Music to get stuff done to
Apparently, I’m too awesome for the Nexus, A.K.A. my school’s magazine, so I can only publish one of two reviews I wrote. This is the one that won’t be published. It’s a sad thing.
I’ve got a bad habit of procrastinating. I’ve been putting off so much stuff for the longest time; I’ve got a speech to write for Mr. Herrera, another for my Sunday school class (yeah, Jews have Sunday school), a project for Mr. Darden to complete, and an intro to revise for my other Nexus article, on The Lonely Island’s new album. I missed a couple of deadlines, and I’ve got a driver’s test to take this Friday, so I’m in a bit of a crunch. On top of all that, I had this review to write, and I’ve been freaking out about all of it.
Lucky for me, Tonight, by Franz Ferdinand makes for tons of productivity, since it’s really not that interesting to listen to. The other two albums I’ve reviewed for Nexus have key lyrics that needed to, interesting beats, and are arranged in a way that also draws attention. The songs on Tonight all sound exactly the same, so none require any individual attention, the lyrics are generic and really don’t seem to be about anything (often a specific phrase catches my attention, only because it’s repeated around 10-15 times as a sort of chorus), and have a tone which doesn’t really qualify as happy nor sad, so whether I’m freaked about inevitably failing the driving laws test again, depressed about my burden of work, or happy about my newly purchased video game (Guitar Hero: World Tour—it’s AMAZING—but that’s another review…), Tonight suits the mood, and doesn’t distract.
If music was meant as pretty noise to be played in the background while mundane activities were carried out, this album would be a total win, a definite 20 out of 10 in my book. Unfortunately, being something of a musician myself, I can’t help but remind the masses that this isn’t music’s purpose in life. Music should make me happy when I’m sad, and once it’s accomplished that, keep me happy as long as necessary, and on that, Tonight fails on every count.
Some people keep ESPN or CNN on all day, to fill the often-distracting silence. I suggest that Franz Ferdinand’s Tonight be used in the same way. But for music to entertain you, or to inspire you…look elsewhere.
One Comment
Yeah,
I felt that way about FF’s first album, the one everyone raved about. So I’m not surprised. I totally agree about music not being ‘background noise’. I can’t do anything serious when good music is on ( I want to pay attention to the music). But it seems like everywhere you go (restaurants, stores, gyms, even on hold on the phone to companies) you are forced to listen to music, albeit usually not very good. If only I could turn that forced listening off. The only way is to wear earplugs, or, as so many people do, portable music players with earbuds. At least the music played on my iPod to drown out the music others are bombarding me with is my choice. And my choice, would never be Franz Ferdinand.