Re: "individualizing" music

["L Tremblay" <ltct@concentric.net>]

>I'd probably add another, more recent event to this continuum. That would
be
>the rise of grunge bands and of the rise of "alternative" as a music 
>genre.
>Although it's been my belief that these events were initiated by major
>record labels to make a then teen-aged Generation X believe that they were
>listening to something other than corporate rock, I think this unwittingly
>created the spark that led to the crazy fragmentation of music and the 
>rise
>of so many independent record labels that followed in this decade.


I consider the Grunge trend an outgrowth of '77 Punk, which btw is pretty
well-documented in the documentary "The Year Punk Broke", featuring Sonic
Youth and Nirvana on tour. It took Amerika 10-15 years to really "get it".
Originally, in the early-80's the term "alternative" was used to signify
anything outside the mainstream in the years that followed Punk - bands
like REM, and basically anything played on College, released independently,
or "underground".

In the 90's the corporates saw a chance to capitalize on the "alternative"
label/genre - which by this time was a sort of "farm team" for the Majors.
"Alternative" - by definition, meant an alternative to the Majors. Of
course, using the term today begs the question "Alternative to what?"
Ironically, "alternative" is no longer alternative. It's the status quo...

> All you needed to be a musician now was
>minimal musical skill and the drive to do it. Before, it seemed that you
had
>to have lots of money (for recording studios and stage fireworks), have
been
>specifically bred for your instrument (having especially long, quick 
>supple
>fingers), and guitarists had to have an astoundingly high A.P.S. 
>(arpeggios
>per second) rate.


Um, yeah..that was the whole point of Punk in the 70's - "Anybody can do
it".
This is why I say Grunge was a belated American reaction to Punk, which
was now safely dead and buried - not a threat anymore - and easy to market
to a generation of kids who missed it the first time around...

>At the same time this was happening in the rock world, there was the whole
>rave music thing going to too. I think the ravers beat the rockers for
being
>home musicians in the 90's. Lots of the huge rave hit songs (like "Speed
>Racer") were made by kids in their bedrooms with now-affordable drum
>machines, looping machines, and 4-tracks. I guess that's what you're
talking
>about as what happened in 1987.

Well, affordable home recording has been around for a long time. Bedroom
hits and mixdowns have been a big part of indie Rock and Rap culture
since the early 80's...nothing new here.

>These guys also worked against the norm of
>"album oriented music", as they often created one really successful song,
>then disappeared into obscurity.

As did the post-punk bands of the indie 80's...They ones who paved the way
for 90's X-ers.

>It would be also worth mentioning the mid
>90's phenomenon of DJ albums (without rapping) becoming really popular,
both
>corporately and locally.


Probably worth mentioning, but it's too early to tell whether it'll amount
anything more than all the rehash party mixes that were assembled in the
70's during Disco (which went underground and came back in the 90's as
Techno, I suppose).

Sorry to be a know-it-all, but I know this stuff cuz I'm an amatuer
musicologist.

LOOPING CONTENT: Has anyone used two DOD DFX 94's in their set-ups? I've
had one of these forever and recently aquired another. I use the 94's for
"loop practice" because they're so small and easy to set-up. It's simple
and a lot of fun when I don't feel like firing up my whole rig.

- Larry