Sound and Music

With music, hip hop especially, I’m always trying to hear new sounds and noises incorporated into music. Within the past month I happened to stumble upon Charles Hamilton, an up and coming triple-threat who can rap, sing and produce; somewhat of a rarity now in 2008. I listened to one of his most popular songs “Windows Media Player” and was shocked to hear a beat produced of almost of noises made by a P.C. He included mouse clicks, error noise, and the Windows start up piano to produce a highly creative beat. That’s when I realized that incorporating new sounds into hip hop is something that has been around for a very long time.
If someone asked you what the most famous hip hop sound was, what would you say? Maybe you would say the drum, maybe the high hat, maybe you do not even know a common hip hop sound. For myself, the most famous noise in hip hop would have to be the “scratch.” The scratch is a noise simply made from a record player when the record is being held against the rotation. This noise was incorporated in hip hop music in the late 70’s and has been around ever since.
What continues to strike me is that hip hop can take a noise, a legitimate head shaking annoying noise that most people would cringe if they heard, and incorporated it into their culture. That is what continues to impress me about hip hop music. We can constantly take different things and include them in the music. Because hip hop is founded deeply in electronics, it is possible to take any noise and make it into a beat, just like Charles Hamilton has done with many of his songs. Taking noises from video games and many other fascist of everyday life, he has created his own sound.
This is the problem I hear with mainstream producing and rhyme styles in today’s music. All the producers are using the same kicks, the same snares, the same claps, no one is thinking outside the box anymore. Music is beautiful because it can take any shape, any form, any sound, and today’s hip hop artists simply are not pushing the boundaries like they should be. As a listener, if you tire of hearing the same sounds in today’s music. Set out and look for artists who typically use sounds you enjoy. If you enjoy piano samples, go to YouTube and look for artists who often use piano samples. There are plenty of different sounds out there that are just waiting for you to listen in.
This blog is inspired by sound, by the ability to take different noises and construct them into something amazing. I love sound, so naturally I try to listen to music outside the genre. I recently watched the snowboarding movie That’s it, That’s all and was absolutely amazed by the soundtrack. The music coincides with what’s happening on screen perfectly. Music should transport you to a different world, and much of the music on That’s it, That’s all has the ability to do that. Get out and explore different sounds both inside and outside of hip hop, I’m sure you will be surprised.