From: kristopher robin (kris_at_temperstantrum.com)
Date: 2004-06-26 01:16:31
hey man, dont worry so much about the painting.
Steve wrote:
> :: rant warning :: :: rant warning ::
>
> perhaps you’ve seen the painting “capitalism – socialism” which shows
> 2 views of a violinist; under the capitalist system, he is huddled in
> the cold, shivering over his violin, a sad look, like a chick tract
> character on his way to hell, while behind him are the faded lights of
> saloons, taverns, and other “joints” he is exploited by and forced to
> perform in. under the socialist banner, he is proudly performing as a
> soloist (presumably a russian aka soviet approved piece) in a concert
> hall to an ennobled audience.
>
> nice bit of propaganda, that. but then, I had the experience of seeing
> art become life when, in the same week, I saw the gonzalo rubalcalba
> trio, live, and the source awards, on tv. it got me wondering, is
> capitalism really bad for the musician and her/his art? could the
> death jaw of lucre really squeeze out all of the “charm for the
> workman,” even in music?
>
> but I look at the question a little longer, and some things become
> apparent to me; first, nearly all of the tools now indispensable for
> the creation of modern music come from, for the most part, largely
> capitalist societies; that would be firstly japan, usa, germany, uk,
> then korea, poland, estonia, and oh yeah, sweden.
>
> what are these essential tools? technics turntable. akai sampler.
> fender rhodes / telecaster. logic audio, cubase. neve / ssl console.
> marshall amp. on and on.
>
> (btw as an aside… interesting to note how many of these technologies
> had their origins in a “military” use at some point. the rhodes, for
> instance, was born when harold rhodes was ordered to start a music
> therapy program for the tens of thousands of wounded gi’s in ww2. and…
> ever wonder why neve stuff has that boring “grey” finish? because neve
> started out as military equipment. in fact, the modular design of neve
> gear, part of what makes it so prized today over mackie and the like,
> was due to its original conformation to military spec… ie modules were
> easier to repair on gunships, even though they were much more costly
> to make. next time u listen to return to 4ever, thank the military
> industrial complex!!! tax money at work.)
>
> if you’re not a musician, you may not realize the revolution that has
> occurred / is occurring with music technology. it is possible, if not
> probable, that a hit record will come from the home pc of a teen-aged
> kid with not more than $1000 invested in his equipment - this when
> record companies routinely spend millions to record, to say nothing of
> promote, albums.
>
> back on point. without the products made in these capitalist
> economies, there would be no music as we know it. no 4 hero. no dkd or
> bugz in the attic. in fact, roll back further. there is no rush, as
> far as I know, among vintage music gear enthusiasts, for much of
> anything coming from soviet states. did they ever produce any great
> piano? any great microphone? when the maestro, v. horowitz, returned
> to the ussr late in life, did he play any soviet piano? no, he had his
> u.s. steinway and sons flown over. there’s the reality your poster has
> twisted. punked. what about cuba, what about buena vista social club?
> well, it may dismay some to recall sones and tumbaos pre-date castro,
> that the legendary Havana studio, “egrem” was built by rca in the
> ‘40’s… that it has a uk board and uses german mics, etc. what cuba has
> been really good at, in addition to quashing political dissent via
> imprisonment, is saving old western technology in museum condition.
>
> just consider; if it wasn’t for capitalism, ALL of the great music of
> the 20th century we have on recording (thanks to marx’s nightmare,
> edison) would *sound* a lot different, i.e. worse.
>
> and, it should be noted, that the nu music software business is as
> about as unlike the caricature of capitalism marx sets up in the
> manifesto as to be funny. software development is very dynamic, and
> sizeable fortunes can be built from a desktop, where a nerdy
> kat/kitten is programming away, trying to develop the next useful vst.
>
> BUT, u say, what have the capitalist musicians done with the wonderful
> tools capitalism has bequeathed on them? or better, while u might
> (grudgingly) concede that capitalism has been indispensable to the
> artist’s convenience, what has it done to her soul, her art? here, we
> enter in to more esoteric realms, but a couple of questions might be
> asked;
>
> first, when u, dear reader, hear a piece of music, a track, that
> really moves u, do u think, “wow… that sounds/feels great, but it
> would sound better if it wasn’t for that dam patriot act!!!” or “if
> only clinton wouldn’t have passed welfare reform, amp fiddler would
> really sound hot 2 me.”
>
> but consider this; almost every piece of music u like, from mozart’s
> concertos to dkd, was made, at least in part, to get people to like /
> buy it. very few artists want their music to be unliked… and that
> includes the most “socialist” artist out there… (socialism’s a lot
> like Christianity in that regard… a lot of people espouse it on the
> macro level, but few actually live it in the micro of their own
> personal lives, especially the average attention-pimping artist.)
>
> what about socialist music? does it exist? yes; the best place to hear
> the socialist sound is in university composition faculty concerts.
> these are compositions by artists who’s salaries are paid, not by the
> public, supply / demand, but by the state. that’s what music sounds
> like when a musician is state subsidized. academic, self-indulgent,
> dry, self-referential, etc. if capitalism makes the artist a pimp,
> socialism makes the artist a bureaucrat.
>
> so, here we are. does the capitalist system suck 4 artists. sure it
> does; the world itself, in some ways, sucks 4 artists. BUT, the
> capitalist system has also provided artists with the TOOLS necessary
> to paint the world w. their OWN sound NOW, much more so than ever
> before. with everyone rocking a software computer setup nowadays, the
> playing field is leveled… u have now only to 2 perform, 2 administrate
> and 2 market, which takes talent, energy and persistence. is it in u?
>
> paradox ::: when u pay your subsidy to fund michael moore’s 911 this
> weekend… just imagine how boring it would’ve been if it was made for
> PBS instead of your pocketbook… (mmmm, just like ben and jerry’s,
> sweet guilty pleasure!!!)
>