Feb 25
Protestors across America, here’s your new chant (in 2/4 time): “Fuck ‘Ice’ / Do I have to say it twice? / No one wants you here / So, fuck
seen from Malaysia
seen from Czechia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Czechia
seen from China
seen from Denmark
seen from Germany
seen from France
seen from Spain
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Romania
seen from China
seen from Czechia
seen from United States
seen from United States
Protestors across America, here’s your new chant (in 2/4 time): “Fuck ‘Ice’ / Do I have to say it twice? / No one wants you here / So, fuck
Today we’d like to introduce you to BK of BK & the Understanding. Hi BK, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into que
Fresh article out for the holiday!
BK here to say that autotune and quantization castrated rock music. I cannot stand the production of today’s "rock music," and a great example is a long time favorite band of mine, Weezer. I was listening to the seasons EPs today, and I hate the production so much that I couldn’t finish. It was so damn unpalatable. And this isn’t new to Weezer. This has been an ongoing problem with their music since Make Believe (they may have auto-tuned the Green Album too, possibly Maladroit, but with Maladroit, it is not so much so as to ruin the album for me). There have been only exceptions since Maladroit in which I genuinely like the whole album: the Red Album (no, I am not kidding—it is a fun album), Everything Will Be Alright in the End, OK Human, and almost the White Album (there are some songs that really get on my nerves on White though, mostly due to production).
Here is the dilemma with rock music (over)quantizing and autotuning/pitch-correcting every little flaw—it is no longer rock. It loses the humanity, which is full of imperfections and never fully in perfect pitch. It takes away the excitement and uniqueness of the art too, making it disposable. It is no less pop music than the latest Taylor Swift or latest boy-band music. It is computerized, cold, and too perfect in the worst ways. It is bland.
Here are bands that have been doing it right since the introduction of perfect quantization and autotune: Nada Surf, Ben Kweller, Iron & Wine, Guided by Voices, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Wilco, MuteMath, and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. There are more, but those are some of my favorites who if autotune and quantization is used, it is indeed almost undetectable. Examples of bands who ruin their music with over-quantization and pitch-correction, such as autotune: Weezer, the Killers, Coldplay, Chris Cornell’s solo work (yes, even Higher Truth, which is a great album; I just cannot stand hearing the pitch-corrections on his voice and am unable to enjoy the album as a whole because of it).
I have two friends who I am forever indebted to for their contributions to BK & the Understanding who strongly disagree with me and are unable to understand my perspective and argue with me about it every time I mention it. One of them I wrote this to tonight in response to his argument that forms of pitch correction existed prior to autotune being released in 1996 and claiming that it is not even noticeable in most music we listen to:
"I can tell. It bothers me. Humans do not sing perfectly in pitch, instruments are never entirely in perfect pitch, and even if they are, we do not always nail perfection. I hate it. Like, it ruins the listening experience for me. Exceptions are electronic and pop music basically. But rock, blues, country, folk—it ruins it generally. Here is a recent exception for me though, I will admit: Iron & Wine’s Beast Epic (2017). I imagine autotune was used in the manner you are describing, and if so, it is, as you say just nudges, so that it is in fact not noticeable enough to ruin the music for me. However, I am only presuming some kind of pitch correction is used. I would love to learn it was deemed unnecessary and be wrong. That album is fantastic, regardless of if pitch correction was used. But, shit like Weezer’s seasons EPs sound awful, and one of the things I can point to is the pitch correction. It ruins it. That is also what ruins a lot of metal that people recommend to me today. The production ruins the music, the art; especially the pitch-perfect vocals."
This friend loves progressive metal that is released today and always recommends albums to me, and I just cannot get into them because of the production—everything sounds perfect and superficial, and I cannot appreciate the musicianship when there are no imperfections pointing to real musicianship.
And for me, there are spiritual/life lessons to be garnered here. Life is not perfect. We are not perfect. Circumstances are never truly perfect, and when they seem to be, it is only temporary. We must embrace the imperfections and sufferings of life and not obsess over forcing them, unnaturally, into our perceptions of perfection, our perceptions also being imperfect by the way. This is why I hate subdivisions that manufacture suburbs and sell my fellow Americans their "dream homes." They are bland, boring, unnatural, and create delusional people, people incapable of dealing with reality. They are superficial. I could never be happy in such a place and state of being. I want flavor snd excitement on my palate. Bold colors that depict the grandeur of an imperfect existence, a balance of the stages of vitality and decrepitness.
Likewise, I want the rawness of humanity captured in the audio recordings I listen to—do not manufacture superficial noise! I cannot consume it! Give me humanity, or nothing at all!
And there is my rant. I hope you can relate to it too. Let’s bring rock back! Let’s make autotune and over-quantization unacceptable in rock music! Let’s say no to AI-art and support one another instead! Let’s stop giving everything we have to the (digital-)dragons of the age!
Rant complete. Much love to you, friends.
Salom,
BK
2023-01-10
Happy holidays and merry Christmas to yours and you!
Here is an old performance of BK playing a favorite Christmas song of his, "Wishlist" by Pearl Jam at a "church’s" Christmas banquet in 2011. Back then, BK was actually a church musician.
Getting a bit personal, the place that this was filmed BK would go on to leave due to realizing it was a cult, and upon departing, all of the friends seen on stage with him and that can be heard in the audience shunned him for quietly 'breaking fellowship.'
PSA: Always listen to your spirit, your intuition, and trust the vibes. Vibes and intuition are there to protect you and lead you on the right path. And for people of faith, remember, churches are not 'the Body,' you are. Do not let religion rob you of your salvation as Jesus might say.
Stay safe out there! (And do not go anywhere near the "church" where this video was recorded or its people). Happy holidays!
(This video was filmed by BK’s beloved friend, who also left this place and has not shunned BK, Peejay McNeil, and it features BK’s original drummer on drums.)
D. Thomas Productions shot, filmed, and produced the music video for "Naylor-Irby | Game-Love" (Basal Keystones) in collaboration with BK. Starring in the music video is the real couple for whom the song was written for and about, Ms. Rhonda Naylor-Irby and Mike Irby. D. Thomas did an excellent job directing, filming, and editing this music video, and we hope to work with him again in the near future. Also making an appearance along with BK is Cheyanne Mayo, who contributed vocals. Audience members are the friends and family of the Naylor-Irbys and BK. This was filmed, with permission from Granbury ISD, at Acton Middle School’s and Granbury High School’s tennis courts in Acton and Granbury, Texas. Footage that BK also shot of Lake Granbury was used as well.