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Re: LOOPING PHILOSOPHY (condensed)



At 11:44 PM -0500 8/11/97, John Pollock wrote:
>'Kay, my mind's open... Show me any example of a DJ's work that can make
>me feel like, say, Ry Cooder's solo on "Lipstick Sunset" or Amos
>Garrett's on "Midnight at the Oasis"-- please!

Phrased this way, it's an absurd DJ vs Guitarist competition with arbitrary
standards of merit. It just begs another round of my endless and now
tedious refrain of "what is the point?"

But rephrased, it becomes much more interesting. And becomes a chance to
learn from each other.

How about if you spend some time explaining to those who are not familiar
with Ry Cooder and Amos Garrett why these particular musicians are
especially moving to you? Maybe you could teach us something about their
music so that we could maybe learn to appreciate it in the same way you do.
Hopefully we can learn something that will give us new insight to our own
music. I know nothing about Amos Garrett, and only a little about Ry
Cooder. What I heard of Ry Cooder apparently didn't move me the same as
you, so I probably missed something. Maybe you could teach me and others
what that was?

And by the same token, those interested in electronic music of various
sorts could possibly explain to others what it is about that music that
appeals to them and moves them in a particular way. Teach us about the
elements of that music that make it creatively satisfying, so that those
doing different sorts of music might learn to appreciate it and possibly
gain new insights to their own music.

Part of the deal is we give each other some respect and not trod on the
differences we find. Also: we must realize that it is entirely possible
that we *won't* understand the other sort of music, and that it might not
move us, but that doesn't make it a less valid form. It's just different,
and for whatever reason, doesn't connect with us. It does move someone
else, and that has to be ok. And: our teachers might fail; we might not be
ready to learn.  Still, the opportunity to learn from the unfamiliar is
valuable, and deserves respect.


Now I'm not remarkably qualified on the electronica front, (after all, I've
played guitar since I was 7 and spend most of my time playing jazz and
blues) But a lot of music I've heard there has really turned my head around
and opened up new ideas. A lot of this has already been mentioned here,
actually. So some things to check out, homework if you will, would be dj
spooky, dj shadow, dj krush, Buckethead's Day of the Robot w/dj ninj or his
current group with dj disc (a little guitar crossover :-) ), the orb,
future sound of london, aphex twin, underworld, orbital, meat beat
manifesto, and even David Torn's what means solid, traveller. Some older
stuff that really mattered to me includes Ministry, skinny puppy, the
beastie boys, public enemy, front 242, and kmfdm.

This acually represents a very wide range of music, but even so, totally
misses entire categories of "electronica." Others will hopefully be better
able to add good examples.


>For that matter, point out the killer bassoon solo...

I like the way bassoon sounds, why are putting that one down? After playing
guitar all my life, working for a guitar company, and generally being with
it forever, I would be quite happy to spend a year listening to bassoon!


>Seems to me there's a profound difference between generalizing about
>instruments and generalizing about people.  Motley was talking about
>instruments.

Choosing a musical instrument is a very personal decision. Putting down an
instrument means putting down someone who made that choice. That's why some
of us get so worked up about it.

Looping obviously appeals to a wildly divergent group of people, with some
stunningly different interests and backgrounds. Yet somehow we all have
looping as a common thread. We should be exploring that! So much to learn
from each other, so little time here. Let's not waste it on foolishness.

kim

______________________________________________________________________
Kim Flint                   | Looper's Delight
kflint@annihilist.com       | http://www.annihilist.com/loop/loop.html
http://www.annihilist.com/  | Loopers-Delight-request@annihilist.com