800's when native Hawaiians encountered the Spanish guitar – then gut-stringed, now nylon. It's called "slack key" because of its use of open tunings, and it's a mellow, melodic style in predominantly major keys that makes for very relaxing listening, perfect for a Friday. It's not the Don Ho sentimentalized music, loaded with treacle, that many folks think of when they hear "Hawaiian music" – that and ukuleles (which can be cool in their own right) - and most of the vocals on this set are in Hawaiian (and one that isn't, a track on which George Winston's piano intrudes, should have been cut), a melodic tongue which is musical in and of itself, the way Italian - say - can be. All in all, while you don't exactly smell the tropical flowers or hear the surf breaking on the shore, the music brings you close enough.
If you're interested, the two Slack Key Masters volumes are on the Dancing Cat label; either one will give you a good introduction to the style. For a more complete overview of Hawaiian musical styles, the Rough Guide to the Music of Hawaii is excellent (and will probably show up here one day).
It works the other way, too. There are musicians and other artists whose work and talent I respect without liking it. Take Sinatra, for example. I understand his appeal and ability, but he just doesn't do it for me (Tony Bennett does, though, and early Bing Crosby).
Traditional and slack key Hawaiian music, on the other hand, I've liked since I first ran into it on – that's right, folks! – a Ry Cooder album, Chicken Skin Music, which featured the late Gabby Pahinui, a Hawaiian musician who reinvigorated slack key. Today's listening is Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Master Collection Vol. 2 (just acquired; I've owned Volume 1 for some time); two of Gabby's sons, Cyril and Blas, appear on it and one one track Cyril performs with acoustic steel guitar virtuoso Bob Brozman. The slack key finger-picking style was developed back in the 1800's when native Hawaiians encountered the Spanish guitar – then gut-stringed, now nylon. It's called "slack key" because of its use of open tunings, and it's a mellow, melodic style in predominantly major keys that makes for very relaxing listening, perfect for a Friday. It's not the Don Ho sentimentalized music, loaded with treacle, that many folks think of when they hear "Hawaiian music" – that and ukuleles (which can be cool in their own right) - and most of the vocals on this set are in Hawaiian (and one that isn't, a track on which George Winston's piano intrudes, should have been cut), a melodic tongue which is musical in and of itself, the way Italian - say - can be. All in all, while you don't exactly smell the tropical flowers or hear the surf breaking on the shore, the music brings you close enough.
If you're interested, the two Slack Key Masters volumes are on the Dancing Cat label; either one will give you a good introduction to the style. For a more complete overview of Hawaiian musical styles, the Rough Guide to the Music of Hawaii is excellent (and will probably show up here one day).
posted by DJStan at 12:30 PM
1 Comments:
your right, I was thinking the same thing before I continue reading to were you talk about relationships
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