IDM Mailing Archive

Well Drew, if I had to listen to Bach for melodies, ha ha ha, I'd die trying to find a sufficient Melody for my ear............. I get your drift and somewhat feel ya, but if U listen to John Beltrans 10 Days of Blue or Placid Angels, The Cry and think this is as melodic as Ae's Chiastic Slide....................nawh!!!!!!....... Again, though, U kinda hit the issue on the head when u mentioned it depends on what one is after and that there are melodies any most if not all sound! Hk!

quoted 38 lines -----Original Message-----

> -----Original Message----- > From: mcess@slip.net [SMTP:mcess@slip.net] > Sent: Monday, August 23, 1999 3:37 PM > To: idm@hyperreal.org > Subject: (idm) "ch- ch- check out my melody"- Eric B. and Rakim > > "Every noise has a note." That's a helpful motto from the folks at AMM > (circa '66) that I think is really applicable to this whole wave of posts > about "melody" vs. "clanky noise". Pure white noise aside, just about > every sound you can make has some pitch information in it, and when you > create patterns out of those sounds, you create sequences of pitches- > there > may be melodies inside all sorts of purely glitchy, complex programming > beats if you listen for them. To keep things nice n IDMish, I would single > out Ae's "Chiastic Slide" as an excellent example of this effect: melodies > are implicit in almost entirely percussive songs. To venture away from > IDM, > consider gamelan in this context: is there such a clear distinction > between > what is a rhythmic pattern and what is a melody in a gamelan performance? > Another example would be a Xenakis piece like "Pleiades", where melody and > rhythm seem to mesh. > If the complaint is "Why isn't IDM melodically rich enough?", I would > suggest that, if melody is really the *primary* thing you are looking for, > why not try Burt Bacharach, Mahler, Van Dyke Parks, Bach, etc.? Why not > check out people who are actually talented at writing complex melodic > music, not just puny drifting three note minor chord whooshes? Seriously, > if you listen to even a prosaic Broadway standard like "Baubles, Bangles, > and Beads", you will hear more intricate bridges, shifts in tempo, strange > chords, and multi-layered melodic information than you will hear in your > standard IDM track- not to say that therefore they should listen to > Broadway instead of the latest Schematic 12", but people who think IDM is > "the most complex music" really ought to check out other sections of the > record store before they pat themselves on the back again for being so > "deep". . . > > Drew >

quoted 4 lines but people who think IDM is

>> but people who think IDM is >> "the most complex music" really ought to check out other sections of the >> record store before they pat themselves on the back again for being so >> "deep". . .

definitely...this gives me an excuse to repeat myself: john coltrane if theres one musician i think everyone has to check out its trane.. devastating martin

-- i'l have to agree that if you are looking for melodic development, idm may not be the richest source. but why can't we expect more than "puny drifting three note minor chord whooshes" from idm makers. since most of them use midi, they are not limited by how well they can play but by their imaginations (and by how lazy they are). i feel like maybe idmers will spend days programming their beats and then 5 minutes on their melodies/melodic development/etc because they think beats and noises are cool and melodies are not. i like complex beats as much as anybody but i'm ready for a melodic revolution in the idm community. even when there are musical parts, usullay it's limited. someone was describing autchre's songs as A/A, how about some A/B/C/D style shit. i'm ready, how come the music makers aren't? (actually check 'maphive 6.1' on ep7 for a break from the mold. very sweet!) peace-roy On Mon, 23 Aug 1999 13:36:39 Vague Terrain wrote:

quoted 18 lines If the complaint is "Why isn't IDM melodically rich enough?", I would

>If the complaint is "Why isn't IDM melodically rich enough?", I would >suggest that, if melody is really the *primary* thing you are looking for, >why not try Burt Bacharach, Mahler, Van Dyke Parks, Bach, etc.? Why not >check out people who are actually talented at writing complex melodic >music, not just puny drifting three note minor chord whooshes? Seriously, >if you listen to even a prosaic Broadway standard like "Baubles, Bangles, >and Beads", you will hear more intricate bridges, shifts in tempo, strange >chords, and multi-layered melodic information than you will hear in your >standard IDM track- not to say that therefore they should listen to >Broadway instead of the latest Schematic 12", but people who think IDM is >"the most complex music" really ought to check out other sections of the >record store before they pat themselves on the back again for being so >"deep". . . > >Drew > > >

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On Mon, 23 Aug 1999, Roy G Biv wrote:

quoted 1 line how about some A/B/C/D style shit.

> how about some A/B/C/D style shit.

Try the URL below, and look for the "Teach Me How to Kiss" MP3. Melody, harmony, some funkiness, and so-called digital trickery. Enjoy! --Mark __ Burning Rome : SENSELESS CD on Mindfield Records MindCD03 Cathartium 14 < http://www.burningrome.com/ > < download MP3s, hear RealAudio first >

"Every noise has a note." That's a helpful motto from the folks at AMM (circa '66) that I think is really applicable to this whole wave of posts about "melody" vs. "clanky noise". Pure white noise aside, just about every sound you can make has some pitch information in it, and when you create patterns out of those sounds, you create sequences of pitches- there may be melodies inside all sorts of purely glitchy, complex programming beats if you listen for them. To keep things nice n IDMish, I would single out Ae's "Chiastic Slide" as an excellent example of this effect: melodies are implicit in almost entirely percussive songs. To venture away from IDM, consider gamelan in this context: is there such a clear distinction between what is a rhythmic pattern and what is a melody in a gamelan performance? Another example would be a Xenakis piece like "Pleiades", where melody and rhythm seem to mesh. If the complaint is "Why isn't IDM melodically rich enough?", I would suggest that, if melody is really the *primary* thing you are looking for, why not try Burt Bacharach, Mahler, Van Dyke Parks, Bach, etc.? Why not check out people who are actually talented at writing complex melodic music, not just puny drifting three note minor chord whooshes? Seriously, if you listen to even a prosaic Broadway standard like "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads", you will hear more intricate bridges, shifts in tempo, strange chords, and multi-layered melodic information than you will hear in your standard IDM track- not to say that therefore they should listen to Broadway instead of the latest Schematic 12", but people who think IDM is "the most complex music" really ought to check out other sections of the record store before they pat themselves on the back again for being so "deep". . . Drew

I throw in another cheer for Coltrane! Everyone should own "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis - which has Coltrane playing sax. If you don't have much jazz, this is a great starter CD. In terms of Coltrane's stuff... I dig "Africa Brass" and "Crescent," but you can't really go wrong. martin wrote:

quoted 8 lines but people who think IDM is

> >> but people who think IDM is > >> "the most complex music" really ought to check out other sections of the > >> record store before they pat themselves on the back again for being so > >> "deep". . . > > john coltrane > > if theres one musician i think everyone has to check out its trane..

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