i've often thought that the main reason that, generally speaking, electronic
music has not caught on in america (i can't say anything for the rest of the
world), is the lack of lyrics, singing, etc... americans seem to want
something they can sing along to.
i also think that lyrics/singing is an implicit recognition of your
audience - you're telling them a story. thus, the reason that many many
people dis electronic music as cold or unemotional is because their
emotional connection to music comes through that recognition by the artist.
they connect with the story the artist is sharing with them (or sometimes,
as in the case of teen pop, the fan feels like they are connecting directly
with the artist cause the artist is singing to them, or something). i think
that people who listen to music in this way simply do not judge the
emotional quality of the sounds that create the music. the sounds
(instruments, synths, whatever) are simply there to augment the singing and
the story. a case in point: william orbit was making music for a long time
with virtually no recognition (outside of the trance dj community perhaps),
then he made essentially the exact same music with madonna's vocals over the
top and it sold millions. my contention is that the singing/lyrics makes
the difference, at least from a motivational perspective - from a
perspective of how people individualy connect with an artist. i'm not
denying that there is also a huge marketing push behind any madonna record.
and also, orbit's stuff is the most commercial kind of electronic music - so
never mind something as left field as IDM.
anyway, i think this desire for artist recognition only increases in a live
setting - the guy/girl is right there after all. however, most electronic
artists don't have lyrics in their music and may feel that it takes
something away from the music if they speak to the audience. i know i don't
want to hear them say anything. however, artists may still want to connect
with an audience. i think idm, in particular, has solved this problem by
turning to another sensory connection with the audience - visuals. vision
is our primary sense, thus visuals have the ability to focus your attention
better than sound, due to the diffuse nature of hearing. visuals also
provide a medium for explicit communication with the audience - it's a
mechanism to transmit "meaning" and thereby recognition to an audience
because even silent images can transmit more "meaning" the wordless music.
a case in point: coldcut is the best live electronic performance i have
ever seen precisely for these reasons. there visuals were directly tied to
the music and carried a great deal of political "meaning." additionally,
they explicity recognized the audience by projecting the view from their
head-cams to the audience. of course, the music kicked ass as well, which
always helps. also,in a related vein, when i saw sigur ros, the visuals
they had helped keep me focused on the performance. since sigur ros sing in
icelandic, the vocals seem like just another instrument to me. i will say
the lead singer does have stage presence, even with icelandic lyrics. but,
those visuals were an excellent addition.
i wonder for how many of you the best shows you've seen have been
accompanied by particularly good visuals?
i should point out that i still connect quite a bit with the music i love -
without any visuals or lyrics. i've always thought that lyric-less music
connected more directly with your emotions cause it didn't get caught up
being processed by your thinking brain first. for that reason, it can be a
much deeper, more emotional connection than anything with lyrics. i bet
classical music lovers would agree with me if i applied this same
explanation to their favorite music.
i should also point out that i still enjoyed seeing autechre in the dark.
coldcut was better though - i guess part of me does want some artist
interaction at a show.
just some thoughts...
- d
np: biosphere - substrata
(forget visuals, i want to see biosphere play outside on the top of a
mountain at my family cabin in norway which i haven't been to in 5 years.)
----- Original Message -----
From: Rich <arkive@btopenworld.com>
To: idm <idm@hyperreal.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2002 5:02 PM
Subject: Re: [idm] Nic Endo in Grooves#7
quoted 9 lines Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 12:33:51 -0600
> > Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 12:33:51 -0600
> > To: idm@hyperreal.org
> > From: "r stanton" <industrialrobot@hotmail.com>
> > Subject: Nic Endo in Grooves#7
> > Message-ID: <F37zQEevxcVeuuLt3St000011a4@hotmail.com>
> >
> > In the latest issue of Grooves Magazine, there's an interview with Atari
> > Teenage Riot member Nic Endo, where she makes the statement:
> > "Music has to be a physical or emotional experience and not people
having
quoted 8 lines a
> a
> > drink, looking at a white middle-class nerd with a Mac laptop."
> >
>
> Do we all have to comply with the 'rock n roll' big concert style. NO! I
> agree that music performance has to show the passion behind it's creation,
> so doing SOMETHING during a live performance (real performers, not DAT
> wannabes) - Even if it's sitting behind a laptop clicking away at Rebirth
or
quoted 1 line something. Who cares? I listen to music when I go to gigs, not to sit
> something. Who cares? I listen to music when I go to gigs, not to sit
and
quoted 2 lines watch said nerd with his laptop. The more an artist makes his/her/their
> watch said nerd with his laptop. The more an artist makes his/her/their
> performance attractive, that's cool. But silly pop dancer routines (which
I
quoted 2 lines expect Joe Bloggs wants) are not in my book for gig requirements. Think
> expect Joe Bloggs wants) are not in my book for gig requirements. Think
> about DJ's. When I DJ, I play live stuff triggered through my EF303 to
the
quoted 1 line 505, and no-one stops to watch me twiddle fx etc. DJ's can play good
> 505, and no-one stops to watch me twiddle fx etc. DJ's can play good
music,
quoted 13 lines yet be ignored. Maybe this might have made sense if I thought about it a
> yet be ignored. Maybe this might have made sense if I thought about it a
> bit more, but it's fuel for a bit of debate about live IDM. Think about
> FSOL. They played live, yet no-one saw them.
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org
>
>
----------------------------------------------------
Sign Up for NetZero Platinum Today
Only $9.95 per month!
http://my.netzero.net/s/signup?r=platinum&refcd=PT97
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org
For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org