Has Music Lost It's Magic?

[Benji]

Noel Gallagher - 'The fantasy's gone out of making music'

The Oasis guitarist believes 'kids have it too good'

Oasis mainman Noel Gallagher says the "fantasy" has gone out of making music - because of advances in technology.

Speaking exclusively in this week's NME, the star bemoans the iPod and DVD generation because of their insistence on wanting more and more information about how records are made.

He said: "This generation of kids just rely on the technology - that's what they want. These days you can see fucking Johnny Borrell in his pants going through the bass parts, and that just strips away the magic for me."

He added: "Everyone just wants more and more information. All the fantasy's gone out of music, 'cos everything is too fucking real. Every album comes with a DVD with some cunt going, 'Yeah well, we tried the drums over there, but...' Give a shit, man! It makes people seem too human, whereas I was brought up on Marc Bolan and David Bowie, and it was like, 'Do they actually come from fucking Mars?'"

I've got to say, I really do agree with him in some aspects, when you were a kid it didn't matter how it was made, it was just good music, it didn't even matter who made it (but that's another subject for another day). I think that's the reason The White Stripes were so awesome when they broke out, they had this whole mystique and background that was really quite subtly weird, that's not to say it wasn't mostly their music, just the mystery of them helped.

At the same time, technology has brought us so much, it's allowing anyone with a laptop and a mouse to be creative, I believe if you're really that amazing a musician, you'll still be able to touch on that magic that gives someone a chill down their spine when they hear a song.

Opinions?

[GoGo Yubari]

I think Noel Gallagher is full of shit, but I don't focus on the things he bitches about.

When I like a song, and I mean REALLY like it, I still get those chills. When the chorus hook of "A Viewing" by Visqueen comes on, I can't help but smile. When I hear "Love Blind" by Jamiroquai I feel like dancing. The entirety of A Radical Recital by Rasputina is fantastic cello rock with one of the most intimate atmospheres I've ever heard on a live album. Even if I have never been in a relationship with a girl like the one described in "Life & Debt" by Blue Scholars, a girl who "talks about tearing down the system like a soldier," I still feel like I'm right there with the MC and he's done such a good job of describing this girl that it's easy to see where he's coming from.

Music hasn't lost its magic if you don't want it to. At least, that's how I feel about it.

[MDK]

At the same time, technology has brought us so much, it's allowing anyone with a laptop and a mouse to be creative, I believe if you're really that amazing a musician, you'll still be able to touch on that magic that gives someone a chill down their spine when they hear a song.

Opinions?

Agreed.

Its like with movies, now every DVD comes with the making of and all the hidden extras, movies haven't lost their magic. People are just curious about how things are made. Besides, like it has been pointed out above me, if a song/album is just THAT good then it'll stay amazing even if you do know the behind the scenes shit.

To be honest music has never lost its magic for me, I still feel the same way like I did when I was a kid. Except the whole mp3 thing, now I can't listen to full albums, so he has got me there >_>

[Skummy]

It has to an extent. You compare stuff like the early Beach Boys recordings, when they just used to line up in front of one mic and record all their vocals live, to some music now that's produced to be so squeaky-clean that there's no room for error, and no room for human elements, and there's definitely a loss of "magic" there.

But that "magic" was lost before Oasis made an appearance, so Noel rambling about it doesn't really make much sense.

There are still plenty of bands that retain a magic to them, though. Like the White Stripes and their ilk, as mentioned earlier, or hearing Jolie Holland cough in the middle of one of her songs, or hearing a phone ring in the background of a Moldy Peaches track, or to move away from the idea of rawness as magic, bands like SunnO))), Khanate, Carnival In Coal, An Albatross, Morphine or Apocalyptica who break the mold of what's expected of a band.

Music is still magical, it's still the only medium that can toy with and influence human emotions the way it does. Just because pop-rock's often dull and contrived doesn't mean the rest of the music world is.

And, besides, I don't think such advances are a bad thing, necessarily. Is young people having an interest in creating music a bad thing?

[Bushmeister]

Gallagher can go suck a donkey off for all I care.

Part of losing that "magic" in music, I believe, comes from just plain old experience: you listen to a lot of music, it won't be the same. More and more acts will start sounding very mundane, generic and just a part of the "grey mass" - those really great moments can be very few and far inbetween. It's the same with movie critics: no-one will give the latest Hollywood shitfest good grades because they have become so desensitized to all the hundreds of similar films they have had to watch so they don't give a shit anymore.

With music, however, it's so much easier for a single insane genius to put his mind into an artform and produce something completely unexpected and great. Even more so with modern technology: it is much easier to express oneself through music thanks to what we have available. And out of that pit you'll spawn the Lykathea Aflames and The Berzerkers of any given genre, the shit that just comes along, seizes what has been previously done and just goes and runs off with it into a direction you never even knew existed. The magic ain't dying, it's just harder to find because what used to be magical to you is just run-of-the-mill nowadays.

So to summarize my point, Gallagher is a cunt and this is an issue of personal boredom rather than any adverse technological effects on music in general.

[Zaz]

Does he never stop whinging? Or does he just like to see his name in the paper every week?

[VerbalPuke]

And, besides, I don't think such advances are a bad thing, necessarily. Is young people having an interest in creating music a bad thing?

