Musical Inspiration

I was thinking a little bit more on the previous post I made. And based on what I wrote there, as well as what I've thought about before, I've drawn a few more conclusions about those who inspire me, and how it affects me and my music.

I think if there's one thing I've learned from Holopainen beyond being true to your music, it is this: the power of music is greater than the sum of its parts. Simplicity can be more effective than complexity. A piece does not have to be virtuosic and demanding of its performer(s) to be a great piece. In fact, lots of great music has parts that are boring and/or very easy for certain players. But it's the way that the pieces fit together that matters.

I am sometimes apologetic about writing lines that may not be entirely interesting for the performer, but so long as I believe it fits in with the piece and works effectively with the other parts then that is how it must be. Not everyone can be a virtuoso all the time anyway.

I have the following posted elsewhere, but since this is my music journal, I figured I might as well post it here too. It is a list of the ten most influential albums. I think it fairly accurately represents my eclectic tastes in music. Albums are listed alphabetically by band/last name, and the brackets indicate the year I first heard it.

JS Bach - The Goldberg Variations (Glenn Gould's 1981 recording) [2007]

I will never listen to Bach the same way again. I can still remember vividly the day I finally sat down and listened to this. I can only imagine that this is how people felt when they heard the 1955 recording air on the radio more than half a century ago. Having listened to both recordings, I can understand Gould's desire to re-record this particular work. There's nothing wrong with the first version, but he had nearly 30 years of experience and change to put into the piece. Playing on a Yamaha gives it an altogether different feel as well. This version is pensive, it takes its time, the variations in minor are more sombre, the cheerful ones are more so. And nothing sends chills down my spine like the aria.

Children of Bodom - Tokyo Warhearts [2005]

No other live album can compare to this. In some ways this is Bodom's finest work. It truly represents how tight they once were as a band. Listening to the keyboard/guitar solo battle for the first time was incredible. Everything just fit right into place--the music feels improvised and fresh, but cohesive and together. The Stockholm recording of 2006 pales in comparison. I've heard other live CDs that are good, but nothing, nothing like Tokyo Warhearts.

For My Pain... - Fallen [2005]

What happens when you take some of the biggest names in Finnish metal and get them to record a CD? Pure, unadulterated gothic metal. Featuring members from Nightwish, Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Charon and Reflexion, For My Pain... is what Tuomas Holopainen calls a "therapy group." A place where they can go when they need a break from their regular projects and let off some steam. It is indeed therapeutic for the listener too: the steady rhythms, the sorrowful melodies, the atmospheric keys (that could only come from the Nightwish mastermind) the words of love, lust and loss. Works great on sunny and overcast days.

Fort Minor - The Rising Tied [2006]

While I'd certainly been exposed to rap and hip hop before through bands like Linkin Park and Kazzer, The Rising Tied is straight up rap. It surprised me because I finally realised that I actually like rap. This was a big eye opener for me because I knew that I liked rapping in the context of rock, and I didn't mind rap parodies. But I realise now that it's all about context. I don't like gangsta rap, but rapping itself is very impressive. There's something almost trancelike too, with the minimalist steady beats and repetitious harmony/melody (if any). Mike Shinoda tells it like it is, without coming off as condescending, or purposefully trying to be really deep.

Nightwish - Once [2004]

I'll never forget the day I heard Once. When I put it in my CD player back in the spring of 2004, I honestly thought I'd either put the wrong CD in or that they'd burned the wrong music to the disc. It was mind blowing. I'd never heard anything quite like it, and I've never had that same feeling since. Once changed heavy metal for me. I can't pinpoint what it is, but Nightwish really nailed it on this one. It was their first CD recording with the LSO, and in some ways I think it's their most diverse album. Ranging from classic metal songs like Dark Chest of Wonders, to techno-infused metal in Wish I Had An Angel, to the Eastern sounds of The Siren, classic Nightwish sound in Nemo, the Native American influence on Creek Mary's Blood, the epic symphony Ghost Love Score, and the chilling farewell to Marc Brueland in Higher Than Hope. In an interview they were asked why the CD is called Once and Marco Hietala jokingly answered "because we can't do it twice." This CD represents something big. What it is, I don't know, but it's big.

