Brian Culbertson – Say What?

Most music heard by generation x, or millennials (People born between 1995-2005) consider their musical tastes written 2005 and up. Anything considered before 2005 is considered old. Why this is, who knows.

This is the “Young Timer” Music Blog and for music to be considered old, this certain criteria must be met. Sure the common song on here that is mentioned was written around 100 to 500 years ago, but let’s understand that the common millennial considers anything ten years old to be “old” opposed to the baby boomer who considers ten years old “new”. Thus something ambiguous as music can be interpreted many ways.

Enter Brian Culbertson.

Can you feel the sheer funk in this? Can you?

There is something very awesome about Mr. Culbertson. The way he writes, arranges, and orchestrates his music speaks louder than words. His sheer ingenuity and his funk/contemporary jazz fusion defines a common theme  among the music I listen to. ROMANTICISM.

Now how does Romanticism play in with Brian Culbertson’s music?

Let’s reflect on Rachmaninoff’s quote:

The new kind of music seems to create not from the heart but from the head. Its composers think rather than feel. They have not the capacity to make their works exalt – they meditate, protest, analyze, reason, calculate and brood, but they do not exalt.

Most classical romantic music is considered by many to feel introspective rather than energetic and powerful (Although the last few bars of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto seem to contradict this very well), certain types of music attain this same “heartfelt” connection from music’s older and complex counterparts. Nonetheless some sentiments noted in Culbertson’s music tend to speak louder than what’s presented at face value. His music seems to completely isolate off from the mediocre aura that common music has, but is classified in a contemporary fashion that makes his music unique.

According to Rachmaninoff who correctly predicted music’s downplaying to industry standard, “they meditate, protest, analyze, reason, calculate and brood, but they do not exalt.” Much music today is crap, and tend to generalize to monetary consumption and ratings. In turn, products that are quantified “from the head” and “not from the heart” are not qualitative at all.

In Culbertson’s “Say What?”, a powerful and strong yet contemplative feel reminds me of classical romanticism. These have similar qualities hardly recognized, but what is similar are the moods and reflective meaning, respectively. For me, there is a nostalgic sentiment with energetic and powerful overtones that coincide with each other.

If you can’t hear it, then call me crazy…