Paperhouse: On Variety

Monday, February 6th, 2012 // Paperhouse

Around this time last year, Mirko Azis and I explained in this very column why minimal music is the richest, most compelling form of music. If you read the article, I’m sure you were convinced that we were, in fact, correct, and thus immediately made Gestalt psychology the primary force in your life. For this, dear reader, I raise my glass to you in congratulations.

A year later, I’m here to tell you that while minimal music is the pinnacle of clear, succinct, and meticulously crafted music, there are other types of music that I enjoy.

As a society, we often forget the importance of a little variety in our lives. It changes our routines. It adds that extra element of surprise and wonder. And, most importantly, it’s not perfectly minimal. There are so many wonderfully fantastic things out there, so why should we discard everything but the essential? My writing partner from last year may not agree entirely, but I’m here to tell you that there is no good reason why you only need to listen to one or two types of music.

Have you ever heard the sounds of the ever-so-free jazz composer Sun Ra or the American blues shouter music of Wynonie Harris? How about the rhymes of the lyrically talented hip-hop group Jurassic 5?

My point is simple: Regardless of genre, there are so many great artists and musicians out there to discover.

Fortunately, WRCT makes it easy for you. From Feb. 10 at noon until Feb. 12 at midnight, WRCT will broadcast half-hour segments of music, each dedicated to one particular artist or band. In addition to this, I highly recommend looking into websites like last.fm that track all of the music you consume and allow you to see what your friends are listening to. I sometimes spend hours listening to my friend’s libraries and, through this, my obsession with minimal music is slowly dwindling.