Adele’s “21″: Dude, I Love This Record.

My favorite album right now is “21″ by Adele. I haven’t been this excited about an album in a long while. What I love most about it is that it’s all about the music. You hear about it long before you see it or discover it wearing meat at an awards ceremony. It’s simply great music, and no one cares what the artist looks like. I put my mother on to it, and she became an instant fan. In fact, she thought Adele was black and from Texas for a good hour before she realized. It didn’t take 12 listens for it to grow on her. She listened to “Someone Like You” once and replayed it 3 consecutive times after, trying to sing all the words (incorrectly, of course–see clip below). Point is, the music is the center attraction, and it is instantaneously captivating to the average listener.

This reminded me of why I’m a music producer, and reinvigorated my desire to be a true artist in the digital age. I love creating music that speaks to people and moves them to action. I love creating music that reaches across generations. I love creating music that makes people feel something special, something worth passing down to their kids…something that isn’t fleeting. I love writing lyrics that people actually listen to, internalize, and live. I love writing songs that people can relate to.

“21″ is certainly the blueprint for commercial success in the 21st century. I gather some of its major claims are:

1. tell the truth,
2. make music that tells great stories,
3. strong melodies=strong hits,
4. synths and too many synthetic sounds…who needs ‘em? less is more, and finally
5. craft all the aforementioned elements around a powerful vocalist…like Adele. It’s truly all about the artists. They’re the stars.

Just some minor observations.

Tampons: Apparently, They’re Useful in the Recording Studio

On Saturday, June 4, 2011

‘I want to play slide guitar on a track like Robert Johnson.’ This is what I thought while in the studio with friend and artist FerimaFaye. We were wrapping up production on “Please Don’t Cry,” one of the records on Ferima’s forthcoming debut EP. The song sounded alright, but I figured a little slide guitar would give it the edge needed to take it over the top before printing the mix. I immediately started trying to figure out how I would track slide without a guitar slide. Guitar Center was closed, and I figured that there was no reason to spend money anyway.

I could already hear it on the track, the cadence, the tone. I mentioned my dilemma to Ferima, and she replied, “Can’t you just make one?” I instantly began surveying my house looking for anything I could use to make a makeshift slide. I smiled a bit to myself because the process brought back fond memories from my youth. I would use my mother’s smooth, plastic hair rollers to play slide as  a highschooler.

Ferima suggested using a cardboard toilet paper roll. I rushed to the bathroom, pulled the excess paper off the remaining roll, and started sizing it to my finger. “It’s too big for my finger,” I relayed to her. She agreed to resize it using some scissors and scotch tape. The finished product actually worked well and produced a pretty cool sound as it ran along the neck of my acoustic Fender. However, I knew we could do better. I wanted to achieve a sound akin to my mother’s old rollers. I wanted something plastic not cardboard.

Then, Ferima exclaimed, “That looks like a Tampax applicator!” A light bulb went off in my head. I ran back to the bathroom, looked in the cabinet under the sink, and pulled out exactly what I needed: a Kotex tampon! I opened the packaging and dissembled the tampon, separating the cotton from the two-part plastic applicator. Then, I slid the applicator onto my finger; I ran back to my guitar and started playing it. It created a great sound, so we started tracking. I close-miked my guitar and began recording.

The Artist Producer Divide: Deconstructing Traditional Role Assignments in Project Recording Environments

My work schedule is a bit unnatural so sometimes I will be in the middle of a mix project and fall asleep at the desk. Yesterday, I was finishing mixing and editing for Ferima Faye’s Faye Chronicles, and I began fading fast. While printing a first draft of the mix, I skated over to the couch and fell into one of my traditional semi-comas (Also referred to as the “I’m Just Resting My Eyes” Syndrome)

After the initial track was mixed down, Ferima wanted to continue editing the last bit of the song with revisions that she wanted to hear. Hardly coherent, I challenged her to make the edits herself and fell back to sleep. I knew she would struggle, but I figured that’s it’s in the best interests of all artists to know how to Do-It-Yourself.

Theories

-One-room recording environments challenge traditional power dynamics in production spaces and change power dynamics in the studio.

-The Gendered Studio: Yes She Can Do It Herself

-Waiting for No One: Technological Knowhow From the Emerging Artist-Producer Underclass