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WALK WITH ME
8/13/2023
BY: IAN SHERRY
Walk with me for a moment. Or rather, jump, with me, into a world where music is nonverbal. There are no vocals. Conversations discussing the greatest musicians of all time don’t include Prince or Aretha Franklin. Instead they focus on the giants of the ‘classical’ music era or the pioneers of Jazz. Genres like rock and roll or hip hop, genres which rely on a balance between instrumental and vocal rhythm, don’t exist. At least they don’t exist as we know them. Celine Dion works at a coffee shop, Marvin Gaye has recently taken a step back from his lengthy yet local career as an activist for civil liberties in the greater Washington D.C. area. You’ve never heard of Elvis Presley and you don’t need to have an opinion on him. Rodriguez was able to retire just a few years earlier from his factory job on Detroit’s west side and Marshall Mathers’ relationship with his mother withered to an uneventful conclusion at the hands of bitter yet mild-mannered and mutual avoidance.
I could go on.
You love music, as you should. It may be at the center of your life. You might listen to it every night with your family over dinner, or as you work through your days. Maybe it puts you to sleep every night or wakes you every morning. It might perfectly encapsulate a feeling you can’t otherwise explain, or make you feel ways nothing else does. You might even go as far as to say it's the most important thing in your life, that if you couldn’t hear you couldn’t go on. And that may be true. But even then, you would have no idea what you’re missing.
It’s a crazy thought right? Vocals are an intrinsic part of what we know as music. Not all of it, but at this point, to me, it’s more noticeable when a track doesn’t have vocals than the reverse.
There’s no point in attempting to pinpoint the invention of ‘singing’ as we know it. Instead, I offer the assumption that it can be traced back to before the human race reached its current genetic resting place. It’s inseparable from the human experience. Lyrics are responsible for the basis of much of the world’s shared culture, and the entirety of old-school educators’ beloved Classics Department. (I’m a fan too, don't get me wrong). Lyrics are not only a musical luxury, they are a mankind essential. They tell stories, plural. They have their own message (ideally), but beneath that they tell the story of whichever world and worldview birthed them. Whether it be a world of political turmoil, a world of prosperity, a world of famine or economic depression, a world of emotional depression, or a world seen through the eyes of love. This world is delivered through the filtered consciousness of the writer on paper, then again through the voice of the performer. Whether it be the same person or not, there are several stops on the road to the audience’s ears, but all trace back to their perception. Their point of view.
Instrumental arrangements can deliver excitement, composure, emotion, and countless other equally important feelings. But, one thing they simply cannot deliver is a point of view. This makes the most important job of the vocalist to deliver that exactly. A point of view. Otherwise, you’re doing nothing a powerful bassline or horn solo couldn’t deliver in its own right. Otherwise your voice is no more than an instrument, one with organic flaws and inconsistencies that Robert Cray’s guitar and Dizzy Gillespie’s trumpet don’t possess. Those flaws are less justifiable when the innately human component, that is perspective, is absent.
This brings me to my daily union-supplied diss: Mac DeMarco. Believe it or not, I value my time on God’s greenish Earth, yet I still decided to listen to 9 hours and 30 minutes of Mac DeMarco. I did so with the intent of writing a review on his lengthy 2023 album, but a day later I was so severely mentally and emotionally beaten I withdrew in an attempt to salvage faith in mankind. Could I have written a lengthy Applebee’s Yelp-style review? Yes. Could I turn this into that in an instant? Yes. But, because this is a sort of love letter to music, like that text you send your friend at 3:00 that is unintentionally received as concerning instead of wholesome, I’ll be prompt. Mac DeMarco barely says words, and when he does, they add nothing lyrically and little to nothing rhythmically. It’s neither helpful nor welcome in my book. No thank you Mac.
However, it does make me appreciate real vocalists. Take D’Angelo, and I’m thinking Voodoo specifically. His best album, in my opinion, might as well be an instructional manual for what Mac DeMarco attempted to assemble without unboxing the directions. In the year 2000, aided by Questlove on Drums and a long list of heavy-hitting studio artists across hip hop, jazz, and r&B, D’Angelo headed the production for his brand new atypical r&b sound. Voodoo focuses almost exclusively on finding and holding grooves. Much of the time, the vocals come across as a sonic afterthought, there to decorate the sound. (“Untitled (How Does It Feel)” is the exception). However, the lyrics don’t get a break just because they aren’t at the musical forefront. There is no better example than “Devil’s Pie” which I believe to be one of the best songs of this young century. Instead of attempting to go in depth at the risk of failing to do D’Angelo justice, I’ll opt to encourage you to, please, listen for yourself.
While you’re listening, if unpacking lyrics isn’t your jam (music pun), you could imagine D’Angelo is the first person you’ve ever heard sing over what you previously knew as music. Imagine how you’d feel as the worlds of poetry and music collide. Imagine the weight this new combination might carry. You could even compare it to any track of Mac DeMarco’s musical boot camp or perhaps your favorite instrumental tracks. The difference is palpable, because good vocals add something that no other instrument can: a point of view.
Thanks.
P.S. Here is a short, semi-random, list of songs I consider to have perfect vocal performances.
“Hope She’ll Be Happier”, Bill Withers
“Change”, Big Thief
“Pink Matter”, Frank Ocean feat. Andre 3000
“Save The Children”, Marvin Gaye
“Nude”, Radiohead
“Never Dreamed You’d Leave In Summer”. Stevie Wonder
“Heaven - Live”, Talking Heads
“That Feeling”, Durand Jones