Digital Renaissance: Tales from the Conversation Pit
Mulling over my attempt to limelight the soulful side of Italy, I realised it's fun to restrict yourself a bit in terms of subject matter. Leaving things to chance, I so happened to trip into an actual conversation pit - you know, that sunken piece of living room of - most notably - 60's and 70's fame. Since this underrated piece of comfort is never going to get the resurgence I was hoping for, I figured I'd create my very own little lounge pit of music. If there's one genre that pops to mind while visualising a posse of chain-smoking and Martini-sipping happy wanderers, it must be the laid back kitsch of Easy Listening.
By matter of experiment I suggest we start our journey in that underground pool of ease, to eventually lift ourselves to a higher level of chill with some soothing Elevator Music, to - finally - go through the roof with a blend of jazz, a touch of psych and other neato ingredients! That gum you like is going to come back in style. Here's to a swell dive into the vortex of living room spanning excitement.
Comfortably Sunken
Sometimes you just have to start at the very bottom. In the pit of this episode's setting, we find ourselves in the carefree world of Easy Listening. Now be aware I'm not filing this as a genre, nor as something that's easy to listen to, it is a reflection of what I believe is the overarching moniker for everything that could meander its way into the pool of joy we call - hence the title - the conversation pit. Do note that this is officially - I recognise Discogs as my law - a genre. We'll go from Jeanne Moreau adapting the Bossa Nova style into actual Bossa Nova into the golden hammond sound of the Schlager-family's Klaus Wunderlich. As mentioned in my previous articles, I was nurtured by the crate digging culture of the boom-bap era, needless to say there are a lot of recognisable hooks, riffs and whatnot floating around our comfy puddle. The bins of the thrift story vinyl department were frequently shuffled with passion for your ease, enjoy the sit. I suggest you pour yourself a Martini with one of those fancy olive cocktail picks to zone in. Beware that the very ender of this particular list is - at least by me - considered the holy grail of the convopool - with a perfect nod to the second course.
Asseyez-vous!
A Level Undefined
Now, the funny thing about the so-called Elevator Music - muzak if you must, which I'm sure everyone has added to their vocabulary along the way - is the fact that it's not so much of an actual genre. It's a title often unjustly referring to monotone, generic, boring and unexciting music. Please, let me prove you wrong. Elevator music can go anywhere - in my opinion the elevator either brings you down or up! Choosing the latter, I'll embrace the term as a daring effort to comfort something we spend a lot our lifetime doing: waiting. On top of that I'd like to believe that - since there's no real-real definition of the sport - I can make up my own rules to the game. I would go as far to state that without Elevator Music, the current game of Slowed + Reverb vs Sped Up, would not even exist. The hunger to sample synth-heavy instrumental hooks and slow them down goes way back to early sampling culture, but deffo gained a lot of people's interest during the vapor-wave era - which I believe is the fire starter to the current aesthetics of the S+R hype on - say - TikTok. Gotta love the elevator. Here's a selection of music worth listening to while you float above the conversation pit, it's a peaceful place. There's room for saudade. Take a shot of a sophisticated liquor of choice, to stimulate the short duration of the wait, but don't forget to stop worrying and love the lift.
Ping!
A Roof Can Be A Door
Ain't that the truth. I once had my mother tell me she knew a person who thought a window in the attic wasn't enough. To be able to spectate the stars while in bed, he cut out a square in his roof and left the glass out. I will never know if this is true, but anecdotally it is a proper way to start our closing chapter of this study on living room spanning musicology. After patiently having floated around the once so quiet pond, we will create our own door upon the ceiling. The very kind arrangements from before grew on us, but a little punch might be the cherry on top - let's get lost in the fuzz and the breaks along our quest for open space. To prove my point, I'll start the list with a standard in a much more cosmic sauce. Alice Coltrane's version of My Favorite Things - one of the compositions that bookended her husband's repertoire - has got this perfect spatial and smokey atmosphere often heard on the Impulse! label, of which I also included a beautiful take on Eric Burdon & The Animals' ode to Frisco: San Franciscan Nights. Pay careful attention to the Beach Boys' (read: Brian Wilson) outtake for Smile, where you clearly hear him conducting and mumbling his way into a majestic and grotesque thief's theme for strings. I could go on, but I’d much rather listen, so I suggest you do the same. Despite all clichés I'd just settle for a nice beer on this one.
A santé!
