May 19, 2012
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Mood Music
For a long time I couldn’t even imagine myself enjoying Jazz it just sounded way too random and a bit smug.
But then I gave early Jazz a shot such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman…mainly because everyone kept going on about how ‘great’ it was and how ‘unique’ and ‘amazing’ and all the usual stuff you get about the so called classics…and as with most of that stuff I just thought, well yea if you like it i’m sure thats true but I can’t really stand the stuff.
But I don’t like to judge without experience so I gave it a shot…and long story short OMG it is AMAZING music
It’s entirely possible that it’s just my new found love of it that does it…but when I put on a few CD’s of really good early Jazz it just puts me in a good mood
it’s joyful, it’s relaxing, it’s entertaining and so delightfully complex while also being able to merge into the background…turns out all the annoying music people who go on about it were totally right lol and to be honest they were kind of holding back 
So there’s really no point to this post other than to say…go find some early Jazz. Louis, Duke, Benny…oh and Clifford Brown someone I only recently found out about but also a damn fine Jazz player.
What (if any) music have you discovered that you previously written off before you actually listened to it?
And also what type of music can you listen to and just feel good no matter what mood you were in before?
Comments (13)
I never actually listened to jazz…maybe one day I’ll give it a shot.
I always thought death metal (constant screaming) was just god-awful. A few songs came on in the car while I was driving (Scott’s car, obviously) and it didn’t really bother me. I still don’t like it, but I can tolerate it. Does that count?
Jazz. That’s the answer to your question. I remember being quite derisive and dismissive towards it, and I had barely listened to any. This was back in my teens, so I guess it’s somewhat understandable and not horribly embarrassing.
When I started to learn bass in my junior year of high school (1992), a fellow bassist loaned me Jaco Pastorius’ first album. Since it’s a fusion of jazz styles (funk, latin, R&B, classical, and jazz mixed together in various combinations), I guess that made my transition easier. I gradually became fascinated by it, even though for the longest time I honestly couldn’t understand what was going on. But I still listened and enjoyed it. Eventually, it clicked.
I wrote a couple of entries about it here.
http://unstoppable-inner-strength.xanga.com/751873668/jazz-101-pt-ii-how-to-listen-to-jazz/
http://unstoppable-inner-strength.xanga.com/750264207/jazz-101-part-i–sketches-of-its-birth/
Since you seem to be just getting into jazz, those might help.
Here’s some Weather Report with Jaco on bass. By the way, if you don’t know who Jaco Pastorius was: He’s the greatest electric bass mothaf- that ever lived. Just saying.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDQlSSOXU6A
I always hated rap, and still do for the most part, but I shocked myself when I actually liked a few songs that were rap! lol
I basically love music that is just upbeat and makes me want to dance. It varries!
I’ve never been interested in Jazz, but… this post was good! who knows?
Jazz is nice once in a while. It’s not my favourite, but I like it for background music once in a while when working on projects. Maybe you should give some European Jazz a try. I listen to that a bit more than plain Jazz, but it’s a bit weirder haha. I can’t remember any groups off the top of my head right now, but if I ever remember I’ll let you know
I greatly dislike country and rap, yuck
Just found a feature I did on Nathan Haines last year.
Owl City gives me wings hahaha! But really, I love how it makes me feel happy and peaceful.
I enjoy classic jazz, but my most favorite music is slow rock.
I think it mostly depends on your mood and your age. I used to love rap music a lot, but starting from the past one or two years, I began to wonder why I even liked it in the first place. Well, there are actually some good ones that lift your spirit, but stuff I used to like are just a bunch of noise sometimes. People change. I think it includes our taste in music too.
@xdeelynnx - Haha yea Death metal is still beyond my tolerance, although my hatered for Rap has softened, and Reggaton which is basiclly Cuban rap I actually quite like
You should give Jazz a shot, but i’d go for early Jazz first rather than more modern stuff because that can sometimes be a bit hard to deal with at first.
@Unstoppable_Inner_Strength - Thanks for those Ive rec’d both
And i’m gonna have to head back a re-read them both a few times as well i reckon.
It’s certainly one of those music types that requires some getting used to, but i’m still endlessly suprised at how much is in there now that I do like it
@Megabyyte - Yea I’m the same…basically if I have to choose a music type to list as not liked it’ll be rap…but I have to admit there are several songs that are rap that are great, and the skill is un-deniable…so it’s all good.
Well there’s plenty of Jazz that can get you moving
so i’m sure you’d find something to love.
@Cestovatelka - Hmm I’ll have to see if I can find any, thanks for the suggestion.
I quite like Country but there does seem to be a lot of folks who seem to dislike it…always suprises me since I can’t figure out what it is that there is to dislike…it’s kind of unoffensive to me.
But thats the cool thing with music, it’s very adaptable to taste.
@FrenzElectric - Thanks
@Hdyhadon - :) hehe any music that can give you wings is definnately good music
@RestlessButterfly - Ah nice
Not sure I know what classes as Slow rock but i’ll do some looking about.
@simplysuzu - Very true, as your tastes and influances grow and change so do your likes and dislikes.
I can listen to jazz in small doses, unless it is the classic great stuff! As a musician I have never been able to express myself in th ejazz style, although some critics have declared my compositions as a blend of classical and jazz, I just don’t feel it.
My favorite style of music is classical composition in a simplistic rock presentation, such as old Genesis.
Late Romantic, Early Modern music.
At first it was just noise on a piano but afer my music theory teacher drilled enough of it into me, I started to like it.
I can’t seem to appreciate jazz, but I was trying to explore more subtypes of it. So far I can only tolerate jazz that seems more like rock and Latin jazz (because of the rhythms). Meanwhile, most other types of jazz that I’ve heard sound too messy and random for me. It makes me start laughing when I hear it. I will keep trying to learn to appreciate it.
Music that always makes me feel good? folk/rock from the 60s. ☮