IDM Mailing Archive

There was a hour long show about Bjork on A&E a few weeks ago. In part of it she was walking on the beach with a little box about the size of a cigar box in her hand. It was black, boxy, and had lots of little knobs and buttons on it. She said it was a portable sampler/sequencer/digital effects machine, and implied that it also was a drum machine. She said the composes her tracks on this as a kind of musical sketch pad. Does anyone have any idea what this nifty little device is? ' - . _ . - ' ^ ' - . _ . - ' ^ ' - . _ . - c h r i s t ø p h e r f ª h e y . _ . - ' ^ ' - . _ . - ' ^ ' - . _ . - ' ^ chris@raremedium.com 2 1 2 - 6 3 4 - 6 9 5 0 x 2 5 8 http://www.raremedium.com - ' ^ ' - . _ . - ' ^ ' - . _ . - ' ^ ' - .

On Thu, 14 May 1998, Daniel J. Freer wrote:

quoted 12 lines On Wed, 13 May 1998, Christopher Fahey wrote:

> On Wed, 13 May 1998, Christopher Fahey wrote: > > > There was a hour long show about Bjork on A&E a few weeks ago. In part of it > > she was walking on the beach with a little box about the size of a cigar box > > in her hand. It was black, boxy, and had lots of little knobs and buttons on > > it. She said it was a portable sampler/sequencer/digital effects machine, > > and implied that it also was a drum machine. She said the composes her > > tracks on this as a kind of musical sketch pad. Does anyone have any idea > > what this nifty little device is? > > It's probably a cellular phone so that she can call Howie B and Plaid and > tell them to write her music.

hahahahahahaha!!!! ROTFL!! (Pasta, that's "Rolling On The Floor Laughing" 4 U) ...oh...ah ahaha, ok, <wipes eyes> ughh.. ...if it really had knobs, and even had colored buttons, it could be a SU700, the new Yamaha sampler/drummachine/everythingbox, which I have high hopes for, having gotten several cheap barrels of monkeys out of my SU10 thus far. Else, it could be the SU10, QY-10(not a sampler), or newer QY/SU sequencer. I can't think of any battery-powered black boxes with knobs not made by yamaha... BTW, You are really geeky if you walk down the beach with one of those, and I just can't believe she is that geeky. Like when you are that geeky, you are late to fashion photo sessions and shit because you have your headphones on and loose track of time, right?!! Shit, she could just as well walk down the beach with a LAPTOP: she's got MONEY, c'mon!!! Little black boxes usually have LCD's that, in the hot sun at the beach, geeks have to squint their eyes to see, and consequently get those wrinkles that their fashion photo-journalists are always putting Preparation H on to shrink away. [] geek w/headphones squinting at SU-10 ---> {|-i solenoid@europa.com <------+

On Wed, 13 Ma y 1998, Solenoid wrote:

quoted 4 lines On Thu, 14 May 1998, Daniel J. Freer wrote:

> On Thu, 14 May 1998, Daniel J. Freer wrote: > > > On Wed, 13 May 1998, Christopher Fahey wrote: > >

quoted 6 lines She said the composes her

> > > She said the composes her > > > tracks on this as a kind of musical sketch pad. Does anyone have any idea > > > what this nifty little device is? > > > > It's probably a cellular phone so that she can call Howie B and Plaid and > > tell them to write her music.

Or she was ringing Madonna to tell her to stay off her patch.

quoted 10 lines hahahahahahaha!!!! ROTFL!!

> > hahahahahahaha!!!! ROTFL!! > (Pasta, that's "Rolling On The Floor Laughing" 4 U) > > ...oh...ah ahaha, ok, <wipes eyes> ughh.. > > ...if it really had knobs, and even had colored buttons, it could be a > SU700, the new Yamaha sampler/drummachine/everythingbox, which I have high > hopes for, having gotten several cheap barrels of monkeys out of my SU10 > thus far.

