Music Review // Porter Block "Say Something Nice" (Live from Cygnus Sound)

One of the aspects of music which has been somewhat forgotten during the pandemic is artists playing it live.   I've always felt like there was something to be said for an artist who you would hear on the radio, CD, etc. and then go see live and either they sounded better or worse than in the studio.   Porter Block is someone who has complex musical parts within his songs and so seeing this video, right away, I am happy that you can see the song being played and it doesn't lose anything from the studio version.

This entire music video exists inside one room with the band playing the song and the camera angles/editing just do a great job of cutting to whoever happens to be playing at the time, which sometimes can jump from the piano over to the guitar if only for a moment.   This music video is also shot entirely in black and white but that emphasis on where the sounds are coming from just seem to make the song such a stronger experience musically.

I've always thought of this song as being about just what the title suggests and that is saying something nice about either someone else or yourself.   During this video, for the first time, I really felt like it might be more of a message from Porter Block to those who write about music or just someone who has an opinion which matters.   It's that idea of Porter Block creating all of this music and just waiting for someone- really everyone- to just hear it and get it.  

What I love about Porter Block is how the songs can create this sound which blends together to feel like one simple sound but the elements which make it up are rather complex.  Seeing the performance of "Say Something Nice" makes me want to see other songs performed as well, which really just makes me want to go back out to live music again and experience Porter Block in concert.