Any instrument can be used to generate a corny pop tune, but the synthesizer has been the most notorious criminal. Until recently, it has been difficult for me to enjoy Electronica or any genre that scoped its sound around the synthesizer. Maybe I was not progressive enough, but the sound seemed unnatural and programmed. Electronica or New Age was a genre of music that seemed it would not stand the test of time and wilt away. Much like the disco, it would be considered a fad that didn’t mean much in the long run. Well, I was wrong. There is something coming out of pop music in this generation and these exploratory ideas are being driven hard by an instrument that does well to imitate as well as create new landscapes of sound.
After experimental uses by various groups in the 1970s and 80s (Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, Devo), the synthesizer will forever be connected to the cheese and excess of the 1980s (Here is a prime example of synth junk). The excess of the 80s certainly had a profound effect on the overall view of the instrument and pop music in general. The flagrant use of the synthesizer can wipe the legitimacy of a song away. In Jazz Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis tarnished themselves in the plastic world of synthesized sound during the 80s. The sound just felt unnecessary and I can never take Herbie seriously when he is onstage with a Keytar or a Guitboard, whichever you prefer. (I had to fit this in somewhere) In Rock there are songs that would feel more appropriately presented without the synth being featured, Rush's "Tom Sawyer" for example. The synth riff toward the end of "Tom Sawyer" is cool but it makes the song sound corny. On the flip side, I would be lying if I said I didn't like songs with the synth as a major participant. This is because some songs are so cheesy that I don't know if I would like it as much without the thing cutting catchy melodies over ridiculous lyrics. I think of Van Halen's Jump, Toto's Africa and anything by Lionel Ritchie. But I digress…
This generalist view has turned me away from getting really into Radiohead, Daft Punk, or Gavin Castleton. I basically shunned Electronica as a whole because of one instrument. Never accepting it as a vital part of an entire album, it often left me wanting more because the feel was robotic and lifeless. On the other hand, Pink Floyd used the synth in ways to create weird soundscapes that made their music outer worldly, but it was still tasteful and did great justice to Roger Waters' lyrical topics. Pink Floyd used the synthesizer to push it's already left of center sound even further, but it was the songwriting and mystique of the group that withstands the test of time. It wasn't until this last year when I heard Radiohead's In Rainbows and witnessed their incredible live show that my mind was blown open to the possibilities of full blown synth usage. There are parts of that album that turn the hair on my neck up and leave me sitting absolutely still waiting for the next passage of tone. It may be Thom Yorke’s voice that stands out, but the arrangements and aura of sound behind him play a vital role. Their live show made me truly reconsider the synth heavy work I had once shied away from. For the first time I saw Electronica as powerful and soulful as R&B. This has turned me onto MGMT, Bjork, and Asleep in a Box who use the synth as a main ingredient with a heavy dose of soul in their writing style.
So, is it life imitating art or art imitating life? This is the age of computer technology and most human interaction is now based around computers. Before the digital/synth sound seemed to have a place only in the distant future, just as robots or flying cars, but now it fits as a perfect backdrop to the music of today. We may have finally harnessed the possibilities and are now seeing the full potential on the horizon. The instrument is able to recreate familiar sounds and drive them into something that seems vastly different. There is a new brand sound of music that is beginning to make a legitimate name for itself. Some call it indie or electronica, I like to think of it as left of center pop that captures your imagination and emotions at the same time. Needless to say, this could prove to be a very powerful time in music history.
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