The Tease

So its another one about dj's. Sue me.

There's a Calvin Harris track (who would be recognized recently for some work with Rhianna) that my boyfriend spins a lot, called Bounce.

It has all the makings of a successful track, especially for it's catchy melody and its simplicity. But by far its most resonant quality is that the sample piece for it is so easy to tease with.

He gestures to me, waving his arms about like a giant puppet, and explains how he would dabble with this hook while he playe dother tracks, syncing up different cds on the same deck while he looped this one bit on the same one. I recall a day when he tells me he dreams one ay of a third deck so he could employ such msterful techniques without the ridiculous machine-hogging that one track would take.

A few weeks ago I nodded along enthusiastically, with mostly admiration for his passion, and maybe a touch of comprehension. Today I really do get it. I suppose this is a product of love. The same thing happens when my dad plays music.

When he plays Bobcaygeon, a classic T-Hip tune that is known now more as one of the songs I play,
he adds in a particular musical riff that I might use more sparingly, the way an old soul songstress would employ a run. But he uses it several times in his rendition. A more neurotic musician such as myself might want to save this bit for one spot in the performance. But my dad would sing it as he felt it, charming his audience all the way, perhaps overusing it. And they'd eat it up every time. It makes me envy his aloof ability for showmanship, because its organic and unrelated to his listener's reactions. Mine is a more apprehensive approach. It might be that his doesn't account for the fast-changing styles of today or the higher cailber of music trivia knowledge, but those things don't make the musician.

I can only dream that one day the small sample teaser piece of a melody will invoke the same aroused excitement as when my boyfriend spins a couple notes in a few tracks before he lets you really have the goods. Or my dad sings the same melody a few times to a few friends back-lit by flames and bathing in his soul. He could sing them into eternity and they would never regret a moment of that ending.

So new goal as musician is to reach some level akin to these two men. Unlikely, but a helluva ride it will be.