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We all know how music can inspire various moods. When I was in Los Angeles last year, I heard composer James Horner speak on how a film's score manipulates how we are supposed to feel while watching contemporary cinema, making even the hokiest, computer-generated story line seem acceptable and, even, moving.
But the genuine artists who effectively spin combinations of lyrics and music can be viewed as healers, treating us to an examination of our feelings through the abstract declarations of a timeless ballad.
One such musician and songwriter is Todd Bogin, who is able to conjure new songs that convey a remarkable sensibility rarely found in the consumer-oriented commercial crass that is modern pop culture.
While still a student at Baruch College, Bogin is actively cultivating his markedly singular musical presence that stands apart from other acts and that speaks to a new generation disillusioned with the usual barrage of hyper-sensational garbage offered by most radio and TV.
His music is informed by a deep knowledge of quality artists whose work remains from the not-so-distant past, such as Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly, and The Beatles. "I love Dylan for his lyrics and the rawness of his early days. His whole career is one long American folk tale," says Bogin in a recent interview. "There are gems throughout." The songwriter also cites Hank Williams as a source of inspiration. "He sang the simplest songs you can imagine but they were so deep that, over fifty years after his death, they are still classics," he reflects. "Straight up country tunes."
Bogin thinks that people who seem to hate country music are now clouded by a vision of the ill-fated genre personified by "a drunken hill-billy with a bad tan and a cowboy hat wearing a buttoned down shirt," bellowing "cheesy lyrics about your pick-up truck." "But that's not what country music in its rarest form is about," he argues.
True country music relates to the common man's strife, often expressing a frustration "about being poor, angry and heartbroken." The genre's challenge is putting these hardships to song in the most realistic way possible, while maintaining a light, comical reflection on life. "Hank has a great sense of humor even in some of his saddest songs, such as 'Lost Highway,' or even 'My Bucket's Got A Hole in It,'" Bogin says, "He can be singing a 'happy' sounding song about the saddest thing."
Bogin's music is also influenced by the "Father of the Blues," Muddy Waters (1913-1983), an inspiration who died in Westmont, Illinois, a town where Bogin spent some of his childhood. He also cites the lyrics and song formations of the legendary Cole Porter (1891-1964) as being a major influence.
"Every song he writes is a story with the wittiest words that make you laugh and think," Bogin says, "not to mention he is absolutely brilliant with his songwriting in terms of his chord structures and progressions."
Of modern musicians, Bogin mentioned few names but expressed his admiration for the groups Modest Mouse and Wilco, declaring the latter's music as being "natural and tight."
Bogin's love of reading inspires him equally, if not more than, the work of his musical predecessors. "I can read a great novel and be inspired to write a song," remarked the musician. "Or even read a great line in a story and write a song." After a moment's reflection, he added, "Books are songs just waiting to have music put to them."
Bogin's artistic beginnings can be primarily credited to his father, a musician whose home was abundantly surrounded with acoustic and electric guitars, pianos, trumpets, drums and other instruments, which were readily available all around the home.
Music, however, was never forced on the younger Bogin. "It was just something I was drawn to. Even before I knew how to say the word 'guitar' I would pick up my father's, and pretend to play. I would try to tune it even though I didn't know how. I broke many strings," he laughs.
Like a slew of revolutionary musicians ranging from Irving Berlin to James Ingram, Bogin is largely self-taught, showcasing his keen ability to self-discipline and seek melodious values and discoveries by himself.
The songwriter's first independently-produced album - aptly titled The Midwest Fables - was released soon after the young musician moved from Illinois to New York in August 2005. Recorded with his group The Klaymations, the album contains an impressive number of great original songs, but admittedly was more of a published experience in the obvious trials and tribulations of recording a first album, as well as the great challenge in compiling songs that flow well together as a package. As a result, the sound quality and technical defects interfere with hearing Bogin's marvelous musical numbers, but the song's superior songwriting and melodic qualities persevere throughout.
The song "Flying on Empty," is directly about an eating disorder; but in the broader sense, the piece seems to refer to one being addicted to one's troubles - "using pain as a blanket and as an excuse," the artist explains. Still, the song remains a happy back beat shuffle "that the kids can dance to." Another outstanding number is "Relax," written a few years ago through an accidental inspiration related to discovering an "awful drum machine" at a garage sale in Bolingbrook, IL. The machine projected toy-like sounds of percussion - and was "the only time I've ever made use of a drum machine," Bogin laughs.
The Midwest Fables also contains a cozy little number called "The Fall," which seemingly is about a hopeless romantic being in love with the concept of love, and further projecting that onto someone who simply doesn't have the same understanding. The lyrics, however, are conveniently abstract so they are open to interpretation. Some of the titles are almost psychedelic in nature, such as "TJ Bogin's 21ST Delta Blues Dream."
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