Trashing vs. Critiquing (was: essential loop recordings)

[Andre LaFosse <altruist@earthlink.net>]

Dear Terry,

I think you've seriously misinterpreted my comments, and I'm genuinely
sorry to have offended you as I seem to have done, as it certainly
wasn't my intention.  I'm not trying to trash you or your work by any 
means.
On the contrary, I've made several mentions throughout this thread that
you're clearly a very accomplished and talented fellow.  

I'm going to try once more to articulate myself, because I hate leaving
bad sentiments like this, and because I honestly think you're missing my
point.  Maybe I'm doing an inadequate job of expressing myself.  And
maybe your point of view could stand to do with a bit of an adjustment? 
Not an insult, man, but an honest and respectful suggestion.

This whole thread was supposed to be about recordings that are using
looping in ways that are noteworthy, influential, or what have you. 
 
In response to that question, you offered up your own two albums as
prime examples of definitive loop-based recordings.  I've listened to
your sound files (in fact I've listened to the most recent links you've
offered even as I type this).  They sound really good - did you see
that, man?  I'm complimenting your work! - but I personally do not hear
either a technical use of looping, or (more importantly) an actual
musical result that I feel is dramatically different from a lot of other
guitar and bass (and other instrument) loopers I've heard from many
different periods of time.

That's what this thread's about, right?  Not how many reviews you've
gotten, or whether or not you can outplay Adrian Belew, but about
discussing the historical context you've appointed for your own work.

In your last post on this thread, you said, "The fact of the matter is
that I was doing this before everyone except Fripp and Eno. Whether
anyone is aware of it or not."

Now, I've offered many, many specific examples of artists and recordings
whose work either predates or runs concurrently with your own.  I
haven't done this to knock you, because you're a very happening
musician.  I've done it because you've stated, in a public forum, that
your work is historically significant and unprecedented in the field
which the forum in question is dedicated to.

Now, you haven't addressed the work of any of the other musicians and/or
composers I've mentioned.  Instead, you've taken personal offense that
I'm asking for tangible evidence and an informed perspective to validate
your claims.

With very real respect for your skills, Terry, I'll be blunt here: if
you're not comfortable with having your work - or your own frankly
grandiose assessment of its historical importance - critiqued and asked
for justification, then this list is probably not the place for you.  

And if you can't deal with the fact that - contrary to your previous
belief - there actually are, and have been, guitar loopers other than
yourself and Robert, then you almost certainly won't be happy here.

This has absolutely nothing to do with how many glowing compliments
Robert Fripp paid to you 18 years ago, how many pieces of fan mail
you've received, how many CDs you've sold, or how many magazines have
written strong reviews of your work.  These are all things to be proud
of, as well you should be (and as you obviously are, given the number of
times you mention them on the list).

But they don't address the issue I'm trying to engage here, as one adult
musician to another: not how much your music sucks (because it most
assuredly does not), but rather the thing this whole thread was supposed
to be about in the first place: is a given recording particularly
noteworthy with regards to its use of looping?

Once again, I welcome you to compare or contrast what you've done to the
many, many other people I've mentioned.  Having heard a bit more of your
work as I've typed this, I would also be inclined to compare what you're
doing to elements of Steve Roach, Jon Hassel, or Brian Eno's solo material.

So here's my take, Terry: if you want to have an informed dialogue with
a group of dedicated and accomplished musicians, who have a collective
experience with looping that goes rather deeper than your
self-professedly recent discovery of a world beyond yourself and the
guitar players for King Crimson, then this is the best place you can be.
 
You'll learn about an awful lot of technical and conceptual ideas for
what you can do, and you'll hear about people you never would have known
about otherwise (and people like your recent discovery David Torn, who
you honestly should have known about a long time ago, but I won't
begrudge you that).

But if you want people to unblinkingly accept your assertion that no
guitarist other than yourself took a hint from "No Pussyfooting" for 13
years, and to swoon every time you drop a Robert Fripp anecdote, I think
you're in for a pretty serious disappointment.

It's your choice, Terry.  And, in the interest of being fair, you're
certainly welcome to give me your own honest assessment of where my own
work fits into the historical context of what you and Robert (or anyone
else, for that matter) have done.

Sincere good wishes to you Terry, and please don't mistake honest
critiques for personal insults.

--Andre LaFosse
The Echoplex Analysis Pages:
http://www.altruistmusic.com/EDP