Designer: Grant Rouf
October is the month of a fresh fall, pumpkins, Halloween and above all, a chill time to relax with the newly turned leaves and stress-free scenery. With that said, what better way to spend this relaxing month than delving into the relaxing world of acoustic music?
The first type of acoustic music that I see as the most prevalent in the genre is original songs with stripped-down production made with acoustic instruments only, with little to no digital instruments.
An artist who creates solely acoustic music, and in my opinion one of the greatest acoustic and relaxed music artists of all time is Jack Johnson, known for his heavy use of acoustic guitar in tracks, often combined with his raw and relaxing vocals.
Jack Johnson is famous for his work on songs such as “Banana Pancakes” and “Upside Down” being most noted for their happy and relaxed vibe. With “Upside Down” notably being used in the kids show “Curious George” to create a relaxed atmosphere.
His popular albums and my personal suggestions for happy and relaxed music of his are his albums “In Between Dreams” and “On and On”. These albums showcase his most prominent work in happy acoustic music and are great to listen to in the fall to relieve stress and relax the mind.
My second occurrence of legendary acoustic studio music is not an encompassing artist or album, it is actually just one song, but not just any song, one of the most famous and well known acoustic tracks of all time, “Creep (Acoustic),” by Radiohead.
There is a lot to break down with this song between the guitar and vocals, but the best part in my opinion are the vocal tracks. No vocals like Thom Yorke’s have I ever heard display such raw emotion in a song, as it is clear he pours his entire soul into every word he sings, resonating extremely well with the listener.
The guitar, making up the second half of the song’s composition, is extremely simple, but hits so hard emotionally. The climax of the song is played aggressively and powerfully, almost like you can hear the emotion through the notes and chords being played. It is simply a complete listening experience.
The second type of acoustic music is alternative acoustic performances of songs, which are often stripped-down versions of existing songs performed live, as bands take a break from modern production to produce raw and real versions of their songs.
One of the most famous and influential acoustic live performances of all time came from Nirvana and their MTV Unplugged performance, which was later turned into one of the most highly revered acoustic albums of all time.
MTV Unplugged is an event in which MTV hosts bands into a small and intimate sound venue where they are given time to play music from scratch to create new takes on classics performed by these bands, with acoustic covers of others at times as well.
When Nirvana took the stage to perform, they delivered some of the most impressive acoustic takes on songs ever created. I personally enjoy Kurt Cobain’s raw and clean vocal takes the most out of all of the elements of these tracks.
Acoustic music is a branch that doesn’t normally get explored in the modern day, as people are constantly searching for dopamine and stimulation in many ways, few people take the time to even listen to front-to-back albums anymore.
This is why I think acoustic music is overlooked in the modern scene and is a hidden gem some people will go their whole lives without discovering, even if it might have drastic effects on them and shape their music taste in a whole different way.
The best way to hear the real sound of acoustic music is to give it a try yourself, which I cannot urge you to do enough, as you never know what you’ll discover if you give it a try.
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