[NewMusic] Slaves to off-the-shelf software?

[Ron Lettuce]

I think that there may also be an added level of "the computer is doing all of that" cynicism that is inserted when using computers, that is not there with say the sousaphone. If you hear someone doing incredible things with a sousaphone, you pretty much think that they're a virtuoso, with computers, you are suspect, as we all know computers can play back things with limits only determined by the skill of thier programmers. So we get really suspect of someone who sounds like they've been honing thier musical skill for 20 years when they're sitting behind a laptop (since a robot can now play Giant Steps)...

I've seen this kind of things with younger kids (those that have never seen a world without photoshop) where they don't appreciate a real photograph, and automatically assume that anything spectacular has been photo-shopped together....


lettuce

----- Original Message ----
From: kristin miltner <miltnerunit at gmail.com>
To: Bay Area New Music Discussion Group <newmusic at music.mills.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 11:54:16 AM
Subject: Re: [NewMusic] Slaves to off-the-shelf software?


I always hear comments like "this sounds like max" (very rarely -- i think
in reference to the rhythms you can immediately generate from Max using
metro and counter, is my theory, but i am not sure. Matt Davignon says this,
but i have yet to uncover exactly which qualities of the sound he is
referring to) or especially "this sounds like Live" in reference to
electronic music.  The time compression in Live has a trademark sound. I
have heard this characteristic of Live exploited extremely successfully,
like in Bevin Kelley's work, and then i've heard your basic loop music. Just
like someone being unimaginative with a guitar, you can tell when someone's
being unimaginative with their software. It works the same way; there are so
many levels of mastering your instrument.

On 2/13/07, Travis C. Johns <tjohns at mills.edu> wrote:
>
> Wow, has a day ever gone by when Momus hasn't had something to rail
> against? Then again, the article was quite elegant and sophisticated -
> being that it came from an artist whose discography includes quite a
> high percentage of harpsichord-addled odes to his penis...
>
> My opinion: Software = tool. Computer = tool. Guitar = tool. Effects box
> = tool. Staff paper - tool. Amplified bucket of mud - tool. "Prepared"
> parakeet... well, you see where I'm going with this. Granted, yes, the
> over-commodification of software and plugins, etc has lead to some
> pretty generic, homogenous-sounding, "look how tech-savvy I can be
> without really knowing what I'm doing..." type music/video/ etcetcetc -
> but at the same time, hasn't there always been generic,
> homogenous-sounding commodity-music/video/etcetcetc??? Why is it
> suddenly so vogue to blame the technology and the software for creating
> mundane compo-slop? Let's face it - computers only do what you tell
> them to do so the blame on this one is on the collective "us."
>
> And true, many, many companies offer oodles and oodles of flashy voices,
> plug-ins and effects with even more oodles of snazzy presets for
> out-of-the-box satisfaction, but that doesn't mean you have to use
> them! Explore! Tweak! Make something original - I dare you! Try to do
> something you wouldn't expect your flashy new box to do...
>
> Whoops, out of nickels for the soapbox machine - next contestant please!
>
> t.
>
> Quoting "Robair, Gino" <grobair at emusician.com>:
>
> > A topic I've been interested in since I first visited Mills, when
> > HMSL was
> > king....
> > http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,72705-0.html?tw=wn_index_5
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Bay Area New Music Discussion Group
> > NewMusic at music.mills.edu
> > http://music.mills.edu/mailman/listinfo/newmusic
> >
>
>
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