Aimless: Real America

I was teaching a guitar lesson tonight, and I was explaining how learning to play the guitar is a matter of learning the basics and then expanding them to learn the more advanced aspects of playing. My student is in high school, and so he was born no earlier than 1988. He and I are not from the same generation, but he wants to learn about the music from older generations. He doesn't yet understand how artists make songs, how they use chords and scales to make music. It's all new to him.

Anyway, I was focusing on the concept of the 1 - 4 - 5 progression, which is a collection of three chords. The 4 and 5 chords are related, not only to each other, but to the 1 chord, as well. In fact, the 4 chord is only the 4 chord because it is made up of notes that are a 4th (to put it crudely) away from the 1. The 5 chord is only the 5 chord because it is made up of notes that are a 5th away from the 1.

The 1 - 4 - 5 progression is used throughout many styles of music, and it is so common in country, blues, folk, and rock, that if you truly grasp the concept of 1 - 4 - 5, then you can play many different songs. If you truly grasp the 1 - 4 - 5 concept, then you can play anything from Robert Johnson to Chuck Berry to Brooks & Dunn to NOFX.

So, in taking that concept even further, I asserted that what music amounts to is taking sounds that have already been captured and making them your own. It's all been done. There are only 12 notes in "Western" music (which is basically all you can play on a standard-tuned guitar), and they've been played in many different combinations and sequences to make the totality of music that has been played and is still played now. The important point about creativity and originality is that an artist needs to take these sounds, an artistic medium, and take these instruments, beats, props, lyrics, and put some unique twist to the whole thing that makes it unique.

I pointed out to the Ramones, who my post-88 born student claimed to have heard of, and I told him that they liked to play old rock n roll stuff, like Chuck Berry. They liked sounds similar to Jerry Lee Lewis. They took those sounds, and they added their own twist, forging a sound that now serves as part of the foundation for modern pop rock music. There would be no punk rock, as we know it today, no Green Day, no Avril Lavigne, and probably no MTV, as we know it, without the Ramones. They took an old idea and they added a unique twist to make it new again.

Now, hours later, I've read an old blog post by my friend, Ryan. He has re-posted one of his older posts that describe his idea for making a movie, called Aimless: Real America.

Now, I don't think that title is all that original. The title, "Real America" conjures up images of "American Idol", "American Hero", "American Soldier", "Real World", and even "Cops", because it also conjures up all of my preconceptions about "reality TV", a style of entertainment that I've heard too much about.

The title, "Aimless", however, conjures up different images for me. It makes me think of the movies "Road Trip", "Clueless", "Animal House", "Caddyshack", "Airplane!", and many other light comedies that are either one-word titles or they have titles with similar meanings. Aimless implies lack of distinct direction. Aimless implies lack of clearly defined goals or procedures. Aimless implies lack of a point, lack of an end-goal, fruitless, and meaningless. It definitely sets the tone for this film. I'd have to say that Ryan has put a unique twist to an old idea. You could certainly argue otherwise, but it would be Aimless to do so, because the title isn't the only component of the film. The film itself will be unique, because the story will be captured by Ryan, who is a unique individual.

When you see this movie, Aimless: Real America, you will probably laugh, and you might even get teary-eyed, but you will definitely be entertained.

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