Re: Derivative?

["Michael LaMeyer" <mlameyer@rcn.com>]

Well, I would certainly say you seem to be doing something
"interesting" (In fact, if you ever post any of that stuff up
somewhere, I'd really want to hear it!) "Right" is a concept
I've found difficult to apply to art, not to mention other
ideas.

I agree wholeheartedly with you're discussion on influences.  I
was certainly concerned that a discussion of this sort could
easily disolve into the whole "what is art?" sort of thing.  And
I like the loop allusion!

I'm personally very excited about the cross-fertilization I
perceive in popular music today, and the apparent extent to
which today's younger music listeners seem to be more
open-minded by and large as a result.

----- Original Message -----
From: <HarryEsq@aol.com>
To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2001 1:26 PM
Subject: Derivative?


> I enjoyed the "notlad" stuff on mp3.com - as previously
alluded to, i think
> there's no way to neatly summarize all of the influences that
may come to
> bear on modern music - however, it is clear that jazz has
influenced on the
> improvisitory side and made it possible for people to digest
the idea of
> improvisation as a matter of course, ie, without always going
"what the ____
> is that?" - people making music now are the product of so many
influences
> that are themselves amalgams of so many influences - kind of
like a loop?
>
> i think i'm a primary example - i grew up playing piano, sax
and clarinet - i
> learned how to play the mandolin because my banjo playing
friend learned how
> to play dixieland and i thought it was a fair trade off to
have me be able to
> play fiddle tunes - now i play with all of those things and
apply the
> electronic aspects to them - i'm not sure where i'm going with
the music, but
> i find it interesting and alot of fun - i have faith that this
is all leading
> somewhere - while my influences are clearly jazz, i have lots
of folk,
> bluegrass, blues, rock&roll, classical, ethnic and
noise/soundscape
> influences as well - i trust it will all come through in an
interesting way -
>
> speaking of which, my kids (14, 11 & 5) have grown up
listening to my rather
> eclectic collection of music and sounds and i was amazed to
find that each of
> them really dug my most recent soundscape type of experiment -
i took a
> snippet of a speech by Spiro Agnew from 1969 (you know, the
one in which he
> alleges that the media is anti-american and is controlled by a
small group of
> new york media elite) and looped it in cubase - the phrase is
"small group of
> men" - then applied  a rotating bundle of effects from my
MPX500 and DL4 - it
> starts off legible and wanders, at times sounding like a big
band is behind
> it, like a clarinet and saxophone chorus is behind it - and of
course, the
> words get mashed to the point where it sounds like he's saying
"some kind of
> madness" - which i thought was particularly appropriate -
there's a rhythmic
> quality to the results that i find interesting - but i loved
it when my 11
> year old insisted that i take "small group of men" in the car
with us so he
> could hear it on the way to dinner - he actually sat with me
afterwards and
> listened to all 68 minutes of this!!  i feel redeemed - i may
be obsessed
> with music and sound, and not exactly the most normal dad, but
this
> experience made me feel like i must be doing something right?
>
> harry
>