Music Without Video

[erineclipse]

Music without video. The question we must ask ourselves...is music without video lonely?

[Calum]

here's a quote:

"If you're in a room and a record is playing and the window is open and there's some breeze and a curtain is blow- ing, that's sufficient, it seems to me, to produce a theatrical experience.”

Do you close your eyes when you go to a concert? If so do you visualise whilst listening?

I'm doing an essay right now on how the engagement of both the eye and the ear in music and theatre, so this counts as work.

Me personally, I would say it depends on the video. But by stating that music is lonely without a video, you suggest that there is an essential pure ultimate state which all music must strive to which is this audiovisual coupling? Do you believe that music is "made to be" with video?

I may be more visually stimulated by the performers on stage, what is behind my eye, my computer screen as I listen on itunes, a music video (though i think it's a seriously untapped and boring as well medium - performance videos or weird vague narratives - the video never really interacts with any of the songs meanings). Any of the listed. Obviously I look for what visually has some kind of critical intent or is in some way attempting to engage with me but staring out of the window with your ipod on may and often is far more visually satisfying/engaging than most music videos.

Uh, that could be more succinct or thought out but i'm tired...

what are your thoughts?

[erineclipse]

well it depends on the song for me. a lot of music has to have a music video behind it to be entertaining, for example some modern music is boring without a video. some instrumentals need an active story too. But, there are some instrumentals where i can just lay back and listen. i guess some songs tell a story, and others rely on a story to tell the song.

[Calum]

well it depends on the song for me. a lot of music has to have a music video behind it to be entertaining, for example some modern music is boring without a video. some instrumentals need an active story too. But, there are some instrumentals where i can just lay back and listen. i guess some songs tell a story, and others rely on a story to tell the song.

Hmm, you see what i was trying to say is that we are always visually engaged. If you need entertaining - or one might say "distracting" - then perhaps you don't enjoy the music.

Music written specifically for a video, probably after the video was made, is different and excusable. By saying that 'some instrumentals need an active story' you suggest that someone has written this boring instrumental music which needs some kind of visual entertainment to make it bare-able! Would the case not be that the composer/or whoever wrote the music because they are aware that images need "room to breathe". Rather than it being the case that boring music needs images to make it acceptable, is it not the case that the images need music that will not distract from their function?

If there is any music which has been written to be played on its own but is only "good" when it is accompanied by a video, then perhaps this music is just plain boring! I don't know of many songs which fall into this category and if i do, i quickly forget about them cos they are BORING!

As zircon said on another thread, this isn't really the right place for this topic... i would love for someone to move this topic to the relevant place - off-topic or something - if that's possible as i think this is an interesting thread!