Music with Specific Purpose

July 6, 2008

Welcome, new visitor! My name is Ari, the man behind Aries9. Here I share my thoughts on music and life, so you can get to know me and my music. Thanks for visiting!

I was on a vacation this last week, and had an occasion for a 3-hour drive by myself. Now that I’m a family man, a road trip by myself is quite a treat — driving being one of the favorite way for me to listen to music.  There’s something about road trips that make them the perfect situation for music listening.  I’m sure many of you can relate.

What did I listen to?  King’s X’s “Tape Head,” Midnight Oil’s “Capricornia,” Patty Griffin’s “1000 Kisses,” Will Harrison’s “A Place Called Home.”

In that order.

Why?

Because I went progressively from urban to rural.  My sound track had to reflect that. I went from rock to folk.  Upbeat to mellow.

Call me lunatic. 

Anyway, it got me thinking about how music can serve very specific purposes in life.  The omnipresent “Happy Birthday” song is a good example.  There are music for weddings, graduations, and funerals.  Church music, disco, drinking songs.  Make music with occasions in mind, and if you do it well, your music will be used for that purpose.

Listening is not the only way to appreciate music, apparently.

To me, this function of music is kind of lost for art rockers.  We’re supposed to make “art.”  Create an expression of our artistic vision — which usually serves no specific purpose or occasion. Doing so is probably a bit of sell-out.  Art isn’t really art, if it’s made primarily to have specific functions.

Wait a minute.  That can’t be true, can it?

There are all kinds of art serving life’s funtions and occasions.  Go to an artisan architecture or pottery.  Are quilts made to be put on a wall, or put over a bed, with someone sleeping on it?

If you put together a song with specific purposes, and do it well, that song will have a life beyond just being listened to.  If you put together an album that centers around a particular set of situations, like a road trip, you’ll have a whole collection of songs that can accompany that function.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.  One of the original functions of music was to be dance accompaniment for tribal rituals.  Music serving function is actually truer to its roots than these music “for listening pleasure.”

I, myself, enjoy writing with a purpose in mind.  Songs of Love projects worked that way for me, as did my film music.  I’m going to try extending that to other genres — though maybe outside of Aries9’s range.

I have my eyes set on that birthday song, in particular.  Can I topple it from its throne?  No, not a chance.  But the Beatles were the only guys who came close to offering an alternative.  Maybe the 3rd-place slot is still open.

Definitely something to aspire to, don’t you think?  If you’re gonna dream, you gotta dream big.

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