You might know award-winning critic/journalist Tom Moon from his bestselling book 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die, his contributions to NPR’s All Things Considered or his freelance work in the likes of Rolling Stone, GQ, Blender, Spin and Vibe, but around the MAGNET office, when we think of Moon, we think of the nearly two decades he spent as the music critic of our hometown newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer. When you regularly read a writer’s work for that long, you feel like you really get a sense of who someone is, so we were shocked to find out that Moon is also a musician who just made an album. Into The Ojalá (Frosty Cordial) is credited to Moon Hotel Lounge Project and came out earlier this month. MHLP is an impressive, instrumental, jazz/lounge/Latin-leaning project featuring Moon and six local musicians playing nine Moon-penned tunes as well as a cover of gospel standard “Rock Of Ages.” We are excited to have Moon guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Q&A with him.
Moon: The other day, a bass player friend of mine made a distinction between musicians and everybody else. I didn’t write down the quote exactly, but the thought went something like this: Most “laypeople” (his term) seek music that enhances their self-image and reinforces the way they look at the world. For them, the music they like is part of the code of identity. (They wear their favorite playlist like a badge) Musicians come to music to have their outlooks affirmed, too, but most of the time, they keep going. The musician wants to encounter what he or she doesn’t know.
The difference is curiosity. Fundamental curiosity. What has happened to the curiosity of the casual music consumer? Where did it go? I’d argue that playlist culture, with its emphasis on songs over full albums, has something to do with it. The superhuge database has made listeners feel powerful, to the point of arrogance. It’s our soundtrack and after all; we know best. Why follow an artist through an hour of mostly unfamiliar music, some of it challenging and perhaps “difficult” listening, when we already know best what we like? Encountering something new, especially when it comes to music, can be demanding. It requires patience and humility and receptivity, a willingness to give up the wheel and let somebody else drive. I’m thinking bass players are just hardwired that way.
Video after the jump.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jvl8rs95pU
