Re: OT rant from hell (was: AirFX)

[Michael Clark <mcl451@airmail.net>]

The red pill ......, or the blue pill?

Michael
http://www.michaelclark.com


At 04:08 PM 10/30/00 -0800, you wrote:
>>  >besides it's true--you can't make music with '70s synths and
RDS-8000s--at
>>  >least that's my excuse  ;)
>
>
>Thanks for your input, guys.  I hope you don't mind me opening up 
>this can of worms...My initial reaction to the magazine i was reading 
>was similar to my general reaction to society as a whole.  It 
>definitely affects my viewpoint of life and making music as well.  If 
>it seems a viable subject for discussion, i would like to hear your 
>input!
>
>It's not just the advertisements of newest and grooviest toys that 
>bother me.  You can use '70's synths to make music...for sure (or 
>bang on pots and pans, for that matter).  Alot of the new toys are 
>'modeled' and mimic instruments now deemed as 'classic'.  It's this 
>RELENTLESS pushing of technology like it's some sort of savior that's 
>getting to me.  I've GOT to get that new software update!  Oh, gosh, 
>let's not just model classic amps, let's model classic mics, classic 
>effects, classic everything.  You don't need 8-tracks, you need 48 or 
>more, as many as your computer can handle, only you need MORE drive 
>space now...MORE ram...MORE Mhz.  EVERYONE CAN MAKE MUSIC!  Turntable 
>sales are higher than guitar sales.  Bet that will put a few music 
>teachers out of business.  Music that you steal through technology is 
>valued more than inspiration.  And i'm supposed to be thankful that i 
>have ANOTHER reason to stare at a CRT monitor, and be linked into 
>this WEB that's now pushing as much 'product' as 'information'.  Do 
>you have more 'time' on your hands, now that you have all of these 
>time-saving goodies surrounding you?  Do you really?
>
>I am sure i just jumbled up a whole mess full of ideas on that last 
>paragraph.  My attitude is shaped by the fact that I am a resident of 
>southern california, where we are being constantly bombarded by 
>images and concepts of what you should look like, what kind of music 
>you should listen to or play, what car to drive, what house to have, 
>etc. ad nauseum.  Where every fricking square inch of land and every 
>last natural resource is being marked off for sale and consumption. 
>So, apologies again for the rant, but thanks for letting me get it 
>off my chest (once again).  I think it's important.  Why are we 
>rushing forward at such a pace?  Why do i walk into a record store or 
>a music store (or any 'store' for that matter) and become completely 
>overwhelmed and somewhat depressed?  The sheer saturation makes the 
>air thick...Did you know that they are building a new Mars Music in 
>Santa Ana here in Orange County?  Did you know that they JUST BUILT a 
>Mars Music 10 minutes up the road?  A brand new store that they 
>chocked full of inexperienced, inept salespeople?  Did you know that 
>there are two fully stocked Guitar Centers and a Sam Ash within a 20 
>minute radius of the location of this proposed new store?  How many 
>fucking Squire Stratocasters do we need to sell?
>
>Call me bitter and twisted, and some of you in more remote places may 
>think i'm in heaven.  But I think it's frightening and assinine, and 
>it's not just music...it's everything.  more stores, more cell 
>phones, more computers, more population, more movies, more sports, 
>more hyper-sports, more adrenaline, more SUV's, more, more, more.
>
>so, the question is:  how do you reconcile being a technology junkie 
>that's having this nagging feeling in your gut that something is VERY 
>wrong?
>
>rich
>
>