January 27, 2018 — Is it okay to have two themes this week? Personally, I think so seeing as we have been stuck in a month-long Christmas hold. I have to admit, I’ve had little musical input over the past month, save for my own playing I did right around Christmas itself. I took my Gibson Les Paul Studio to Texas, and that was my company for a bit. My niece and my father both took cracks at playing it too. After that, I didn’t even hear the radio, almost nothing in the way of new influences. Then, this week, I did my home-bound drive.
Usually on the drive I listen to country music, but I wasn’t feeling it. There’s a span from the Texas-New Mexico border to just about Albuquerque where all I can pick up is one Jesus station. I would have loved the Country music there, but other than that stretch, I was looking for pop stations. Mind you, I haven’t been listening to very much pop since I went on strike from pop because of that song “Young Dumb”, and honestly, my time away from pop proved interesting. What I noticed from hitting the dial all the way from Albuquerque to Los Angeles was that other than perhaps one or two songs, all the others, meaning all the new songs from the past couple of months, were something I would classify as hip hop.
Hip hop is a funny thing for me. I can’t really learn the words. They go so fast, or perhaps they are just not what I’m into. If I can’t learn the words to a song, I really don’t get into the song. Plus, I just don’t find hip hop songs musical. As a confession, there are some I like – like the ones that have melodic breakdowns. Halsey’s song with Lana Del Rey’s ex-boyfriend-turned Halsey’s boyfriend, G-Easy (that guy’s name suits him) called Him and I was good, but really it was Halsey’s vocal-sung chorus that was good, fun to sing too. And the song I kept wanting to hear was Halsey’s Bad at Love, a part hip-hop style song, but musical pop song. And really there’s nothing like scream-sing the words “I’m bad at love” while driving 80 mph in the desert, not admitting it’s so true of my own character, but hey….
Coming back to reality of L.A., on my traffic routes of choice there are several billboards promoting tomorrow’s 60th annual Grammy Awards show. The billboards have a slogan with three words (which I can’t remember now and there was too much traffic to get a picture), but it’s something like “love”, “music”, all over a nondescript and shadowy guitar player.
Guitar player? Was there one in the current music I heard on this last trip? No, not that I heard. Perhaps I missed something, so for as long as I could stand it, I looked up articles about who is to be featured on the Grammy’s tomorrow. For album, a category that was historically the home of rock and guitars, it’s far from something that has a guitar player. The article I saw had one of those hashtags “forget#Grammy’sSoWhite”, with the album nominees being: Jay-Z’s “4:44,” “Awaken, My Love!” by Childish Gambino, “DAMN” by Kendrick Lamar, “Melodrama” by Lorde and “24K Magic” by Bruno Mars. It’s the first time since 1999 that no white male was in that category. Personally, I’ll be rooting for Lorde, not because or despite of anyone’s race, it’s just I’m on a crusade for something other than hip hop (even though Lorde too is a bit hip hop these days). I know. I know. Every young person I know will talk about how great Kendrick Lamar is, and be surprised I know who he is (I kinda don’t), but really, what this all comes down to is why I like the girls right now: because while they may not have as much guitars as I would like, they are so much more musical.
Then there’s this: girls these days, the subject of girls, or should I say women, is a politically charged thing. We are a force! In my commute of yesterday, Steven Tyler was on the radio with Ryan Seacrest, a good part of his subject matter being women. I know I’ve wondered what rock stars (think groupies) think of the current movement. Steven Tyler touches on it, basically saying he must have good behavior now. Oh and he’s got a “home” of sorts he built in Atlanta for battered or abused women — his contribution to the women’s movement.
And bringing it back full circle to my cross-country drive, Steven Tyler brought up Halsey too, giving her props for her speech (itself a rap because that’s what pop musicians do now) at the Women’s March in New York this past week. (See link below.)
Ignoring the politics of it all, the girls are the more musical now, and hopefully it stays that way. Frightening me a little, even normally musical girls are getting influenced by rap. I heard news that Carrie Underwood is going the way of Taylor Swift (country darling turned pop star, with more and more rap) by recording the theme song for the Olympics with Ludicrous. I’m going to chalk that up to “pop” being essentially hip hop now, and anyways, Carrie’s voice comes through in it’s normal powerful way.
I’m really hoping all the girls hold their own or I’m not going to have anyone. But then again, there’s always Nita Strauss. During a family dinner over the holidays, my sister asked my niece if my niece was going to be the next Taylor Swift. My niece had spent the day or two before with me watching videos of Nita Strauss play with Alice Cooper; I told my sister what we watched, but I’m not sure that really had much impact. Alice sounds like a nice girl’s name, right? No, my sis wouldn’t know Alice, and she wouldn’t be a fan; Radio Disney is what she provides for her children. My niece’s response to the Taylor Swift question was a distinctive half-snarl. From the couch across the room, I said my niece will be the next Nita Strauss, bringing a nod and smile to my niece’s face. The next Nita Strauss, doesn’t that sound good? My sister’s response was “okay, the next Anita Strauss”. Hey, speaking of Nita, she has a new signature guitar, an Ibanez with D’Marzio pickups she supposedly designed. She’s the first female to have a signature guitar of the Ibanez brand. One female who is for sure not infected by rap or pop-rap, or whatever all of this is.
So while the boys of the Grammy’s seem to be going a direction I don’t relate to, and while it is true, I’ll never buy a Kendrick Lamar record, there are always the girls. But then again, that’s a common theme of mine. What’s the expression? Rock on? Try, rock on, Girlies!
Halsey speech Steven Tyler referenced: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/singer-halsey-s-speech-women-s-march-ny-war-cry-was-long-overdue-75436
My comment on that. Halsey says every woman she knows has a story. I remember saying that to a conservative I once knew. He was a wonderful person who changed his mind after that one conversation with me. Every woman I know has story. When we say that, the we includes ourselves. #WhatHalseySaid