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Behind Quiet Little Voices

Like I couldn't be any more self-conscious about things, I figure it would be interesting to turn the light around with yesterday's post. Too often you read critics who go to town on some band, movie, trend in music, or trend in movies and it just seems out of the blue and angry. "What's gotten into that guy?" people wonder. Well, let me just speak for myself on my issue with rock drummers who only use one cymbal.

I think of that Blackpool Lights' song, "It's Never About What It's About," when ranting or arguing about something. Meaning, what you're ranting or arguing about is indicative of something bigger that's on your mind. This might seem like old news to folks, but it still feels new to me.

In the case of rock drummers with one cymbal, I have the bias of being a guy that has enjoyed playing in bands, but isn't currently in an active band. All of the bands I've played in have been fun, but I tend to forget that when I remember how much anger and sadness I felt when I was fired from my last gig. That was two long years ago, and I just haven't found a new band or gig that I could totally be myself in. I blame the idea of being myself for why I got fired, and don't usually think of other factors that have nothing to do with me or my style of playing. Such is the life of over-analysis.

So when I see bands with a drummer with seemingly zero attention paid to accents or dynamics, I wish I could be up there at least trying to do a better job. I want to be the guy that doesn't just settle for one cymbal, sloppy transitions, or limited dynamics.

That leads to an even bigger thing on my mind: maximizing the full potential of life. Dealing with the sudden loss of a friend to cancer earlier this year and hearing about another friend who might not be alive in the next few months due to cancer has had that kind of effect on me. The topic of getting over my own emotional humps comes into play when fully realizing how fragile life is and how incredibly unfair life can be. If everything ended for me tomorrow, I would have wanted to do so much more, and I would have tried to figure out why I couldn't have done more. Such is life.

Turning the light back to its position, I hope that provides some context to the rant. You only read the critic's opinion about things, and apparently it's cardinal sin to open up your own life, but I don't care. Frankly, I just hope to shed more light on things better than saying something a few years down the road about how I was an angry guy and whatnot. Keeping up this blog has done that in spades.

Comments

pimplomat said…
How do you feel about bands, such as Matt & Kim, that only use one cymbal but also use the whole drum set for dynamics (e.g., sticks hitting parts not normally made for hitting)?

--jason

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