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| quote: | Originally posted by nefardec
...the trouble now, i would argue, is that society has become so decadent and degenerative, caught in a decaying loop (i listen to too much dub lol). the consumerist/latecapitalist is simply out of control. just watch television for a few minutes to see this!
i like to describe two ways of living based on the biological processes of anabolism and catabolism. i won't go any further here other than to say that i think right now we are deep within a catabolic process that is not sustainable..
any musical revolution must be precipitated by a technological and before that, a cultural revolution. I think this revolution needs to be a revolution from within, especially as technology opens up to individual creative power and then collective effort and collaboration |
A book is coming to mind, here, that I really should take down off the shelf I've been saving it on, for a rainy day. The Culture of Narcissism by Christopher Lasch is an indictment of America's self-centered nature, written in 1979. I found out about this book after having occasion to research Narcissistic Personality Disorder; the symptoms of which seem almost etched into the cultural milieu - at least here in the United States.
One look at cable television is enough. The news channels seem like a throwback to Yellow Journalism. We seem to have entrusted our perceptual lens to people, such as D.L. Hugely and Geraldo Rivera, who seem to admire pathological narcissists like Illinois Gov. Blagosovich, recently seen sputtering syllogistic straw-man logical fallacy at his own impeachment.
The news channels seem to be reporting on the catabolizing cultural phenomena with a penchant for obduracy. The economic situation seems to have "just happened". Of course, they would ignore the legitimate erstwhile analysis of Country Wide Home-Loans as an economic parasite and much of the discussion on CNN didn't take place, on-air, until after Country Wide stopped being able to pay their advertising bills. Like the individual narcissist who recognizes the fact that he is in some rather hot water, they examine the events around them with very little reflection into the part they played in the manifesting fiasco.
I realize this can only loosely be related to music, but in-so-much as it is illustrative of a pattern, I find it appropriate, none-the-less. If it's any help, I'm an optimist about the whole situation, music and all. The catabolism, as chaotic as it might be, is also a sure-fire signal heralding the end of the age of narcissism. Anything and anyone that survives, after the process is complete, will surely want something other than what will have occurred, to occur again. What's more is that such a happenstance will result in both institution and individual, resilient enough to withstand such a cataclysm, be constructed of things which are not superficial, in nature.
At least, in-so-far as my intent is concerned, with regard to music, I try and make sure that it's not one-dimensional hack-stain. I think a lot of it has to do with one's ability, so far as that goes, and not necessarily an intention to make crappy music. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who make music and the creme of the crop isn't necessarily what's getting marketed.
I read an article by David Byrne about the different paths to getting music published from self-promotion to major label backing. He said that there are a lot of artists who have created genius works, that in the current environment, will never be heard. I've heard a lot of work that I consider above par; both in regard to musicianship and listenability. I've never heard them on the radio... yet.
The bottom line is that it is the internet, inundated with crap from both amateurs and professionals, alike, that also provides a vehicle for talent to eventually emerge. Right now, there are so many channels to choose from. Eventually, people will get tired of sifting through crap and develop systems of analyzing large batches of music for content that appeals to them. Critics, themselves, will become better organized at ferreting out the diamonds from the chaff, and be able to concentrate the promotion of better artists.
In short, believe it or not, I believe things are evolving. It isn't pretty and it may not get much better for a while, now, but eventually, the static will dissipate, the wannabes will become discouraged, and all manner of music will get better. For now, however, I'm content with that feeling of sifting through a few dozen songs to hear one I care to download and listen to, again.
| quote: | Originally posted by PETRAN
I also think that computers have also been used in making electronic music right from the early-90s. Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but wasn't the famous Atari ST the professional music workstation which had an inbuild MIDI port? The first versions of Cubase and Logic (it wasn't called like that back then) were also exclusive for Atari ST (and Amiga 500/600 was good for graphics...the age of the legendary motorola processors...before Intel won the epic battle...). I have the impression that computers were used from back then. Ofcourse fewer persons had computers in the early-90s but the medium of production was kinda similar. |
I owned the Atari and was introduced to it by a friend of mine. The sequencer I used was called Notator. For a computer program that only ran MIDI it was expensive. Add to that the cost of every piece of equipment needed to run it and you ran into upwards of 10,000 dollars just to get an idea down. Then you had to get it into a working studio.
No correcting you. I even remember a friend of mine who had an Amiga and a book that he regarded, much like the bible, about the benefits of MDMA.
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