then we saw the stars again

“What music influences you as a musician?”
“What’s your favourite kind of music?”

When people ask me these questions, my first instinct is to answer ‘good’ music. It feels like having to pick your favorite son, in a way. You don’t want to go there. You need a cop-out.
And I know that saying “good music is my favourite kind of music” is a cop-out, but it saves time, and you can easily contrast it with “bad” music: there is “good” jazz and some truly horrible, horrendous jazz, there is “good” radio-friendly pop and, well…there’s most of the stuff you hear on the airwaves these days . You get the idea.

Another advantage of using the “good music” card is that it keeps me from thinking about genres too much. Not that there is anything wrong with variety in music, but it seems that we spend as much time categorizing music as we do listening to it. The danger with categories is that they become limitative, and after a few years they almost become tired, obsolete, and slightly cumbersome. Nu-metal, anyone? (or was that “bad” to begin with…)

So, back to the original question, and for lack of better words, post-rock seems to be a fitting answer. And there again, you have a category that means nothing and everything at the same time, and that’s why the whole idea of genre bugs me in the first place. Case in point: Battles (and the amazing solo records by Tyondai Braxton). Are they post-rock? are they math-rock? are they contemporary classical? Bartok-core?

I like the idea behind post-rock because I have always tended to focus on the instruments more than the vocals, because the idea of texture and sound is more important to me than the classic song+lyrics format. I like post-rock because I can relate to the use of dynamics throughout long instrumental passages, and I don’t necessarily think that repetition is pointless if it takes me somewhere in the process. I like post-rock because there doesn’t have to be a clear meaning to the music, and instead it is a participative experience for the listener: bring your own feelings.

I like post-rock because I love classical music. i always have.
And i’ve been thinking of collecting a series of pieces that share a strong similarity with instrumental rock music. After all, if reviewers always cite Beethoven as a major influence for Mono, there has to be a reason.
So if you happen to like post-rock as much as I do (or even more, I’m sure), chances are you may like the following episodes…

So every Tuesday from October 27th, let’s take post-rock back in time a bit, shall we?
Stay tuned.