(A Moment of Silence) Death of Real Music
"
(A Moment of Silence) Death of Real Music" is a single written by American artist Ryan Ross Hernandez. It was the only song on the record self-produced by Hernandez'. It was released as a digital download on November 24, 2009 as the first single of Ryan Ross Hernandez' second studio album,
From Now On We Are Enemies. The song made its world premiere on the Miami radio station Power 96 on November 19. Its lyrics address the generic, over usage of the same elements used amongst most mainstream music and its strong relies on technology.
"
(A Moment of Silence) Death of Real Music"
Single by
Ryan Ross Hernandezfrom the album
From Now On We Are EnemiesReleased:
November 19, 2009 (airplay) / November 24, 2009 (digital download)Format:
Airplay, Digital downloadRecorded:
2009; Avex Honolulu Studios(Honolulu, Hawaii)
Genre:
Alternative rock, Alternative Hip hop, PopLength:
4:15Label:
Spice RecordsWriter(s):
Ryan Ross HernandezProducer:
Ryan Ross Hernandez Writing, inspiration and meaning
Before making "
(A Moment of Silence) Death of Real Music", Ryan Ross Hernandez had recorded a song only having computer-generated instruments. However, Hernandez' listened to music from other mainstream artists and after hearing that they sounded no different than the early-work he made for the album. He then removed all the songs that contained computer-generalized instruments from
From Now On We Are Enemies to further his point. and declined to make any music from there that had any technology to father better a track. Hernandez himself stated that the point of the song was to "
set the record straight", saying that while he appreciated the use of technology by artists with an ear for melody, far too many people had jumped onto a computer to fix their personal mistakes or make their music more appealing and were using it as a crutch. Hernandez' confirms that the song is not based on any particular artist or band but says that after hearing the song "
they know who they are..... unless their deaf," he went on to say that the track shouldn't be taken as a diss song but rather "
a moment for some musicians to open up their eyes and start making some good music," stating that if they don't the song's title will become true.
Hernandez' mentioned in a call-in radio interview that he wrote the song in Los Angeles, when he had a break from recording since he was suffering from writers block. He said that he wrote the entire song (excluding the chorus) in 30 minutes, stating "
it was strange. It was just a normal night off at my girlfriend's home. We were watching some really bad late talk shows while having a glass a wine. Then, boom! Out of no where I had the song written. I already had the idea from before, in Hawaii but like I wasn't able to write sh-t over there, for some reason."
Music video
Although Hernandez' has said that no music videos would be shot for any song going in favor of shooting a 45-minute film including all the songs on the album, he has mentioned that his label might want to release a video for "
Death of Real Music" due to the film not be released until January. But has confirmed that if the label decides to release a music video in favor of the song he will not participate in it.
Reception
Coming Soon...Live performances
Two days after the song premiered on Power 96, Hernandez sang a snippet of the song at PANIC!'s show in Chicago, Illinois and performed the song live for the first time. He is scheduled to perform the song in its full for the first time at The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.
Charts
(Peak Position as of 11/24)
United Kingdom: #2
United States: #4
Canada: #5
Australia & New Zealand: #5
South America: #5
Asia: #1
Europe: #7