Three Music Thingz with The City View
We are BACK with a new lil edition of Three Music Thingz, the series where I ask musicians for three thingz that are essential to their music-making. Previously,
punk rock princess Vi Viana praised the automatic drummer in Logic Pro,
Scottish power-pop act The Terminal Buildings shouted out prolific songwriters as inspiration,
and Western North Carolina punks Those Dogs wrote an ode to Blinky, their disposable vape pen...
Today we have Ian Anderson, a New Hampshire-based artist who has a "synthy solo project" called The City View. He just put out "The Standards," a moody electronic-accented rock song which reveals the singer in a nebulous state, chasing after a version of themselves that won't quite appear: "I’m waking up, it feels like I’ve been awake / In my room but I’ve been away." Somehow the tune really captures the woozy feeling of being Not Quite Yourself, drifting from party to bedroom in a depersonalized haze. Put it on your "this is the new year and I don't feel any different" playlist. Also the drums on it are pretty sick, subtle and twitchy. Anyway, in his own words, here are Ian's Three Music Thingz:
Bandcamp Album of the Day Jan 5, 2018
- Solitude
I don’t mean it in some sort of super serious or brooding way, just that I like to be alone when I write and record. Unless I’m collaborating with someone, I don’t really want to have anyone around. I think the closest I get to writing around other people would be just jotting a few lyrics down at work or something. - My computer
I sometimes like to write songs with just an acoustic guitar, but even then at the end of the day, it’s still getting recorded into my computer. Beyond that, I like being able to record ideas instantly if I want, and I like having access to so many different sounds and effects. - Watching movies
Movies are super inspiring for me both lyrically and just in general to create something or recreate some sort of feeling. I find if I go too long without watching movies, I feel less motivated to make music (to some extent). In fact, I should probably watch a movie today. What should I watch?
Thank you Ian! Fwiw, I think you should watch the movie Johnny Guitar, the 1954 Western which is kind of about a guy who plays guitar but also not really about that at all. The score and use of music in it is really wild. There's a dramatic scene where Joan Crawford plays piano in a white dress and holds off a posse of bloodthirsty settlers with, like, a single arched eyebrow.
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