One of these things, is not like the other. One of these things is not the same. That’s part of the lyrics to a song for Sesame Street where mini kids are taught to recognize things that are the same or not. Funny how little lessons learned like that can be so easily overlooked once you hit cognitive reasoning.
It struck me last night as I was having a chat with a friend in my studio. She was over working on some stuff for a student movie. Of course using a powerful Mac Pro 8-core compared to a first generation Macbook Pro 15″ lappy is considerably different. Not so much that you can’t accomplish great things with the lappy. Rather it’s the ease of use factor. The Mac Pro doesn’t choke nearly as hard as track counts go up and effects are added into the mix. Thus it makes creating, producing and mixing music and film scores a hell of a lot easier and allows for more time to be devoted to the music.
She was lamenting her financial situation, as a lot of people are, and wondering if she ought to at least pick up an iMac. In the discussion it was revealed that she knows it is a needed expenditure and she can justify it. All because it goes toward taking herself and her career seriously. To that end I backed up her theory with examples of my own.
It’s not so much that we’re different. It’s actually scary how much we’re alike in cognitive processes. Obvious difference being she’s female, I’m male. It’s what I would call kindred soul or maybe even soul mate if I believed there was such a thing. Though there are a few things that would negate that if I did believe it. Namely in the arena of self and sex – but that type of thing can always change.
So to follow in the footsteps of the Sesame Street idea, I’ve picked P Gutta for today’s choice. If you listen to his CD you’ll find that most of the music is very much hip hop and rap. However, this song Life Is So Strange is not like the others. Of course he’s spitting out lines like a rapper would over the top of a track but the vibe of the song and the track itself really doesn’t feel so much like hip hop or rap to me.
It could be due to the more jazzy nature of the piano and the rhythm. I do like the groove that’s laid down by the drums and percussion. It’s got a smooth movement to it. The kind of groove that’s got me gently swaying back and forth as my head leads the sway. On occasion I do get pulled out of that groove when the piano loop cuts out, but that’s secondary. Though I would say that if I were producing it, it wouldn’t do that.
The reason as to why I’m fingering the difference – that the song feels more driven by melody and the harmony of things. That’s certainly different from how most hip hop and rap is driven. This is not a bad thing. In fact I can think of other artists of the genre who have had big crossover hits who fit this mold. The mold of being more than spitting words over a beat and ignoring melody and harmony. It’s a cool twist. How funny is it that the title is what it is?
I will recommend this track for sure. Explore the rest of the disc if you can roll with a more underground hip hop flavor.