There's an entire school of thought about writing music reviews that
religiously avoids comparing artists to other artists. Although this
methodology is admirably idealistic, and it probably encourages uncreative
writers to explore more interesting ways of describing the sound, I get the
feeling that this "rule" has its origins in college writing classes, where
young writers are discouraged from the use of simple comparisons.
But as it happens, it's hands-down the best way to describe what music
sounds like. How else to describe sound than to compare it to another
familiar sound? (besides going into arcane music and acoustic theory and
besides describing hardware)
The "If you like X you'll probably like Y" review technique has to be about
the #1 way I've ever found out about new music I like without having
actually heard it first. Done correctly, it's far and away the only way to
accurately representing music with words.
The problem, of course, is when the comparison is made without any detail or
qualification. It's one thing to say, for example, "Autechre meets Maurizio"
and it's another thing entirely to say "Melodic Autechre-ish top with a
Maurizio bottom." (S&M double entendre intended)
-cf
quoted 53 lines -----Original Message-----
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Upton [mailto:jetjag@MailAndNews.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2000 7:05 PM
> To: idm@hyperreal.org
> Subject: RE: (idm) stop the lame comparisons, please
>
>
> >===== Original Message From Sean Cooper =====
>
> >i'm all for calling a spade a spade, but the endless
> comparing of things to
> >autechre or aphex twin or whatever other first-wave idm
> artist has passed the
> >point of usefulness. these comments about while and arovane
> are a case in
> >point. neither can reasonably be compared to autechre beyond
> the blueprint
> >description provided above, yet these comparisons continue
> to be made. this
> is >either ignorance or laziness.
>
> I thought you wrote the review on Urban Sounds of the first
> Arovane single on
> DIN? You know, the one that (unreasonably) said the 12" in
> question was
> picking up from where Autechre dropped the ball after
> 'Amber'? Perhaps I've
> got my pointless trivia mixed up.
>
> Still, "hear hear" to Sean's general point, and I'd also like
> to suggest a
> quick death to all the frankly incomprehensible "combination"
> comparisons too.
> You know, like "the While album sounding like a cross between
> Boogie Down
> Productions and Coil". I mean, what on earth is that supposed
> to sound like?
> What period of either act? What aspects of each act's sound
> are retained?
>
> Blurgo.
>
> Michael
>
> -+-
> Jet Jaguar MP3s http://mp3.com/jetjag/
> -+-
>
>
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