Two weeks ago in my last article I pondered why so many people seem to listen to bad music. I hypothesized that the reason behind the popularity of incredibly simple music was connected to people’s childhood. I deduced that some people did not grow up situated critically to music.
However, this explanation seems lacking. There must be cultural trends that make people become mindless consumers. I believe the problem lies in the professionalization of music in our society. We live in a culture where a band is not really a band unless it has a record contract. A culture that sees music has something to buy, not make. And, most cruelly, a culture that believes musicians must be experts.
This attitude creates completely passive listeners because, within this culture, if a song is on the radio or MTV then it must be good music or else it wouldn’t be there. People decide what music to listen to based on branding rather than the music itself.
Rebelling against this conceptualization of music stands Half Japanese.
In 1975 two brothers in Michigan named Jad and David Fair got a pair of drums and an out of tune electric guitar. Though they had never played before, they quickly started recording songs. These songs possessed an energy and authenticity far surpassing most “professional” musicians. According to the brothers, the songs they write are of two types, “love songs or monster songs.Û
According to lead guitarist Jad Fair, even after writing many albums, he only knows one chord, “the one that connects the guitar to the amp.” Half Japanese usually features a saxophonist and another guitarist that plays standard chords uniting the various disparate elements within the songs.
So what can we learn from Half Japanese? I believe they represent fearlessness. Though they knew nothing formally about their instruments, they would get on stage and create music. The lesson: do not let lack of formal skill prevent you from playing.
The Tuareg people of the eastern Sahara walk miles alone rarely seeing people. However, when they do meet another person that they have some connection to, they spend the night sitting around a campfire jamming. Imagine if we lived in this kind of culture. Imagine if at every dinner party the guests and the hosts started shredding after the tiramisu.
Playing music inherently places one within a critical position in music because we are forced to decide what kind of sound we want to make. Making music, writing songs: these are not activities for only the select few. Everyone has the capacity to make music because music is the expression of the human condition. The institutionalization of music is perhaps one of the greatest tragedies in our society. And while I do not believe our culture will change in he near future, I do believe that every person who begins to break out of it contributes to its demise. I encourage everyone to pick up any sort of instrument, known or unknown, and begin to make music. You may just find that you’re better then whatever artist is featured on Pitchfork this week.