The music realms *

2007-08-19 8:46 p.m.

I suppose it’s high time I wrote a music related entry, especially after I declared this and this long time ago. Oh well, here it goes.

Birmingham is practically a music city in my view. I’m not sure if any famous musician came from the city itself, you can google or wikipedia that. What I mean it that its music scene is really prominent. It’s not just what you see in the tourist pamphlets or local newspaper (I actually read more of the former than the latter), but the spirit you see as you exit New Street Station and walk upwards towards the city hall (I think that’s the name), or even all around. From concerts, original musicals, to performances of classical music, to pretty well known musicals they are all there. Not forgetting the buzz of indie bands, or bands that perform excellent covers of songs. Of course, for true beautiful acts of classic musicals like CATS and Phantom of the Opera, you may have to head down to London. But Birmingham is a beehive or everything you want to wish for if you are so culturally and musically inclined. Unfortunately, due to my tight budget, I haven’t seen any city performance yet.

Closer to home (I mean my home in the University), the music environment definitely is no different, or rather I would, much larger. I just don’t mean the usual music related societies like the orchestra or the Jazz and Blue Society. I mean the influx or dozens of bands which just spring up within weeks. Often, one would see signs around the university, or more specifically Shakleton Hall, stating one’s interest in forming a band. The signs would go something like : “Hi, I’m an electric guitarist who would love to jam. Looking for a bass player and others to start belting out some tunes. Please call XXXXXXXX”. One would think nothing much about it until you pass Bar One, where the newly formed band would be playing to their heart’s content, attracting a crowd. Or if they were daring and that good enough, it would be attracting hundreds in a concert down at the Guild or be the next society on the Guild’s list. Some of them are average, others blast your ears out, but that’s not the point. The point is the constant drive, the undying passion that these guys and girls have in music. What’s more, its how natural these groups can suddenly form and turn their own dreams into reality.

Of course, bands aren’t always there forever. Some may lose focus, some members will have other concerns. Those that really are into the drive have of course the Internet as the next stop to publicise their ideas. Myspace.com is of course what comes to mind, have been faithful and beneficial to so many other new and established bands and artistes worldwide. I’m not sure whether any of the Uni groups have achieved anything by placing themselves on Myspace, but I do remember hearing that many UK groups shot to some level of fame due to how they displayed themselves on Myspace. This also reminds me of some Redbrick (Birmingham University’s Student newspaper) article which dismissed the placement of music on Myspace as erasing the beauty of it. I didn’t quite agree with the article so I wrote this response which was never published. (It’s not an attack on the author by the way)

Dear Editor,

In your Issue 1307, you have two articles on two very popular social networks, Facebook and MySpace. In the article “MySpace or MyDisgrace”, Lewis Grewcock asserts the beauty of music has disappeared with the easy of tuning in to songs via MySpace, so much that we flip by it like we flip the pages of a newspaper. He also states that a musicians popularity is now judged by the online fan base and not just his or her friends in the physical realm.

This all is quite true and is just another effect of the multimedia superhighway. Then again, what is not said is that MySpace is not the sole “distributor” or “source” to advertise one’s works. There are other sites such as DMusic.com and Mperia.net, which host more and even better facilities than MySpace. Let us not forget sites which provide upload and download services for files such as YouSendIt.com. As mentioned above, MySpace is after all, mainly a social network and thus the musician who uses it will receive request from strangers to be added as his or her friend, just like many other non music MySpace users do. While yes, it seems like the more “friends” you have, the larger your popularity base is. So it seems to ease the burden off you from planning performances here and there. However, another point is that MySpace music is not just used by already established bands/artistes to advetise but by those yearning to break into to music industry or simply those who compose music. It is these latter categories that can utilize MySpace to their own advantage.

Hence, it is this fan base which can set serious new singer-songwriters on the road to stardom, for they would get the opportunity to receive reviews from the people in their list. Secondly, I would not go to the extent to believe that the music of MySpace is “flick[ed] through like…one of Murdoch’s tabloids”. If the song is of a certain quality, the musician might gain encouragement and further recognition. Thirdly, even though I am not a singer-songwriter myself, I believe MySpace music is a popular medium for singer-songwriters to exchange their ideas. The music posted online thus may not just be “brushed past”, but that of a potential true Top 100 single. MySpace music creates a medium that helps future stars fulfill their dreams.

So yeah, my university is alive with the sound of music. Even closer, I was really lucky and blessed to have friends who were songwriters or music lovers and introduced me to another realm of music. A little side track here. When I first joined Facebook, there was this old section which told you the how popular your interests were in your University network. One of my favorite bands listed was “The Beatles”, and Facebook told me that “The Beatles” was a very popular band for Birmingham University students. Oh ok, I thought. That thought disappeared until I realised that some of my block mates and other individuals I met could practically sing all the songs of the Beatles. Chief among them was Phil, who brought in a horde of famous Beatles Albums like “Revolver”, and for the first time in ages, I could get hold of songs like “Here, there and Everywhere”, “I’m only sleeping” and “Norwegian Wood”. Phil also has his own band which I understand is really great and performs some oldies. Then there was Rhys, whose indie rock music would be an all too familiar sound daily, and Paul, who has a love for 007 soundtracks.

The main singer-songwriter I met was Stacey, a dear block mate and quite an amazing girl. She’s classically trained in the violin and the piano, learnt the violin by herself, and if I’m not mistaken is onto a fourth instrument. She has written some songs, which personally, are really great. A member of the Uni orchestra (can’t remember the exact acronym for it), she’s really set on writing music and having a presence on stage. She tried out for the Vale Factor, my area’s version to the X Factor. Her songs were really ok, but the judges were a little harsh on here and the whole thing was more a popularity contest, so one only could win based on one’s fan base. Nevertheless, Stacey actually tried for the actually X Factor itself, didn’t really get far, but found it a great experience. Oh yes, there’s also Chris Taylor, my fellow Economics/Politics mate, who is quite cool on the guitar.

Oh yes, I've also been flooding my flat with my own kind of music, which my flat mates are kind of intrigued by. This mind you, isn't just my old collection of songs but new ones I've legally purchased through itunes (so I'm late in discovering this program). But yes, I've switched to other songs now, most notably those of Toto the wonderful band. More on that later...

So that’s the Birmingham/University world of music, which I soon will return too. Back home here, there were certain events that I wished to attend such as well, Engelbert Humperdinck’s performance at the Indoor Stadium and the King an I. (Ok, so now you know how far my music taste streches till). But well, budget constraints are once again the obstacle.

Speaking of performances around the city centre, I attended Claire’s gig at the Earshot Café. It was truly way different from last year’s gig and I mean this in a positive light. It was a “female night”, with another up and coming young singer-songwriter before her. I only caught about two or three of her songs before it was Claire’s turn, and I thought they were well rather alright songs. What made Claire’s performance really great this time was well, perhaps the lighting (last year it was sort of dim, this time, the lights were fully turned on) and perhaps her accompanying band. She sang about eight songs or so, much short than last years (I think), but each song was really more upbeat, brighter and livelier, with great range and clarity. Even "ill" sounded really nice. Several of them were new to me, but I found the song with her using her handphone tune really cute and this version of her song, “meeting” was really beautiful. Oh yes, she ended with a nice version of “Hallelujah”, which we most know from the movie Shrek. All in all, a wonderful gig.

So that’s my music-related entry. Oh yes, while Earshot is the place to find new tunes and relax with your mates, avoid the drinks unless you have a large budget. Like who charges S$2.95 for a small cup of 7-up? Even soft drinks in the UK aren’t that expensive (taking into account PPP). Argh.

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