I think you folks are being a bit too thin-skinned on this one. Eno is
talking about the state of pop music in general, not just (or even
particularly) computer-focused genres. And he's right. Turn your radio
on and give a listen. Or do you really think that the largest users of
cubase and the like are still the IDM crowd?
And he's right on another thing. You aren't likely to create anything
of lasting value on the "cutting edge." You're much more likely to do
that long after the "cutting-edge" status has passed, and the strengths
and weaknesses of your tools are well-explored, by both you and by
listeners. The excitement of novel sounds lasts for only a little while,
but while it lasts it conceals a multitude of defects. Whether a piece
of music will continue to engage body and soul once its sounds become
familiar is the issue (for me at least), and I'd claim that the over-
whelming bulk of computer-generated music will turn out to have nothing
but surface attraction that will wear off once the next new round of
tools emerge. (And that's entirely OK, I suppose, if momentary novelty
is all that you're looking for in music.)
Whether Eno or his music is relevant any longer is a question I'm sure
the list will explore ad nauseum, but that doesn't change the fact that
most computer-generated music is guilty as charged.
-Ed
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