This was almost definitely a repeat of the South Bank Show programme broadcast in dear old blighty last year and it was an SU-10. People always say electronic devices have coloured buttons, flashing lights, knobs and sliders, ariels, oscilloscopes etc even if they're only talking about a T.V. remote. What they actually mean is "it looked a bit complicated to me at first glance and I can't remember", it's a subconcious thing. Steve.N

quoted 3 lines From: "Daniel J. Freer" <freerdj@jmu.edu>

> From: "Daniel J. Freer" <freerdj@jmu.edu> > To: idm@hyperreal.org > Subject: Re: (idm) Bjork on A&E

quoted 3 lines It's probably a cellular phone so that she can call Howie B and Plaid and

> It's probably a cellular phone so that she can call Howie B and Plaid and > tell them to write her music. >

I sense a general dislike of Bjork on this list, and, her being probably my favourite vocalist, I have to pause and wonder why? Is it for legitamate reasons, such as, you simply don't enjoy listening to her music, or is it for illigitemate reasons, such as, she's not "underground" enough for you, or, as the above statement suggests, she employs other people to help her with her producing? Not wanting to start a flame war, i'm just curious... Ali Lalani "When injustice becomes law... Resistance becomes duty." Some montreal protesters

On Thu, 14 May 1998 alalan@PO-Box.McGill.CA wrote:

quoted 14 lines From: "Daniel J. Freer" <freerdj@jmu.edu>

> > From: "Daniel J. Freer" <freerdj@jmu.edu> > > To: idm@hyperreal.org > > Subject: Re: (idm) Bjork on A&E > > > It's probably a cellular phone so that she can call Howie B and Plaid and > > tell them to write her music. > > > I sense a general dislike of Bjork on this list, and, her being > probably my favourite vocalist, I have to pause and wonder why? Is it > for legitamate reasons, such as, you simply don't enjoy listening to > her music, or is it for illigitemate reasons, such as, she's not > "underground" enough for you, or, as the above statement suggests, > she employs other people to help her with her producing? Not wanting > to start a flame war, i'm just curious...

For the record, I think Bjork is a really good musician, regardless of who or what she uses as her tools. She has beautiful voice, I mean ever since her Sugarcubes days I've totally liked her style. I watched, last night on Bravo, what I believe may be the same documentary several of you have been refering too. From what I saw in the program she and Mark Bell worked as a team on Homogenic, I'm not sure if it was 50/50 but she is definitely an accomplished musician, how about those string arrangements for "Joga"... By the way the machine in question is definitely in the Yamaha line, something after the QY20 with sampling capabilties circa 1997. Anyway if you haven't seen the docu it's an interesting watch... Ross

At 05:25 PM 5/14/98 +0000, alalan@PO-Box.McGill.CA wrote:

quoted 7 lines I sense a general dislike of Bjork on this list, and, her being

>I sense a general dislike of Bjork on this list, and, her being >probably my favourite vocalist, I have to pause and wonder why? Is it >for legitamate reasons, such as, you simply don't enjoy listening to >her music, or is it for illigitemate reasons, such as, she's not >"underground" enough for you, or, as the above statement suggests, >she employs other people to help her with her producing? Not wanting >to start a flame war, i'm just curious...

Well, the fact that her "voice" sounds like the howls of a disfigured, mangled, dying cat sounds like a good place to start. - wells oliver / s0ewoliv@titan.vcu.edu

quoted 12 lines There was a hour long show about Bjork on A&E a few weeks ago. In part of it

>> >> > There was a hour long show about Bjork on A&E a few weeks ago. In part of it >> > she was walking on the beach with a little box about the size of a cigar box >> > in her hand. It was black, boxy, and had lots of little knobs and buttons on >> > it. She said it was a portable sampler/sequencer/digital effects machine, >> > and implied that it also was a drum machine. She said the composes her >> > tracks on this as a kind of musical sketch pad. Does anyone have any idea >> > what this nifty little device is? > >Else, it could be the SU10, QY-10(not a sampler), or newer QY/SU >sequencer. I can't think of any battery-powered black boxes with knobs >not made by yamaha...

it was kinda hard to tell at first glance, but i'm pretty sure it was a QY70, which is the only one of those that can be manipulated by both hands a la "sega game gear." no sampling on that one though, so hmmm..

quoted 3 lines BTW, You are really geeky if you walk down the beach with one of those,

> >BTW, You are really geeky if you walk down the beach with one of those, >and I just can't believe she is that geeky. Like when you are that geeky,

i wouldn't have believed it either, if the clip in question wasn't of her doing just that. eric onnow: drum machine circle:dada(fax)

quoted 8 lines At 05:25 PM 5/14/98 +0000, alalan@PO-Box.McGill.CA wrote:

>At 05:25 PM 5/14/98 +0000, alalan@PO-Box.McGill.CA wrote: >>I sense a general dislike of Bjork on this list, and, her being >>probably my favourite vocalist, I have to pause and wonder why? Is it >>for legitamate reasons, such as, you simply don't enjoy listening to >>her music, or is it for illigitemate reasons, such as, she's not >>"underground" enough for you, or, as the above statement suggests, >>she employs other people to help her with her producing? Not wanting >>to start a flame war, i'm just curious...

