Live Concerts Change How We Hear Studio Recordings

Slightly Geeky, I Know, But Radiohead Makes Up For It
Well, since I'm at OSCON this week, the open source software convention, I think it makes sense that I post a slightly geeky music-related post. In my day job, I'm a software developer that specializes in user interfaces. (Again, I haven't had time to really work my magic here on HickoryWind, more on that soon, I promise.)

One of my favorite bloggers about designing for users is Kathy Sierra, author of the wonderful Creating Passionate Users, and she gave a keynote here at OSCON Tuesday night. Her emphasis in general is improving a user's experience -- of software, web sites, books, or other consumer products -- into what she calls a high-res user experience. Think of this like how some Apple geeks love their Macs and iPods, or how Harley-Davidson folks live and breath their motorcycles. Not all products can inspire such love, but you can move towards that by giving the user something that will impact his or her life.

During her keynote speech, Kathy mentioned a post she wrote about how listening to Radiohead at Bonnaroo made her daughter "hear" the music differently, increasing her affection for the band greatly and in general improving her "user experience" of Radiohead. (Still with me?) Her daughter had been a mediocre fan of Radiohead before, but once she heard them live, experienced that outpouring of musical magic, she became a gigantic fan.

Live Music Changes You
This is a phenomenon that everyone here is probably pretty familiar with. I can't count the number of times that a song that I thought was merely "okay" took a much greater effect on me after hearing it live -- the Avett Brothers' "At The Beach" and Scott Miller's "The Way" are two recent examples. However, I also have another more apropos example since I was there at the Bonnaroo concerts that Kathy wrote about.

At Bonnaroo, just before Radiohead, I heard Beck sing a gorgeous acoustic version of the Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize," and it completely rewrote that song in my head. I liked it a lot before, but now when I hear it, I hear Beck singing it, and I love it. His read on the song was more tender and soft, emphasizing the heartfelt love of the song, something that can be glossed over in the over-the-top (but groovy!) production of the Flaming Lips. His gruff and whiskey-thick voice really brought out the emotions, and his simple acoustic guitar was all the accompaniment it needed.

Hearing Beck sing this cover song touched me in several ways. For one, this song now makes more sense to me, and two, I now have a positive memory that ties the two versions of the song together and to a happy time of my own.

What's Going On Here?
So why does this occur? Maybe you haven't had to think about it, even if it has happened in your life. We don't think too much about it because it just happens. But why does it happen? I'm curious.

I think what's really happening here goes back to what this website is all about -- music changing people by giving them a place in the world and its history. A concert is a point in time when you're connecting with the artist, with the crowd, with your friends and neighbors. (And don't underestimate the alcohol.) But behind all that is the context of your life -- tradition, history, family, and society are the background of the live music culture.

So wait, what? I'm telling you that this story of this young girl at a Radiohead concert (a damn good one, by the way, check out my Bonnaroo post) is a story about family and tradition? I guarantee you that while I was at Bonnaroo, I saw nary any family nor tradition.

No, what I'm telling you is that this becomes her history. It enters who she is and becomes a part of her. From now on, whenever she hears Radiohead, it will invoke the excitement and joy of being in a field of thousands of people, young people, mostly like her -- her generation, her culture -- and she will relive that experience. Every time she hears those songs, she will be reminded of where she was and who she was at that point in time.

Note that this isn't necessarily a conscious memory on her part, it can be just a subconscious feeling, making her happy and she's not sure why. That is a powerful sense of being, and that is addictive. That connection high will make you "hear the music differently."

When she moves on in her life, going to other concerts, finding other artists, living her life, creating a family, then all of this becomes legend. To her children and grandchildren it becomes that "ancient mystical time when Mom was a kid and saw a band at a huge festival." It becomes part of the mythos of their family. It becomes their culture.

So what does music do to create a "high-res user experience?" It defines us at a point in time, and then it consistently and powerfully reminds us of ourselves.

How Do We Go Further?
At this point most of you should be nodding your head, thinking of some song or artist that really changed in your opinion, where you really started "getting it," because of how it invoked your feelings at that point and spoke to where you were in your life. I think most of us crave this experience, and that is why we spend time going to shows and (like me) furiously growing, organizing, and cataloguing our music collections.

But what else? What if you're at this point, but the music drug is no longer giving you the same high, where do you go? How do you score again, like you used to, once a "tolerance" has built up? (I love talking like a pimp dealer.) The answer is simple.

Pick up a musical instrument. Play with other people.

The next step in connecting with music is to connect to it at the nuts and bolts level -- as in, playing it yourself. And then the next step, the very best you can ever hope for, is to connect to the larger context of music by getting in a jam, joining a band, playing guitar with your Dad, singing songs with your kids, getting music in your life every week, every day. If you think listening to a song gels it into your life, trying singing that song with friends. That give and take of building something with other people will get you inside a song, giving you a new source for high-res memories, more than anything else. Try living those song lyrics, feeling the music, sharing it with other people, and then get back to me.

(Cause only the first hit is free, beyotch.)