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b'SUPPORT ME ON PATREON\\n\\nWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE\\n\\nWe like to keep STUFF in our homes. Stuff we need and stuff we love. Some of it we\\u2019re even proud of, and want to show off. Works of art. Family heirlooms. Favorite pieces of furniture. Photos with fond memories. We display that stuff prominently in places that make sense, and give it space to be appreciated. Like the favorite art & photos on the living room wall above the favorite furniture, which has on it some favorite keepsakes. We don\\u2019t use grandma\\u2019s afghan as a toilet cozy. Or put the couch right in front of a door. We don\\u2019t hang photos on top of other photos. Or put 35 ceramic vases in the middle of the kitchen floor. There\\u2019s a place for everything, one that supports the value of that thing AND allows it to shine.\\n\\nSo, like, what the hell does this have to do with this week\\u2019s topic?? Songs and chops relate to this HOW? Here\\u2019s how. Musicians create ideas. Words, melodies, harmonies/chords, licks & riffs & solos, etc. They are inspired to bring these out and do something with them. And some they\\u2019re even super proud of and want to show off. All of those ideas need a place to live. A piece, composition, backing track, song \\u2013 a musical framework. One that can provide both strong support and the space to shine. It has to be worthy of containing all that inspiration.\\n\\nLet\\u2019s say a framework \\u2013 a SONG \\u2013 is only there for support, is kind of slapped together so the musician can get to filling it up with \\u201cinspiration\\u201d. Or let\\u2019s say the underlying song is well-written, but the musician or singer stuffs every second with one big idea after another. There might be some great playing & singing, but so what? It doesn\\u2019t hold up. When any one part of a song takes over to the point that it either obscures the song\\u2019s purpose, or worse, shatters the song\\u2019s structural integrity, it loses the ability to get across the idea it\\u2019s trying to convey. It explodes its own shine.\\n\\nAnd this is where the CHOPS part of this conversation comes in. If you aren\\u2019t familiar with this term, it just means being really good at an instrument (including the voice). Some musicians and fans are obsessed with chops. They aren\\u2019t just impressed by feats of technical greatness, they INSIST on them. They don\\u2019t think music is worthy unless every part of it passes technical muster. To them, it doesn\\u2019t matter what context these chops are displayed in, nor how structurally sound the framework is. As long as the chops take the day, then the music must be good music.\\n\\nUgh. Like, serious gut level ugh. That to me is the height of intellectualism at the expense of heart & spirit. It\\u2019s the idea that perfect is better than \\u2026 well \\u2026 ANYTHING else. That our flaws need to be sanded away, our kinks worked out, our humanity \\u201ccorrected\\u201d beyond reproach. It smothers, crushes, kills the life spirit.\\n\\nNow, it\\u2019s true that for some people, technical proficiency IS heart, IS spirit. They find their life spirit in towering feats of greatness. And in that case they\\u2019ve met their soulmate in chops over song. I love that. But this is not that. This is repression, fear of emotional expression or any kind of vulnerability, even a form of self-loathing. I\\u2019ve met and worked with a ton of musicians for whom it\\u2019s clear that chops are the only thing that matters. UUUUUGH.\\n\\n...\\n\\n\\n--- \\n\\nThis episode is sponsored by \\n\\xb7 Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app\\n\\nSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'