Collaboration in music (response to RandomLFO)

["MIKO" <m-i-k-o@attbi.com>]

I go absolute at times.  GULP.  LOLO.

 

Well you're right- in that era of classical, mathematically oriented music- the collaborator was a thing I'd call "the pure science of music" itself.

 

I guess my point is that we live in an era where the public reacts as follows (my perception only of course):

 

    a.  the public wants to see style- and style is an interactive experience, I think (e.g. jazz vocalist with the band)...

    b.  the public wants to see a balance of egos, not a flaming ego represented in one sound- we've entered an era of enforced cultural isolation and we cry, through music, for the community we don't have through all other means- I think many of us WANT to see community represented in music- music succeeds today when it's about others, for others- when it respects traditions developed by others- when it pays homage to others... in this respect the music of today is collaboration even when the person works alone, IF the artist incorporates the work or effort of others

    c.  the public has a complex ear and can appreciate the additional complexity of music which has evolved from the balance or amalgamation of efforts, talents, and egos. No matter how talented someone is- think about how much we appreciate the sound of collaboration.

 

Examples that come to mind immediately are all Madonna:  Madonna with Bjork- I love "Unconscious" - Madonna with Babyface- I love "Take a Bow" - Madonna with William Orbit- "Ray of Light" is- I think- her best song.  In fact, on that album, where she dives more into ego (like the Hindu (I think) chant- it's the songs like that where I've seen the most criticism.

 

Babyface, Dr. DRE, Puff Daddy, Bjork, and Moby are all artists who demonstrate clearly how much we live in an era of collaboration.

 

Hip Hip also represents "collaboration"- the positive nature of hip hop derives from its "incorporation" rather than "appropriation" of the music of other artists.  If Hip Hop was not about "collaboration" in a sense, you'd never have Aerosmith and Sting agreeing to appear on stage to help sing along to Hip Hip works that have taken their original music and created something a bit different- sometimes more complex in the ability to connect both to memory and the experience of the present at once- in a way that has respected it seriously, or with a great sense of fun...

 

But yes, certainly, there are artists who have not collaborated.... the music on my site - much of it- and some of my own songs that people have said they liked- involved no real collaboration BUT- in the end- I get the constructive criticism about how I have singular and obsessive tendencies with regard to the non-vocal part of my music- and am told again and again, directly or indirectly, how collaboration would add a kind of vigor to the music itself.

 

Collaboration is about recognizing the limits that we, as artists, all must have.  To look at great work that was created without collaboration is NOT an argument against the possibility that if these artists collaborated, while creating these masterpieces- they might have transcended even the quality of the sound blend that they were able to create solitarily.

 

Damn, I forgot my next comment while correcting typos, but- well- you get my point I think.

 

Regards,

 

MIKO

-----Original Message-----
From: RandomLFO@aol.com [mailto:RandomLFO@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, November 10, 2002 9:13 PM
To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Subject: Folly in thinking (was freedom in looping)

In a message dated 11/10/2002 8:36:14 PM Eastern Standard Time,
m-i-k-o@attbi.com writes:

Lastly, you're still wrong.  All music, no matter what form, is better
produced through collaboration.

    
     Hmm...  While it is true that collaberation can produce wonderful music that might not have otherwise been produced, you cannot make such an all encompassing claim. Do you really think that you could apply this statement to every piece of music that has ever been written?!? What about Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Mahler, Mingus, Monk, etc., etc., etc,.......  There are thousands of composers that have written incredible music all by themselves. There are also thousands of solo improvisers that create works of art on-the-fly. I strongly disagree with you. I think you really need to reconsider your statement.
     Marc