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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3105 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for April 2, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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I cannot digest Jacob Collier at all despite being a self-professed inaccessible wanker-music fan (prog of all kinds, Indian classical, exteme metal, avant garde), he stands out as someone I uniquely struggle to empathize with.

For me, you've hit the nail on the head. Complex music is by definition inaccessible. But, eventually you decode it, and it turns into a heart-to-heart. Behind it all, there has to be emotion.

The most extreme examples of this for me are : BTBAM's Coma Ecliptic and Viljhartha's Den Helige Anden . Took me months of finding the music inaccessible, until one day it clicked. And now if it finds me in the right mood, then at least goosebumps and at time tears are to be expected.

I have tried very very hard to find the heart behind Collier's music, and I simply haven't been able to find any. Compare him to his fellow virtuosic youtube wierdos (Ben Levin, Louis Cole, Animals as Leaders, Tigran, Snarky Puppy) and they all have heart. Even non-sensical live bands like Neely's Sungazer still have an element of fun to it all, that Jacob's music just doesn't have.

Jacob Collier to me, is the uncanny valley of music.

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