The thrill of the new: No.5

[aka Sounds of Summer part two]

If the source of my first summertime song was a surprise, the second completely floored me.

It was the internet. Not one of my internet contacts, who are seemingly dedicated to introducing me to music I couldn't possibly find in my local Australian shop, but the great anonymous impersonal web of pages that makes a haystack look insignificant, never mind the needle. I dived into the internet, and struck gold.

The journey actually started because of the number of people complimenting me on my music reviews in this blog, and at Toriforum. That, and the fact that I clearly like writing about music. I decided to see if there was anywhere I could put that inclination to good use.

I can't remember how long it took, but eventually I found a website called The Consensus (link appearing to your right). It's a brilliant idea of a website. Artists submit their songs for review, and 5 different reviewers all write their completely independent thoughts. The only real flaw in the system is that the site needs a certain number of active reviewers to keep things turning over. Since I joined in December supply hasn't kept up with demand, and the list of songs awaiting review keeps on growing. I keep fearing that bands will get fed up with having to wait half a year before receiving a verdict. Shameless plug: if you're interested in writing reviews, please sign up now!

That's the story of the system. The real story, though, is what I found with just my third review (which has only just been published, three months later).

I found Tim Corley singing All I Have. He hasn't been out of my brain since.

[What IS it about a piece of music that can make it click with a certain listener? I like to think I can attempt to define what is great about music (in fact, I'm about to try again!), and while I know I can't do a very good job of this, I remain wedded to the idea that some music is innately better. And yet, something I love can be boring or even bad to another person. Conversely, there are apparently millions of people who have thought that the Bloodhound Gang were worth listening to, which is a viewpoint I simply can't fathom.]

I knew within less than two bars that I liked All I Have. [That in itself makes me question my usual doctrine that the thing I value most in music is a sense of structure - how can a few beats be enough to demonstrate a piece has good structure?] It just got better from there. The song seemed to develop in all the right ways. The chorus had a welcome surprise, yet seemed such a natural extension of the verse. The second verse brought extra sounds that fitted exactly with my half-conscious idea of what was needed.

I think THIS is what I value most about (my idea of) great music. It's not just the initial material that's important, it's the ability to stay true to it. All the best music succeeds in following it's own internal logic and not wavering from it. The rules are set up in the first part, and it doesn't matter how good that guitar solo after the bridge might be, if it doesn't fit with what went before then (to me) the effect will be diminished.

Whereas a song that has no solos but has a chorus that seems to unfold with the inevitability of gravity will capture my imagination.

To say I've become obsessed with All I Have is a minor understatement. The mere IDEA of finding it is part of the thrill, I think. First of all, I was able to contact Tim and tell him how much I loved it, and he replied. He's continued to reply to all my embarrassingly 'groupie' messages.

Secondly, it's my discovery. No-one told me to listen to Tim Corley, beyond the fact that he was one of several hundred people to submit music to Consensus. And it appears no-one else in this country could have told me. According to Tim, I am his first Australian fan. Try and imagine how exciting that is. I'm working hard on gaining fan number two, and the results are pretty positive. I observed several friends tapping feet last time I tried the CD out.

Oh yes, the CD. The reason this is in the 'thrill' series is because I am now the proud owner of the Like Stars EP, which proves Tim is not a one-hit wonder. Besides All I Have it has four superb tracks and one very good one which is continuing to grow on me. Every single one of them demonstrates a songwriter who knows how to shape his ideas so that they fit together. He's not necessarily trying to reinvent the wheel, but he's certainly demonstrating that he knows how to make one.

But it's that one song that I play in my head again and again - and still sometimes play for real more than once in a day. I've had songs do this to me before, but even by those standards three months is an unusually long run of longing to hear the same track.

But enough talking, go and LISTEN.