Why Do You Like Music?

The legendary musician Ani DiFranco was asked in an interview with the NPR show “World Café” why she worked with a producer for her 23rd album. Her response surprised me: she wanted to use more “machines” in her music and needed somebody who knew his way around all the available, diverse gear in the studio.

It is remarkable for a 54-year-old artist who needs to prove nothing more, not go back to the roots, to the basics, grab a guitar, and make “real” music again.

In a couple of other interviews, I heard a very different point of view: technology-driven production widens the gap between the artist’s soul and the listener. That is why their heart beats for roots music with straightforward recordings of primarily acoustic instruments.

But then consider the fans of electronic dance music. They deeply feel the music even though it is created mostly synthetically and often not even performed by an artist but played back and modified by a DJ.

The truth is, your eardrums don’t care how the sound waves that hit them were generated. The magic happens through the stories your brain makes up. Don’t forget this the next time somebody says AI makes the “better” music anyway.

The Vermont-based quartet Robber Robber comes with a deep story for us here at glamglare. We first met their songwriters, Nina Cates and Zach James, at SXSW 2015 with their first band The Snaz. They played Trophy Bar on Austin’s 6th Street, packed with spring break revelers partying around a mechanical bull. The stage was in the corner of a backroom, and the young band – the oldest member was 16 then – couldn’t be more out of place. But they played their hearts out and created one of the most memorable SXSW moments. As a side note, the Grammy-nominated rock trio Highly Suspect, played the very same stage a day later.

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The Robber Robber story does not end in the past. Their new record Wild Guess, out tomorrow, is an exciting piece of gritty rock that makes you hopeful for a renaissance of forward-looking guitar, bass, and drum music.

A very different kind of story evolves around a seven-second music piece. If you happened to work on a computer some 28 years ago, you probably are familiar with this sound, and maybe you also feel a wave of nostalgia when listening to it. I did not know that Microsoft commissioned the music from legendary producer and composer Brian Eno and that it helped him to get out of a creative hole.

Nine Photos of A Day in Week Off

Unsurprisingly, since we’ve been a couple for more than a couple of years, Oliver and I both enjoyed similar moments/things during our week off in the city. For example, two of these days, we went out really early, aka before 8 AM, and what awaited us was pure un-populated bliss. We LOVED it! When was the last time YOU saw the South Street Seaport that empty, aka void of people? Enjoy nine early morning moments here, including the Brooklyn Bridge pillar closer to the Brooklyn side, aka the one we don’t see from our terrace.