I’d like to take this opportunity to say…

Hi, Sweet Juniper!  

I’m just sitting here with my medicated husband listening to NPR’s show on the best music of 2008.  I didn’t hear who we’re listening to right now but it’s nice.  So far, my favorite has been the Fleet Foxes.  Oh I just can’t hear that song in my headphones without dancing in my cube.  So serious.

We’re debating what makes a good song.  My husband is such a music snob that he won’t let himself enjoy a band if they sound too much like someone else.  I think he’s missing the point but he’d say the same about me.  But this is my blog, so…

What does it matter if the sound is familiar.  If it makes you feel good when Neil Young sings it, why wouldn’t it make you feel good if the Fleet Foxes are singing?  I honestly don’t see the point.  It’s like an extension of a really good album that you’ve had for years and know all the words by heart and the cover is falling apart and you remember a distinct moment in your past with your boyfriend, getting high, drinking cheap beer…a good song in the 70s that does that can also exist today.

Plus, don’t we have a responsibility to share with Lily the music of the ages?  Our music, our parents music, someone elses parents music?  Otherwise, how will she know if someone in her time is dirivitive of something else.

Also, the same theory that says budding authors should attempt to imitate their favorite authors in order to help them identify their own style.  Only once they have a good understanding of what’s been can they truly appreciate where they’re able to go.  And then, after you’ve been copying all your favorites, you actually create something new and all your own.

Am I over simplifying matters?  Quite possibly.

There’s a difference between a band who’s trying to sound like someone else and does a good job of it than a band who’s trying to sound like someone else and fails miserably; like a bad cover band.  There’s a significant difference.

Oh, by the way – I hope I win that photo!