There are quite a few people on the list who dislike vocals, myself amongst them. Then there are those, Ken of Black Dog included, who accuse her of taking advantage of other artists' musical talent. At 10:07 PM 5/15/98 -0400, wells wrote:

quoted 2 lines Well, the fact that her "voice" sounds like the howls of a disfigured,

>Well, the fact that her "voice" sounds like the howls of a disfigured, >mangled, dying cat sounds like a good place to start.

Oh please. I can count the vocalists I like on one hand (well, maybe I need a few extra fingers), but I've liked Bjork's voice since I first heard "Ooops" by 808State. It helps when I can't understand what she's saying, but occasionally she emits something brilliant. Her timing and ability to express her emotions can't be faked - she's no Spice Girl. Homogenic is the first album of hers I can enjoy, because she got rid of the formulaic hacks that had been producing her music. I think Bjork deserves more respect from IDMers, if not for some of the spooky tracks she's done w/ Plaid (Anchor Song), then for the wider recognition she's given IDMers like Plaid, mu-Ziq, and others. Che

wells wrote:

quoted 2 lines Well, the fact that her "voice" sounds like the howls of a disfigured,

> Well, the fact that her "voice" sounds like the howls of a disfigured, > mangled, dying cat sounds like a good place to start.

you say that like it's a bad thing. ??? Jon Drukman jsd@gamespot.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Plan: Eat right, exercise regularly, die anyway.

At 9:53 AM -0700 5/15/98, you wrote:

quoted 4 lines wells wrote:

>wells wrote: >> Well, the fact that her "voice" sounds like the howls of a disfigured, >> mangled, dying cat sounds like a good place to start. >

That in combination with the rather brilliant music almost drove me to explore the possibilities of voice-removal software. Karaoke Bjork, anyone? Where's that confounded umlaut? 3

I caught this show on Bravo. It was pretty decent. My favorite part is the live bit in the begining where if you watch close you can see Plaid playing keyboards and Leila jumping up and down behind the mixing desk. Also good was when she went to Fat Cat and you could see the 'Weird And Radical Projects' shirt on the wall. hehe. She tends to lay the elfin fairy shit on a bit thick at times. Suprised they didn't show any clips of that mental guy who shaved his head and and then blew it off after sending her an acid bomb. Managed to see a bunch of him on the last Fox special on Stalking. Classic. World's Scariest indeed. Gnz.

Dear all, At 16:36 1998-05-15 +0000, Che wrote:

quoted 3 lines I think Bjork deserves more respect from IDMers, if not for some of the

>I think Bjork deserves more respect from IDMers, if not for some of the >spooky tracks she's done w/ Plaid (Anchor Song), then for the wider >recognition she's given IDMers like Plaid, mu-Ziq, and others.

Björk deserves respect for being, together with Massive, the only worthwile top-10 artist with integrity and guts enough to do something brave and unexpected. And for not letting the musicbiz/labels/whatever smooth out every bump in her sound. And for knowing what the hell she's doing. Ever heard Spice Girls praise Stockhausen? Recognition to "IDMers", blah! Those Plaid tracks weren't really good anyway. Please see further than your noses please. If everybody could understand that even if something isn't touched by the hand of black dog nor aphex nor autechre nor muziq nor reload or whatever there's still a SLIGHT possibility that it's groovy. Björk is the crystalclearest of crystalclear "IDMers" in my book. Ok, Gonzi or Gil come on. ;) On another note: The somewhat new Money Mark album is a masterpiece. Although not as good as "Mark's Keyboard Repair" still an awesome piece of work. He's got the FUNK. But BEWARE: It's got vocals. Word to the mother, Franz. NP: Bel Canto, Magic Box --- WHEN DOGMA ENTERS THE BRAIN, ALL INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY CEASES. - Robert Anton Wilson.

At 01:45 AM 5/16/98 +0200, Franz Enmark wrote:

quoted 7 lines Björk deserves respect for being, together with Massive, the only worthwile

> >Björk deserves respect for being, together with Massive, the only worthwile >top-10 artist with integrity and guts enough to do something brave and >unexpected. And for not letting the musicbiz/labels/whatever smooth out >every bump in her sound. And for knowing what the hell she's doing. Ever >heard Spice Girls praise Stockhausen? >

I'm really not trying to be an ass here (i.e. I'm actually trying to make a point), but I think a distinction should be drawn between name-dropping and praising. Especially in Bjorjk's case, although it could just be my opinon. np. wumpscut 'mesner tracks' - wells oliver / s0ewoliv@titan.vcu.edu