although the mp3 revolution has brought a lot more attention to
third-rate semiprofessional bedroom composers, i don't think it has
lowered standards all that much. i think people are just
dissatisfied with all of it ! by the way come get dissatisfied,
mp3.com/aeflo
now, i also have a had a lot of qualms with the issue of intention.
to seperate what i like from what i don't like, i tried to think 'is
that what [this artist] MEANT to do ? is he skilled enough to sit
down and write straight from the dome?' but on the other hand, idm,
and any other genre, gets its biggest creative spurts from the
accidental shit. i don't think old mr. james had any idea what he
was getting into, before HAB, when he started speeding up his
sequencer and shifting around snare drum samples. but there is
definitely something very aesthetically satisfying about something
that sounds wrong, or UNintentional, and no one knows it better than
idm listeners. but as with critics of cage's music, people who
oppose this dsp-heavy music claim that it sounds so unintentional
that a computer could have written it. load a long sample and a few
effects, pick one at random at a random time, apply the effect with
random parameters. this kind of stuff is SO 'off', that it is
inaccessible to most people. so it is balance between music that is
too predictable and music that is too unpredictable, and everybody is
at a different degree of 'off-ness'. and as i have said in previous
posts, the idm scene is obviously expanding, and fragmenting--one
camp is making more cheesy synth-music and the other is making more
grating noise-music (both unlistenable, if you ask me!). it's the
mix of the two, go back to the melodic yet highly percussive works of
the early masters, they're still the best examples. you know, it's
like wearing either all bright colors or all grey. neither is very
sexy. the mix of the two, though....
.af.
ps; the last sentence is in light of the recent trend of juxtaposing
neon colors (esp. orange) with dark greys. it's already a bit played
out, but nice, no ?
quoted 41 lines On the other subject, IMHO, the real problem with idm sounding like
>>On the other subject, IMHO, the real problem with idm sounding like
>>poo poo is just indifference or ignorance in general, or laziness
>>under the copout of "oh, I want it to sound that way (but I really
>>don't know how to make it sound tight)". Maybe with mp3 culture
>>being a slight catalyst in the equation, things have gotten out of
>>hand.
>
>
>i agree. i think a lot of the "problems" with idm come from the
>aphex twin quote "oh i just fuck around with it a bit" (ok, he
>didn't say that exactly, but he's known for saying that a lot).
>many times over on the idm-making list, people say that "oh i took
>this sound and just sort of fucked with it a bit," which is nice 'n
>all, but it does lose a lot of focus. i think that's the difference
>between dsp-wankery and songs that work. cos i know plenty of songs
>that work really really really well that have a ton of dsp editing,
>but it's done so well that if it wasn't intentional, the maker(s)
>did a *very* good job of making it sound intentional.
>
>so maybe instead of saying "don't use dsp", the mantra should go
>"don't just fuck with it" :D
>
>and i mean that in the least-offensive way. honest!
>
>cheers,
>/derek
>
>
>
>- - - - -
>Alice could not help her lips curing up into a smile as she began:
>"Do you know, I always thought Unicorns were fabulous monsters, too!
>I never saw one alive before!"
>
>"Well, now that we HAVE seen each other," said the Unicorn, "if
>you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you. Is that a bargain?"
>
>
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