Norther - Death Unlimited [2006]

Children of Bodom's Hatecrew Deathroll was the first melodic death metal album I got hooked on, but when I heard Death Unlimited I knew it wasn't an anomaly. I'm still very selective when it comes to harsh vocals in music--in fact, Bodom and Norther are really the only two I'll listen to--but this CD really opened up a new world to me. I admittedly was not impressed on the first few listens, but then again I was studying for exams. When I gave it a chance I was drawn in by the heavy breakdowns and surprised by how dark the music is. At times just straight up heavy metal, like the title track, and other times depressingly deep, like the tracks Beneath, and Nothing. The band has long been compared to Bodom, but after their first CD (and even then it's a stretch) Norther really developed its own identity.

Poets of the Fall - Signs of Life [2006]

It was the summer of 2006, and I was listening to internet radio at work. It was a neat site (which has since become a paid site, or possibly defunct) that selected your subsequent playlist based on your initial song search. I found some really good music this way. When Lift, the first track from this CD came on, I knew I had to buy it. I hadn't heard any of the other songs, but I was convinced that it would be an amazing CD. I was quite surprised when I heard the full album. Lift sounds like good ol' Finnish metal (perhaps somewhere between HIM and Sonata Arctica), but the rest of it is totally different. The only other two rock and roll songs are tracks 3 and 4 and beyond that it's mostly acoustic or light rock. But it's difficult to put Poets in a specific category. Across the album, discography, and in the songs individually there's a strong synthesis of styles that is really quite effective. It's like metal meets rock, meets acoustic, meets country, meets lounge. Or something.

J Sibelius - Symphony No. 2 in D major [2009]

I've never been one for the symphony. I love concerti and metal that uses symphonic elements, but I never cared for symphonies themselves. Even when we studied the Eroica in second year, I was unimpressed. However, Sibelius has made me seriously reconsider the symphonic form. Maybe it's because he has such a different approach to writing music--after all his symphonies (in fact, most of his large scale music) is not constructed on sonata-allegro form--even his so-called Sonatines, op 67 don't have much to do with sonatas. But I was taken aback by the level of depth and emotion that Sibelius reached, though admittedly it's mostly the opening movement that really catches me. I would later go on to listen through the rest of his numbered symphonies and other symphonic pieces, which are just as powerful. Though the 2nd caught my interest, it was his 3rd that really got me hooked. Sublime from beginning to end. What will those Finns do next?

Sonata Arctica - Reckoning Night [2005]

Reckoning Night holds the record for most initial plays, hands down. Maybe even most plays total. By no exaggeration, when I first got it, I listened to it every day, at least twice, for about three weeks. And then I slowed down to probably once a day after that for a while. No other CD has even come close to this much play time. I don't think I've even listened to another CD once a day three weeks in a row. With Reckoning Night I really believe Sonata Arctica was reborn. They had a very distinctive style and sound, and they were uncharacteristically upbeat for the Finnish metal scene (Stratovarius takes the cake for happiest metal band). With Winterheart's Guild I think they hit a plateau--if they'd kept on doing the same thing it wouldn't have worked anymore. But Reckoning Night is edgy, it's dark, it's heavier. Tony Kakko took his vocal harmonisations to the next level, and all the songs are so much more involved. It was heavy (emotionally and in terms of sound), but light enough to not be too drained after listening to it (one reason I couldn't have listened to Once twice a day for three weeks). It really spoke to me at the time, and still stands as an inspiration.

Tiësto - In Search of Sunrise 4: Latin America [2005]

I had been exposed to trance before, with Tiësto's Summerbreeze mix, but it seems that it didn't hit home until heard this Sunrise mix. My (much) later realisation that I love minimalism could have stemmed from all the trance I absorbed. The two disc set covers a wide range of moods and emotions. Tiësto has quite the knack for picking songs that work well and flow so seamlessly. I could just put this mix on and float away in a trance. I knew after this that it was the right kind of music for me. This is the first two-CD Sunrise mix that Tiësto made and he once said that "there's always a surprise on the second disc." I think it stands truest with Latin America.