Musical musings, Part Three

Less is more. Really, less is more.

In today's world of music, it seems that plenty of CDs have way too much information. Sure, some of it might be awesome, downright outstanding. On the other hand, some of it is pure dreck we just can't stand. Some folks take their track list way past breaking point...21 or 22 tracks tops (including that occasional interlude thrown in now & again). If that's not overkill, what is? I don't know but the motto "all killer no filler" is a motto which seems to be reserved for the musical elite, the chosen few who not only boast great musicianship but with it great songcraft, great telepathy with one another, etc. And CDs which boast half great tunes, half crappy tunes have become the norm these days...Houston, we've definitely got a problem.

Thank heavens there are those chosen few who love to keep things simplified, that is to say, keeping their albums to a bare minimum of 10 songs. Some choose to do 8, 9, 11...nothing wrong with that either. Sure, in the world of prog, jazz, ambient, IDM, artists can do 7-10 tunes worth of music that runs from 40-70 minutes duration; the main objective here (as in the genres I just mentioned) is keeping things cohesive, coherent, connected directly to one another. To do more than enough, stuff beyond your reach is not just trying too hard or forcing your hand to make a grand statement. It's also creative overkill at its worst (if not just repeating the same formulaic approach over & over again).

Good enough reason to bring back the motto "All Killer No Filler." Two of my favorite groups ever, The Sea and Cake & Steely Dan, know the routine of keeping things simple, keeping things honest as well as keeping the musical flow around them running smoothly (along with living up to a pretty relevant motto). In fact, some of my favorite albums all-time were done by both of these groups & here they are:

The Sea and Cake - The Biz, Oui, One Bedroom, Everybody
Steely Dan - pretty much all of their discography but Katy Lied gets dibs!!

For those who are finally realizing the value of Thoreau's quote, "Simplfy, simplify," they got it right. Or no, should I say, they're getting back to musical basics: making albums which are not only full of outstanding songs but also are kept to the minimal proverbial of 10 tracks on the average. And for folks who feel that too much information is just wrong, that return to keeping things simple spells relief, a much-needed breath of fresh air that the arena of popular music so desperately needs.