music

The Psychology of Song

~ David Biddle ~ Leave a comment

I keep bumping into musicians, industry journalists, and economists online all saying that our society doesn’t value music the way we used to. The logic there is mostly based on the supposed problem created by streaming sources. An endless supply of computer curated songs are available to us, creating the old economic principle based on supply and demand, although more in psychological clothing than any other garb. When the supply of something is virtually infinite and effectively free, value is on a downward slide and the human mind begins to take joy for granted.

And yet, our lives are as full and rich as they are in large part because of the beauty and profundity of stimulated air molecules moving around and surfing into our ears, converted into any and every kind of music we have ever desired.

Friedrich Nietzsche said it best: “Without music, life would be a mistake.”

Continue reading →

The Most Perfect Song Ever

~ David Biddle ~ 3 Comments

Dare I write this? Maybe this is mostly an exploration of an idea. I know unequivocally what I personally find to be the most perfect song I’ve ever heard. You may say I’m full of shit. I can’t argue with that. No doubt there are hundreds if not thousands of perfectly perfect songs. It’s just that every time I listen to this one, I can’t help but feel it is a work of such pure genius that all singer-songwriters should at least be familiar with it. But, like I say, this is an exploration, maybe a journey in musical and aesthetic thinking.

Continue reading →

The Effect of Amplified Sound

~ David Biddle ~ Leave a comment

Crazy new sounds and melodies consistently showed up on the radio for those of us growing up in the 1950s and 1960s (and on into the early 1970s). Every week or so brought astoundingly unique, creative, highly developed songwriting, production, and performance that constantly knocked our socks off…again, and again, and again. The record companies back then understood they could only partially make the call about what would work and what wouldn’t. Artists ruled. So did their listeners.

I still remember hearing “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” in the first few days of 1964 right after it came out. I remember as well Elton John’s “Rocket Man” in April 1972, and “Sweet Caroline,” by Neil Diamond in May of 1969, both within the first day or two of release. And so many more. We were all sitting-duck virgins over and over again, sometimes on a daily basis, waiting for the latest by the performers we loved (and didn’t know we would come to love). DJs could be so artful with our pristine ears: “Here’s a new one from a guy we’ve never heard of named Don McLean. The song is called ‘American Pie.’ Weird name, but I think you’ll like it.”

Continue reading →

Sound Effect Infinity: early adopter special edition

Read Sound Effect Infinity
~ David Biddle ~ Leave a comment

Finally, a hardcover, paperbound version of Sound Effect Infinity is available!

For now, you can only get it through Amazon. They’re set up to ship to you on-demand. Yes, you may have pre-ordered a version from my old publisher, but that book never shipped (sad face here). They were having issues with a big media company merger. After waiting three years, it seemed only right to take back my copyrights and go to work independently. That’s how real artists do things anyway. I’m not proud, just old-enough these days to be seriously tired and done with all of the bullshit.

Continue reading →

What I’m Working on in 2024

~ David Biddle ~ 4 Comments

[Note from 2026: A lot happened to prevent the proper publication of Sound Effect Infinity until February 2026, where this note is coming from. Click the links where you see them, and you’ll find the book posted to Amazon as a special edition hardcover offering. If you read below, you’ll see where things were, but not where they are now]

I already feel like a jerk. The only thing that is going to keep me from being selfish and single-minded here in 2024 is if I need surgery or get diagnosed with cancer or just don’t wake up some morning. A solid, working draft of my third novel for The Story Plant is due in December of 2024. The title we’re operating with right now is Notes on the Golden Country. I spent much of 2023 doing research and making notes for this year’s efforts. By late August I had started up on a first draft. As 2024 gets uncaged, I am about 120 pages in to Part I of three parts. I’m going to be a selfish jerk the rest of this year until I’m done. Meaning, I don’t want to come over to your house, go on a long walk, or anything else that will muddle my focus on writing this very odd story.

Continue reading →

The Psychology of Sound

Brain on music
~ davidbiddle ~ Leave a comment

I’ve spent my entire life astounded by the magic of music, appreciating everything from opera and Gregorian chant to bluegrass and every kind of jazz there is. But what exactly is being touched in us and inspired when we listen to our favorite songs? What is this creation of new and complex emotion, the stimulation of sensuality, bittersweet memory, at times even, that awareness of sublime connection to the universe? How full and rich our lives are because of the beauty and profundity of sound waves organized into melody, rhythm, timber, and harmonic tones! Friedrich Nietzsche said it best: “Without music, life would be a mistake.”

Continue reading →

The Old Music Part of Writing “New People”

~ davidbiddle ~ Leave a comment

My novel, Old Music for New People, is driven in part by its characters’ thoughts and feelings about specific songs and musicians (baseball and food also have prominent roles in the plot). Many of the stories I write, whether long or short, have music painted into them. Sometimes I wonder if I’m a bit too hopeful about the idea of using words to describe what music does to characters emotionally and philosophically–and what it does to readers as well in their everyday lives.

Continue reading →

Fighting Violence and Terror with Art, Joy and Youth

~ davidbiddle ~ 2 Comments

We’ve all been wondering how to counteract the lunacy and mayhem that seems to have seriously marked 2015 throughout the world. Right? It’s not just terrorists, out-of-control cops, and criminals. There’s a lot of hatred a certain category of people have been spewing on TV, social media, and, probably, in your neighborhood and workplace.

You may have your own answer, but to me the most powerful weapon global society has against all this fear and negativity is the freedom and joy of young people and the art they are making. Watch this video trailer below:

The full video can be accessed by clicking here: Community of Dancers Boston Edition. This is my youngest son Conor’s project. He is a 20-year-old film student (and hip-hop dancer) at Emerson College Continue reading →

Happy Birthday to Jeffy (Buckley)

~ davidbiddle ~ Leave a comment

I’m about to bombard all my Facebook peeps and Twitter followers with a breadcrumb path of links to Jeff Buckley videos. No apologies folks. Jeffy would have been 48 on Monday, November 17 (my mom’s birthday…she’s wherever Jeff may be now).

If you know Jeff’s work, then you’ll enjoy some of the choice clips I’m posting. If you don’t enjoy Jeff, watch them anyway, cuz this is a problem you need to resolve. The dude could sing, play, perform, and compose like no other (‘cept maybe Jimi).

And if you don’t really know Buckley, or if you’ve kind of just wondered, well, there’s eight short videos coming at you over the next 36 hours.

And let me note, this is not stupid fan-boy idolatry. I’m a musician and a singer. Music has been a huge part of my life. The dude was a fucking genius. The fact that we lost him at the age of 30 should haunt every one of us forever. He gets a super special cameo spot in my novel, Beyond the Will of God, because of the strange loss to music and the arts  his passing meant. Pay attention to what he says in the interview I’m posting on Sunday evening. There’s some interesting stuff about the mystery of creativity and the power of music.

Happy Birthday, Jeff. Happy Birthday to Jeff’s mom, Mary Guibert, too. And a big Mmwaah birthday kiss to my mom, Ellen Horgan, as well.

Related articles