I agree, I see it more as an evolution in music. Young people should absolutely have an interest in knowing how music is created, if they are already musicians, it will compell them to purchase their own recording devices.

As long as kids continue to buy instruments and emulate their favorites, music will always retain it's magic. We don't necesarily have to follow in the belief that this Gallager fellow is speaking on. Plenty of kids like myself want to capture the magic of raw music, of the lo-fi recordings, without the tinkering of technology. Much to some people's disbelief, there is still a group of us that just want to play raw. There is also still a contingent of us that want to continue with the release of LP's and EP's with is seen as an archaic musical notion by many involved in the music business.

Edited November 8, 2006 by VerbalPuke

[Gongsun Zan]

Blah blah blah whine whine whine.

Music hasn't lost his magic, nor has movies, nor has writing, nor has wrestling nor has mafia diaries, and so on. The only difference is that this generation has made it easier for all the annoying douchebags in the world to whine about it, not to mention dilute the talent pool.

[apsham]

I think Noel Gallagher is full of shit, but I don't focus on the things he bitches about.

Music hasn't lost its magic if you don't want it to. At least, that's how I feel about it.

Agreed.

Who gives a shit if we know how music is made now? For example, my friends band are doing it all on their own. Technology has allowed them to record on their own, and mix on their own computers. They've written music, and the guy doing the mixing and some of the writing is creative. Who gives a shit if anyone can do it these days, he's doing it GOOD. Everytime he calls me into his room to hear what they've added this time, it's just something else for me to get excited about... a voice clip here, a new riff there... it still sends chills down my spine listening to it.

Fuck Noel Gallagher.

[Benji]

Blah blah blah whine whine whine.

Music hasn't lost his magic, nor has movies, nor has writing, nor has wrestling nor has mafia diaries, and so on. The only difference is that this generation has made it easier for all the annoying douchebags in the world to whine about it, not to mention dilute the talent pool.

I stopped reading there

[MDK]

Does he never stop whinging? Or does he just like to see his name in the paper every week?

Still pissed off that he doesnt like the Aussie footy team?

[Clawson]

Heh......Noel. Just go back to the recording studio. Please?

I mean the fucking Beatles had behind the scenes featurettes when they were making albums. It's been part of music for awhile now.

[YI]

I 'agree'...'making of''s are shite.

[Zaz]

Does he never stop whinging? Or does he just like to see his name in the paper every week?

Still pissed off that he doesnt like the Aussie footy team?

[zero]

I agree to an extent... but not for the same exact reasons. I think the internet has seriously damaged music. Gone are the days where you sit by the radio and wait for your favorite song to come on, there was a certain magic to that. Nowadays, you just hop on your computer, download the MP3, and listen to the song 40 times in a row until you're tired of it. Songs are no longer nurtured like they once were. It used to be a single would come out and it would take months for it to catch on with the general public and it was a special thing to see happen. Now, a single "drops," goes up the charts, it gets played hourly on the radio, the video is all over MTV, VH1 and Fuse, and the MP3 is downloaded off iTunes, played on someone's iPod whenever they want, and it's old news two weeks later. Over-saturation has taken the magic out of music.

[apsham]

I remember the days of sitting by the radio, but hell.. even back then I had a tape in the cassette deck waiting for the song to come on so I could record it like that. Just because it's more convinent I don't see it as all that different. I guess the "listen to it 40 time and the magic is gone" thing doesn't really apply to me.. because I listen to SO MUCH music that it's impossible for me to just sit and listen to one song over and over again. *shrug*

[RPS]

Music hasn't lost anything. People are always going to be around making good music, regardless of the decade. I get sick and tired of people comparing music to the past and saying it isn't the same. It is a crock of shit. Great music is still being produced today and the 60's, 70's, 80's, whatever decade had it's fair share of shit. We just don't remember it, because we forget the shit that happened in previous decades. I for one

What has changed is the music business. And I mean, there are pros and cons for both, but I'd like to think that the business is in a bit of funk these days and just need to change with times.

[Guest mAXi]

Noel seems to think about a lot of shit. Atleast once a week i seem to find some news article about what he thinks.

Music is so much easier to listen to now a days with iPod's and such but the music im listening to (it's the same for many of my friends) is mostly music from the 90's with a few exceptions such as John Legend, Lupe Fiasco and a few Indie and Electronica groups. I think that at this current time, most of the bands & artists that i like are past there prime now and the majority of artists & bands that i think have potential haven't yet shown me there best.

This has happened me once before in 1999 however and im confident that in 2007 or 2008 this 'magic' will come back. For me at least..

[zero]

This has happened me once before in 1999 however and im confident that in 2007 or 2008 this 'magic' will come back. For me at least..

Personally, I think this has been happening since the early 90s. Honestly, has there been a major, revolutionary record that captivates an entire generation since "Nevermind?"

[GhostMachine]

Considering Oasis has always been overrated (good....early on, anyway....but overrated) and both Gallagher brothers are idiots, who gives a shit?

iPods and shit haven't caused nearly as many problems with music as cd prices have. I don't think there'd be nearly as much illegal downloading of music or other forms of piracy (such as counterfeit cds and bootlegs) if cds were reasonably priced. The music industry is full of shit and the record companies seem to be trying to squeeze every last dollar out of fans that they can. (look at Hillary Duff releasing a Best Of (or Greatest Hits. Whatever) cd....when she had only had 2 cds released!!!)