Week in Review: November 6th – November 12th
November 15, 2022Is Thanksgiving Dinner Overrated?
November 28, 2022Saturday was another long and satisfying studio session with the band. We anticipated wrapping up recording and celebrating another gold record with some libations, but it turns out we need to keep the album in the oven for a little while longer if we want that golden crust. The session itself was a sampler – lead vocals, backing/harmonies, gang vocals, acoustic guitar, and a little bit of slide whistle. As all the other band members have said in their recent blog posts, these studio days are a lot of fun. Of course we enjoy hanging out with each other, but why does writing songs and playing instruments provide such satisfaction to us and the listening audience?
I recently read Cormac McCarthy’s latest novel, The Passenger, and was initially left nonplussed. I dug deeper, trying to discern what he was hoping to achieve with the book, and many places pointed me in the direction of an article McCarthy wrote for Nautilus: The Kekulé Problem. This particularly deals with the origin of language and its relation to the unconscious, but an interview with McCarthy shot around the same time he wrote the article raises related questions:
Where did math come from? Did humans invent math or discover it?
Most important of all: where does music come from? Why does one particular grouping of notes make us feel one way – and another grouping of notes makes us hate Nickelback? The band knows the outro section of Down makes me feel like I’m floating on a cloud (like that guy with the fishing pole in Mario Kart), but I haven’t the faintest idea why I feel that way.
Did music precede language? Maybe it was an evolutionary benefit. Soothing sounds to keep babies quiet. Or maybe music is simply a way to attract the opposite sex. The Beatles, New Kids on the Block, Ronin, N’Sync and many other acts make this seem plausible.
I don’t know the answer to any of this. This might be the most insanely idiotic thing you’ve ever read. Just do me a favor and bring this topic up the next time you’re smoking or drinking with your friends so they can call you a moron and get back to discussing fantasy football stratagems. What I do know is I’m proud of what Ronin has achieved with this second album and I’m greatly anticipating the day we get the album to our fans and see how it makes them feel.
– Maas