No Music Day
It was No Music Day on… Saturday I think. I tend not to pay any attention to these things as I find them a little gimmicky and not really something I really can be arsed thinking about. Their wee poster is there on the right – just click the image to enlarge, assuming you speak a little German of course.
Their tagline is also a little gimmicky (“There are many reasons – find yours”) but for some reason this year it kind of struck a chord with me. I put a lot into this little Toadly enterprise as you all know, and my last holiday was in June. Basically, I’m fucking shattered. I’m also over-musicked.
Fortunately no-one really releases much around this time of year, so the demanding emails from PR people are abating somewhat, and I can sort of see the light at the end of the tunnel for the label and the blog’s yearly tasks. One Toad Session to edit, and one to record. A little more PR work for the Meursault singles, and the last colour printed on Maxwell Panther albums. Distribution to a couple of Scottish independent music shops to organise. And then, I think, that should be just about it, thank God.
I think when I go home over Christmas I am going to play as little of my own music as possible. I’ll probably even encourage Mum to play her dinner party jazz pish or whatever classical Christmas garbage it is that she’s latched onto this year. I genuinely don’t care, but what is not going to happen is me listening to anything or reviewing stuff or whatever the hell else I might ordinarily be doing. Never mind No Music Day, I am going to have No Music Week.
I remember a girlfriend ages ago asking me if I had ever thought about becoming a music writer and I laughed at her and said ‘Why would I want to turn a hobby into a job? It would take all the fun out of it.’ It turns out that this is somewhat wrong, because it really hasn’t taken the fun out of it, but it has obliterated every last sliver of my leisure time. I am the kind of person who needs something to be obsessed with though, something to really launch myself into, and as soon as it became clear here at proper job that there was really no need for me to become any more senior than I already was four years ago, all that manic energy had to go somewhere, and it went into Toad.
Set about anything with that kind of drive though and you will from time to time just burn up all the fuel you have in your reserves. I was getting that way before our two weeks in Italy in the Summer, and I can feel myself getting somewhere like that now. I was frazzled as hell in the Summer, but now it’s more just a sensation of being worn out and needing to recharge.
I think one of the reasons I get on really well with Jamie from Broken Records is because he has that same kind of manic glint in his eye – we both recognise that capacity to work at something relentlessly until it works, either by itself or by sheer force of determination. And one of the reasons I get on really well with Bart from eagleowl is that he doesn’t do that. He’s stubborn as fuck in his own way of course, but more like a coal fire than a phosphorous flare, and there are times, like this particular morning, when that seems something to be really rather envious of.
eagleowl – Blackout
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I prefer having fingers in as many pies as possible so I can jump about reltively freely as my interest in one begins to wain. Focusing too much on any one thing for a long period drives me to distraction, but short intense projects work well. Each to our own I suppose.
But…no music week sounds like a complete pile of bollocks. Taking my music reviewing hat off for a while every now and again is certainly beneficial for me (and friends who put up with my geeknig obviously), but no music at all (and I can’t read German so I’m guessing from the title) would make life bizarrely quiet.
No music week is stupid. Different music week might be an idea. Have a week where you expose yourself to different genres. Imagine the uproar if someone imposed No Art week and asked us to take all our pictures down.
And The Messiah is an amazing piece of work. And the Nutcracker is a lot of fun too you snotty reverse-snob!
Happy Thanksgiving!
I like to think I’m just as obsessive and pedantic and hard working as yourself or Jamie. It just comes out in different ways.
It’s like the zombies in Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead, compared to those in George A. Romero’s original.
In the remake, they dart about in a frenzy trying to get at the humans as quickly as possible. In the original, it’s a slow, methodical, yet constant wave of attack – both eventually leading to the same end.
We aren’t quite as saturated by art as we are music, for the most part, are we?
Still, the idea of reading in silence or going for a walk without headphones appeals. I am not talking about being militant about it – I do think the whole thing is slightly tongue in cheek.
Bart – did you hear the story about the young bull and the old bull standing at the top of a hill, looking down at a field full of cows.
The young bull starts getting all randy and jumps up and down, saying to the old bull: ‘Look at all those fine looking cows, come on come on, let’s run down there and hump us a cow!’
And the old looks at him indulgently and says ‘No, son. Let’s walk down. And hump ‘em all.’
Cow humping is just one of many activities where diligence is preferable to speed.
I thought you were vegetarian, Bart.
Yes Dylan, I am.
Which word is causing confusion here: humping? Or vegetarian?
As long as you can justify your habits to yourself, that’s the important thing.
Surely most vegetarians are vegetarians because they love animals. They really, really love animals. If you know what I mean.
I think the idea behind No Music Day is great. Music being around us constantly can mean we switch off from it. How often do you sit down and do nothing but listen to music, not multitasking or anything? I never do it, and it probably results in something of the music being lost on me.
If you get a chance to read “17″ by Bill Drummond, his reasons for starting up No Music Day, I’d recommend you do so, though it does get a little overly self-indulgent toward the end. It’s probably easier to sympathise with his “heard it all before” schtick when you are as old as he is, but it’s a good read for the most part.
I’ve never fucked a cow.
Unless you count my ex-girlfriend.
Wokka wokka.
I also think No Music Day is a good idea, in principle.
Yeah, a bit of a silly gimmick in some ways, but having a wee break to remind you not to take things for granted is probably a pretty good thing.
And I didn’t mean to imply that you were unambitious or anything, just a little less mental about it than some of us.
In other words, if it takes a site like this to make most of you fuckers seem balanced and normal then you really are fucked.
