Yep I'm still around. I changed my name and lurk a bit more than I did
... I didn't consider "datboy" having all those supposed racist
connotations that I kept getting accused of all the time I had it. Best
slanging match? Hee hee .... wow ... to me I was just calling a guy, you
know? Didn't think it'd actually make an impression ..... :)
>my thoughts were mainly provoked by a friend who would laugh at
>what i, and to some extent we, listen to (especially instrumental
>trip/hip hop). his initial response to listening to some ninja-tune
>stuff (i forget the song, it was one of dj food's jazz brakes)
>was "i bet the guy that wrote that is not as intelligent as bach".
>i thought this was a ridiculous comment, mainly because who gives
>a shit how intelligent the composer is, who knows how to measure
>intelligence and so on.
It goes deeper than that as far as I can see .... it has to do with a
person's willingness to accept something truly different when they listen
to a new style. Most of the people that I hear putting down any groove
music think that if it doesn't have a melody and a chord progression, it's
not music .... that to me is completely absurd. The stuff we listen to has
other focus than just a head or a solo in the traditional sense ... so when
I hear something that I have a strong reaction to, I listen to it until I
know how it goes, and then I make up my mind whether I like it. One record
in 20 years has failed the test ... Yes's "Talk".
>in many ways i think that part of mark's question
>is really not important for the same reason:
>who cares how "creative" the composer is, who knows how to measure
>creativity etc. what the overwhelming value and interest of
>music to me is how aurally stimulating it is. i don't identify
>strongly with the people who make the music and so i don't really
>need to confirm my love for what they write by thinking about
>how smart they are and how complicated and intricate their
>compositions are: simple!
Yeh .. Headz 2 is always going to be a great record because of the two
versions of "The Real Thing" .... I put that and Breakbeat Science 2 on two
4 hr DATs and that way I can groove all day long ....
>a similar thread came up on the breaks list once in reference to
>wagon christ's throbbing pouch (which i believe to be a fantastic
>work - totally hypnotic and a joy to listen to). he complained that
>any old fool with a drum machine could make that album.
Actually I laugh when I hear this argument, because I think "huh? Any old
fool with a drum machine? *You* didn't make that album, muh-fuh!"
>( ... but
>of course you have to have some great programming skills to write
>squarepushers stuff)
Have you heard this Alroy Road Tracks thing that is Squarepusher in
disguise? Spy 002 .... This was the first time I'd ever heard him, having
missed the first album ... heard it the day before Hard Normal Daddy came
out .... You talk about something tweaking my mind ..... I couldn't figure
out what speed to play the record at .....
>now, that said, you can engage in a discussion about the intellectual
>value of a piece of music apart from it's musical interest. in this
>activity i see a lot of parallels with modern art and modern classical
>music. anybody can paint a red square really big, or record 3 minutes
>of silence, so the skill of composition is not really important. and
>once someone has drawn a big red square, it doesn't mean that
>no-one can draw a lot of smaller red squares and call it art. (the analogy,
>for those who think i am crazy, is to the use of the sample: a red square)
>the prize goes to who thought of making the
>particular composition as a whole. the same is true with dj cam: he
>thought of bringing the elements he chose together in the way he did.
>one great piece on no.10 the 2x12" from shadow has the n.o.w. piece
>cut into the middle of another rhythm. i think that's great because
>of the indescribable joy that i get hearing the transition between
>what are two well used samples. if the composition brings to life
>somthing the sampled piece didn't touch, or whatever, the composer
>has done his job, and deserves credit for his *creation*.
I don't know about that ... all the guy has to do is put a frame around it
and after that it's a matter of taste. Some people would be happy to check
out that red square.
I don't know how else to describe why I like what I do ... I mean ..
"Pocket Calculator" by Kraftwerk has to be one of my favorite songs EVER,
but it's So Stupid .... so cartoonish .... and so of-its-time. I listen to
a lot of cheesy stuff on the offchance that something I really like will
happen and I'll stumble over something I like .... these are two really
crass examples but I really like Jocelyn Rodriguez's "Do You Miss Me" and
Crush's "Jellyhead." The musician in me thinks, these songs are
ultra-cheese, this is nothing special, someone programmed a verse and a
chorus and sang over it. Big deal. The listener/absorber/fan in me likes
them a LOT because they're catchy, very singalongable, and totally
brainless ... I can do anything while listening to these songs and still
absorb them ....
I equate my musical taste with my culinary taste. When you sit down to eat
you don't have chicken vindaloo, chicken vindaloo, chicken vindaloo,
chicken vindaloo, chicken vindaloo, chicken vindaloo, and chicken vindaloo.
That would be incredibly heavy. You have a salad here, a stalk of
vegetable there, a roll here, a salad there, etc. etc. etc. And I really
like jello music as much as I like the caviar music, you know? But I
wouldn't want either all the time ....
c'ya