You know, I’ve always found music visualizers to be pretty interesting.
I’m sure many of you are just as hip to this groove as I am, ultimately. Who hasn’t found at least some manner of joy in vegging out to the (occasionally) rhythmic throbbing of various geometric rave parties in the comfort of the home? Oh, and the colors!! Synesthesia never felt so good!
My interest in visualizers was particularly pricked some time ago, when I was introduced to the joys of the X-Box 360. Oh yes, it is a pretty decent game console on the whole, but have you ever put a CD in it, man? If not, and you have access to both, please do so. . .now.
Pretty cool, right? I think the synchronization of the music and the visuals is spot on, really. It’s a lot more “in step” than, say, the Windows Media Player visualizer. I’ve also checked out the PS3′s visualizer and, while intimidating in its own way, I still think the 360 offers a bit more in terms of. . .well, visuals really. Plus there’s the option to navigate through the pulsing visual “landscape” with the controller, which is pretty sweet.
After long periods of staring at the mixed bag of rainbow-colored shapes, however, I think all those visuals started to have an impact on my brain. I started to think about then nature of music as a kind of “call to action,” an invite to general population to get up and do something, if for nothing more than just a dance. I though of music as in connection with the act of “rising” and with the nature of “doing,” and I think this connection is pretty solid. After all, to quote Mississippi Fred McDowell, when you hear music sometimes “You Gotta Move.” And I suppose the music itself determines the motion, so whether it’s Rage Against The Machine calling for political uprising, or The Beastie Boys declaring the right to party, music still exists to incite action.
So why was this so heavy on my mind? Well, because I started to juxtapose me, chilling on the couch, watching my music, with the music itself. While the music existed to incite a rise, the visuals, in my mind, served to discourage action. Then I realized something. No matter how good the 360′s visualizer was, and no matter how synesthetic the experience might have been, this was ultimately nothing more than an attempt to turn music into television.
And then I felt a little dirty.
