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Why the Blues Really Hit The Spot


After a tough week at the office, I found myself headed to New Orleans for a short business trip.

As any of you who have visited Bourbon street know, there are plenty of live bands to choose from: Dixieland jazz, R&B, pop/rock cover bands and simple, down home, guitar driven blues.

I had a great time listening to every single band I could find, enjoying a wide variety of music last week.

But whenever I really settle in with a good, live blues band, I wonder what it is that makes the blues so timeless and appealing -- especially late at night with a good local beer!

So for fans of the blues, can anyone explain?

Do the blues more perceptively touch some aspect of human nature? During times of stress or loss, do the blues give you a sense of empathy and understanding? Or is there some counterintuitive explanation that the blues can somehow cheer you up in a mysterious way like Ritalin somehow calms hyperactive kids?

I guess I am asking the musically equivalent question of when and why people seek out movies like Love Story, Platoon or Terms of Endearment?

What are your thoughts and experiences and when do you most enjoy listening to the blues?
cwlondon
pennfieldgreen
12 posts
 
Don't forget John Mayall. His 70th birthday concert / celebration recorded live in Liverpool is excellent sonics and an evening to be remembered. I sent a copy of the CD and DVD to Peter Q at Audio Note and he loved it.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,229 posts
 
The blues ain't about being down, but more about getting back up. In everybody's life there comes those moments when it hurts and singing (and listening to) the blues is a way of getting past the hurt. At least that's what my momma done told me!
grimace
624 posts
 
Well, I don't know about "touching some aspect of human nature" or about those special moments, but if you like it, play it! BTW - Blues are particularly good with Bourbon.
lloydc's avatar
lloydc
752 posts
 
Blues are based on a "simpler" 5-note scale that is not the same as the 12-note scale on which most classical and popular western music is based (of course, much popular music, e.g. rock, is based on the blues scale). But, with the blues, notes are "bent" in between the basic notes, creating an almost infinite variety of tones (and correspondingly, room for a vast range of artistic expression). Prior to tempered tuning, each scale (and key) was believed to have its own unique emotional appeal. It is just something that certain musicians figured out, and that history and culture have conditioned us to appreciate. The same is true for all great music; e.g., Bach or Beethoven can make us feel at least as great a range of emotion (although sadly, not usually served with beer). Blues ain't about feeling up, down, or sideways - it's all covered.
grimace
624 posts
 
I don't see any reason not to combine beethoven and beer.
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