I don't think it's always possible to 'write about music'...or any art for
that matter. I make my living as a writer and I spend much of my free time
writing...and I still don't write about music the way that I HEAR that
music...so inevitably, it comes out incomplete and dissatisfying, however
well expressed.
Writing about music, or any art, is more complicated than simply knowing how
to absorb that art and then translate those feelings into a written
language. To me, that translation cheapens the music...to others I've read
online, that translation can become its own thing. To my mind, it never
mirrors the music, but it may sometimes reflect a piece of its emotional
effect.
I find music reviews fascinating because of this effect, whether intended or
not.
in short, you're both right.
---brian
------------------------
Brian W. Gause
Senior Technical Writer
SECTORBASE.com
568 Howard Street
First Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Direct: (415) 365-8203
Fax: (415) 365-8263
-----Original Message-----
From: fstab@yaxu.org [mailto:fstab@yaxu.org]
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2001 11:18 AM
To: idm@hyperreal.org
Subject: Re: [idm] dancing about architecture
On Tue, 16 Jan 2001, Kent williams wrote:
quoted 2 lines When it comes to writing about music, it's something I do a lot, so I> When it comes to writing about music, it's something I do a lot, so I
> think that it can be done. Otherwise I wouldn't bother.
yes. but you can only go so far.
we (or at least, i) lack the diction to describe sound to any level of
satisfaction. when we describe sound using words like 'bright', 'dark',
'textured', 'hard', 'sharp', we're drawing in words used for our other
senses.
i can feel some satisfaction in describing a piece of music using
elaborate genres, like 'jazzy french techno' or 'minimal glitch', but any
other person will interpret that differently from me.
so talking about music is hard. everyone interprets music in their own
way... no wonder reviewers end up talking about themselves and the other
music the like. but it is a good process to go through. i guess dancing
about architecture is good too.
so i am agreeing with you, and adding a tangent...
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