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Re: Is it "Live" or "Memorex"

Dave, I agree wholeheartedly with your take on it - results vs. means.

BTW, I'm doing a panel on Aug.1st with DJ Spooky at the New Forms Festival in Vancouver.  http://www.newformsfestival.com/  No doubt this subject will come up in some form.  I look forward to his show, as it's been a few years since last seeing/hearing him. Thanks for the tip on the CD too!

Terry

www.anomalousdisturbances.com

>From: Dave Trenkel
>Reply-To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
>To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
>Subject: Re: Is it "Live" or "Memorex"
>Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 10:55:52 -0700
>
>>
>>With the caveat that the last time I saw DJ Spooky perform live, he
>>had a
>>number of instruments with him (including an electric upright
>>bass), and
>>*played them live*. Yes, he sampled himself and then mangled them,
>>worked
>>them into samples, and spent much of the performance working with
>>other
>>peoples' sounds, but it's not quite accurate to say he only
>>reassembles
>>others' sounds.
>>
>By coincidence, I just got the new DJ Spooky CD, "Optometry", this
>week, and have been listening to it quite a lot. It's a
>collaboration
>with a number of excellent NYC avant jazz types: Matthew Shipp
>(piano), William Parker (bass), Joe McPhee (sax), Guillermo Brown
>(drums). Spooky is credited with laptop, kalimba, turntables, and
>upright bass. Amazing record, there's obviously looping and
>sampling,
>but lots of live playing as well. And the liner notes talk a lot
>about the meaning of "jazz" in the current culture. It's part of
>Thirsty Ear's Blue series discs, curated, I believe, by Matthew
>Shipp, and this has been one of the most interesting series of
>improvised music discs in recent memory.
>
>As far as the live/memorex thing goes, I have this argument all the
>time with friends of mine. Surprisingly, the people who are often
>the
>most adamant about the looping/turntables/sampling/etc front not
>being music are non-musicians, but people who consider themselves
>"informed" listeners, fans, etc. Most musicians I know are fairly
>open to the concept, at least those under 50 or so.
>
>My personal feeling is this: I listen to the results, not the means.
>If I hear something that kicks my ass musically, I don't care that
>much whether it was made by someone who has studied the saxophone
>for
>60 years, or someone messing around with a turntable for the first
>time. Of course, I have a lot of respect for anyone who has mastered
>an instrument, but mastery is not necessarily related to musicality.
>I have heard plenty of extremely capable instrumentalists who bore
>me
>to tears. I've also heard my fair share of inept amateur
>performances, naivete does not automatically equal inspiration
>either.
>--
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Dave Trenkel New and Improv Music
>http://www.newandimprov.com improv@peak.org
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>

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