To me, No Music Day sounds like something invented by wives and girlfriends of manic, obsessive partners who should otherwise be getting on with the serious business of nesting. Mine would certainly subscribe.
Either that or something a bit Buddhist … some kind of silent retreat to recapture your inner song.
For a whole DAY !
Manic, obsessive partners? Can’t think what you’re talking about Morgs.
I know exactly what you mean. I haven’t bothered to post about it, but I frequently experience that kind of musical burnout. I think it’s a natural thing for those of us who’ve been blogging for a while just from the ridiculous amount of music we’re inundated with every day for so many years. That’s why I started reviewing books & movies, too, so I can still write when I need a break from music. I definitely think regular doses of silence are necessary to prevent total madness. And also allowing yourself to listen to an album or attend a gig without reviewing it. Especially since I’ve starting doing paid reviews for the local newspaper, I know for certain that I much prefer keeping my writing & music obsessions as a hobby/part-time job than to attempt to make a living at it. Anyway, yeah, a break’ll do ya good.
So what we’ve established is that vegetarians can fuck animals, although Bart specifically doesn’t tend to indulge.
What about vegans?
Vegans just fuck vegetables.
Indeed Muruch, I think you’re right. More than specifically No Music, just reminding myself that in many ways what I am doing actually is now a job (particularly now I have direct responsibilities to bands) and that any and every job sometimes needs to be ignored for a little while.
How about a crap music day? You have to listen to utter tripe for a whole day? Reminds me of some jobs I’ve worked. I recall me and neil meursault when we worked together, fighting with the staff daily over the stereo because they wanted to put on gary barlow, duran duran and slipknot and we wanted pearl jam, neil young and aphex twin. Crap music days were nearly commonplace. They sure make you appreciate your record collections more…
Well, I have moments/hours when I feel overwhelmed about the pile of music that I feel obligated or desiring to listen to and think about. But honestly, who’s charging me with this task? No one but me! And because I do it for myself, out of my own sense of urgency and mental illness of a sort, it’s up to me to put a stop to it when and where I need to. As I hear all of you saying, indeed.
The point of No Music Day, however, is different. It’s a project that doesn’t look inward, doesn’t serve to corral the forces of self-control that we sometimes lack. It’s a public statement about the ubiquity of melody as “white noise” and therefore the de-valuing of music itself. (I don’t know if I agree with this notion, but that’s what it’s about, read it here
Now that project might fail to engage the masses or fail to interest us on a personal level, but let’s not mischaracterize it, eh? And I think it does raise interesting questions about how much unwanted music intrudes in our daily life (shopping, airports, etc. as discussed in that article referenced above).
don’t underestimate the fucking of vegetables, Tim
It’s been no music week for me, I think.
I digress slightly, but I’ve recently rediscovered how satisfying it is to sit or lie down with the sole intention of listening to an album (joint optional) and giving it full attention. I used to do it all the time when I was younger, but over the last few years, while I listen to music almost constantly, I’m usually doing something else at the same time. Its a bit like how Brian Wilson said Pet Sounds should be enjoyed, in the dark; sensory depravation, like.
Its bloody great.
I had a friend who would sit it the dark and listen to Dylan every single night and not go out for a good year or so. Think he slightly over-did it, but yeah graeme it’s been a while since I did nothing else and just sat and listened to a whole album without messing about doing something else. Think I may have to try it again.
I see, Tart. I never read that far because, frankly, it struck me as a little gimmicky as I said, but they make a good point. I took the ‘there are many reasons, find yours’ as them encouraging you to make it a personal thing, because that seemed sort of implicit in the statement.
bit off track here but still music related. Not sure if anyone noticed by The Skinny have placed Meursault at 16 in scottish albums of the decade.
Yeah I noticed that. Those other fifteen better be fucking good or I’m going to have a tantrum.
I also thought this sounded a little too novel at first. But a few months ago, I heard a fairly lengthy interview with Bill Drummond talking about it (per Martinmoog’s point). Totally insightful, thought-provoking. Very convincing.
I was sold on going a day or two, but not a whole week. (That said, I had no idea it was this past Saturday, and spent the day at a 7-hour long concert… whups.)
This is what I love about comments on here, some semi serious discussion going on and Dylan and Bart intersperse it with fucking cows and vegetables….top work.
Hollyoaks would be so much better if you guys were given the script 20 minutes before filming started.
Well, from what I’ve gathered Bill Drummond isn’t really all bent out of shape if you don’t do it the way he wants
There is some concerted effort to ban BBC radio(?) from playing music next year. We’ll see!
That’s astounding news re: Merusault!! Congrats darlings
xoxo
News? Meersalt? Eh?
Marc Riley played them tonight – that’s top news.
I’d just like to point out that today’s under the radar article described me as “the hardest working man in post-folk”.
Granted, this may be the equivalent of being called “the tallest midget” or something, but I think the point still stands.
I’ve never seen you lift a finger.
But that’s probably because you play with your back to the audience. In fact, I think you’d probably play in the next room if the rest of the band would allow it.
I can’t go a day without listening to music in the proper sense of actually ‘listening’, as defined earlier by really focusing on what you’re listening to without multi-tasking, otherwise I just get a bit grumpy.
I remember a weekend break up north to the town of my birth, Inverness, with my last girlfriend, and on the second day, the first thing I did when I woke up was put on my cans and listen to some music. She was absolutely outraged that I wasn’t giving her the “holiday-morning-treatment” (or whatever the fuck these specimens called women expect), but I could feel myself going crazy because I had gone over 24 hours without listening to music. I needed my fix.
To sumarise, I feel a No Music Day is absolutely fucking ludicrous.
So stick that up yer bollocks.