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| Like Bands through the hourglass.... |
Miller is best known for his work in the pop group Game Theory. I always liked what he did. Anybody who has even heard a few of his songs knows that he knew how to concoct a infectiously catchy pop song, while not falling into a formulaic rut. But what I find most interesting is his singing, the way he phrased lyrics, always striving to find a new and interesting way to express himself, in some ways reminding me of a great jazz soloist. I mean, you can recreate a jazz or pop song, but you can't really recreate unique performers--and if you try, it's really no longer unique.
Unfortunately, as far as I know all Game Theory recordings are long out of print and pricey--if you see something by the band at a reasonable price, don't wait around. He also made a number of discs as the Loud Family, which seem to be readily available, if not in print.
But I have to say that I enjoyed Music What Happened? immensely. For me, the book is not a like a conventional book about music at all, but more resembling an interactive conversation with a knowledgeable, quite enthusiastic music fan, who also happens to be in the music biz. I know that this sounds creepy, but due to the vibe of the book (I mean his candor, and his generous sharing of his musical worldview with the public), I have to keep pinching myself to remind me that he isn't some long-lost buddy of mine. I won't say that I am in alignment 100% with his musical tastes, but I have to say that for the most part we are in agreement, even at times to the degree that I feel the thing when you and your friend, or girlfriend say the same thought at the same time. And if Scott Miller is raving about an album I don't know about, I want to hear it. And if he spends a fair enough time evaluating artist or band I am lukewarm about, maybe I respect his opinions enough so that I should listen again with fresh ears.
Basically, this book is a chronological collection of mix-tapes, with pithy, revelatory, thoughtful, sometimes hilarious annotations. The chapters begin with 1957 and end in 2011. Most of the songs are Pop songs, Rock songs, RnB, Soul, and some Rap. In the preface of the book he basically explains what he is doing. If someone did a book like this and just made mixtapes based on very narrow personal interests, the book would not be worth looking at. But in a very clever way he blends in songs that he likes (sometimes songs that have fallen through the cracks or are under appreciated) with big classic songs or songs that were emblematic of what was going on in music each year. Songs that made 1985 different from 1987, whether it be a new breakout talent, or the introduction of some new form of recording technology. And it probably was a bit of a challenge to limit the songs to the length of a mixtape. But I think that if he merely made up mixtapes in the 80's loaded with dBs and Let's Active he would have felt he was going the whole process a disservice.
The fact that Scott Miller was a musician and produced and engineered other peoples albums and therefore a person knowledgeable about the music business in general adds other dimensions to this project. It is very interesting to read the annotations when he breaks down a songs structure, or talks about the hit on the snare on the third beat in another song. Or musical trends, like DX7 synth and drum machine sounds, big studio recording excess, or the return to prominence of the guitar in the 90's.
One of the touchstones behind his musical evaluations, is How does this song make you feel?, an aspect of music that is surprisingly absent from a lot of music criticism. What does the music do to you at a most personal level? And I think that he is successful at communicating the emotional/intellectual power that music can convey. Some songs are included in the book because they were important to him when he was 10 years old, not because there is anything inherently more interesting about them than any dozen or two other songs that were released the same year. So often you see people responding to critics best-of music lists with crazed rage and personal attacks. "How could you possibly ignore this record!!!", as though there was a real and final answer to this question, which is really all conjecture. As though someone could also actually listen to all the new releases that come out each year! I would advise you to go with the flow, check out Van Duren, or Julian Cope, Kanye, Arthur Alexander or Shearwater. "You never know until you try", a great philosopher once said.
Part of the fun of course, was the corroboration of songs with my tastes, sometimes surprisingly. I don't want to give away to much, but I didn't expect to see Squirrel Bait here. Of course you know the Beatles are heavily represented, but it was great to see him come up with great music that really needs to be better appreciated, while giving a reasonable representation of different eras.
But there were some moments when he really struck a nerve for me, like when he made reference (I can't recall exactly where) to the la-la-la's in the verse section of The Beatles classic "You Won't See Me".
Or this quote about the Chills from 1985.
Heavenly Pop Hit is simply magical in its freshness and luminosity. "I stand and the sound goes straight through my body/I'm so bloated up happy I could throw thing around me", is so peculiar a choice of words that it could only be the truth.
And that my friends, could be a manifesto for what this wonderful book represents. I'm very grateful that Scott Miller was willing to share his thoughts with us. If you are a fan of pop music, you really need to pick up a copy of this!
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