Re: Expectations, artifice, and a hell of a can of worms

[Andre LaFosse <altruist@altruistmusic.com>]

Hallo David,

Ya said,

[on the NiN/Madonna "canned music" thing...]
> nevertheless,
> the audience doesn't *care* to know how the music is achieved --- 
>however the
> quality of the music's effect might be judged, *that* seems to be the
> audience's primary concern.

Agreed.  I wonder, though, how well a "Nine Inch Nails" show would go
over if Trent was a complete unknown, singing his tunes to a prerecorded
tape in a coffee shop on a Tuesday night.  Would the very same music
have the same impact on people (and would the "canned" aspect come
across as well) as it does coming from the fishnet-clad, multi-platinum
cultural icon bathed in lights from atop the stage of a sports arena?  I
honestly don't know, but it's interesting to mull over, perhaps...  (And
I personally like Trent's stuff, for the most part.)

> >I honestly feel that too much importance is placed on the mechanics and
> >craft of real-time looping by many of the musicians who use those tools.
> between us, here on LD, that's all fine w/me!
> but: in practice --- i'm more interested in the intention & content of 
>the
> music.

Absolutely -- I think some loopists tend to get hung up on the mechanics
of what they're doing, and (sometimes) assume that a failure to connect
with an audience is somehow intrinsic to their
gear/methodology/what-have-you, rather than looking at what they
themselves are bringing (or not bringing) to the table, intention and 
content-wise.

> and: it kinda reminds me of the gtr-player gear/technique syndromes, 
>which
> can be so very boring & stultifying.....

Say, David, what kind of strings do you use?
 
> >or Jaco's looping solo in the middle of Joni Mitchell gigs.
> jaco did that?

Yep!  There's a widely-available Joni Mitchell concert video (I rented
it from a Blockbuster), I believe from the "Shadows and Light" tour
(with Pat Metheny and, I think, Don Alias in the band).  It's a great
little solo bit, extremely musical... albiet a little unnerving, as you
can see a glimpse of Jaco's more... um, "malevolently unbalanced" side
peeking out therein.

> yeah, albeit i'd say that -these days- it has become clearer to me that, 
>as
> an element of performance & composition,  i *am* interested in the 
>audience
> hearing/feeling/sensing the technology & methodology of live-looping,

Me too.  I'm not saying, "Let's hide the mechanics of looping from the
audience," I'm saying, "Let's make sure that there's something
substantive being communicated via those mechanics, however overt or
subtle their implementation may be."

> >Torn, who uses a much more elaborate approach, both in terms of the
> >amount of gear
> huh? i use a 5-space rack, and a buncha pedals!

In comparison to someone like Mr. Lawson (the bloke by which said
comparison was brandished), that IS much more elaborate, in my
reckoning.  (I think his usual setup is a Jamman, DL4, and a Lexicon
processor into one 1x10 combo amp... correct me here if need be, Steve).

But it's true, I've seen bigger rigs than that of Torn.  Like, in the
setup of a certain bespectacled British progressive rock icon...  ;)

> there's certainly no dearth of 
>musicians-pursuing-and-perfecting-mediocrity,
> at the 'top' of their fields.....

Well-spoken.

> >And it doesn't mean that a good ambient act
> >can't clean the floor with a bad funk band.
> currently, my floors are *somewhat* clean, already.....

That made my day right there...

> ..... and i just finished my second dbl-espresso of the day.....

...and that ruined it!  :-()  (Kidding, of course.)

Happy New Year y'all,

--Andre LaFosse
http://www.altruistmusic.com