sounds like the difference between dancing and "chin-stroking"
the first group reacts to the music physically while the other reacts to it
intellectually
I still contend that if you get too much of the later you begin to lose
portions of the audience
and bringing this right back around the to original topic of the Northern
Soul fans compared/contrasted to Techno fans
this is dance music we're talking about - techno is a branch off of house
once you've detached yourself from house and it's traditions rooted in
dance you're talking about a whole other kind of music
techno will lose the audience when those who create it rely too much on the
technology to push it forward
I don't lose my head on the dancefloor and then say "wow, I was really
moved by the XYZ patch and the LMNOP plug-in"
I say "I love the way he played it"
what I'm saying is it's not the technology - it's the feeling within the
player of the technology that I react to and not enough producers feel it
or even know what it is they're supposed to feel (imo)
I can see that this is true just by looking at the glut of techno records
produced as opposed to the number of records we talk about with passion
>The idea that the goal of music is to create some kind of intense
>feelings in the listener is musical romanticism, which comes primarily
>from 19th century Europe.
Really? You're ignoring a whole world of music then which it's purpose was
to make one dance/feel very intense feelings.
Ritual music, festival music, celebratory music, funeral marches, etc. The
entire African music tradition I would gather.
Carry that over to the African-American music tradition - the blues, jazz,
rock'n'roll, disco, funk, house, techno. You're supposed to be losing your
head on the dancefloor man, crying, laughing, clapping your hands, stomping
your feet, feeling that music go through your body. Why do you think people
put massive amounts of bass into a club? You're supposed to FEEL THE MUSIC
IN YOU!
19th Century Europe didn't corner the market on music that creates intense
feelings in people.
It's been with us ever since someone went into a trance state through the
use of music.
I think you need to crack open a National Geographic magazine once in a
while
MEK
David Powers
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]
lnoize.com> To
313@hyperreal.org
11/04/05 12:29 PM cc
Subject
Re: (313) The more things change
Unfortunately your entire argument is based on personal and subjective
prejudice, not on any kind of logic.
It is reasonable to say that if someone creates a musical composition
they are trying to accomplish "something". However, it is up to the
artist's personal vision what that "something" is - it might have
something to do with emotion, and it might not. If it doesn't have
anything to do with emotion, it's still music - you don't have to LIKE
it, but that doesn't change its status as music. If a musicologist can
study it as music, and a reasonable number of people can agree that it
is music, then it is music. This is a much more objective approach than
judging all musical activity based on your personal prejudices.
The idea that the goal of music is to create some kind of intense
feelings in the listener is musical romanticism, which comes primarily
from 19th century Europe. It is not the ONLY approach to music. In terms
of all the music in the world, it is not necessarily the predominant
approach. I personally thought that romanticism died in like, 1915.
Unfortunately I guess that isn't the case...
However, if nothing else, this discussion does show that there is
probably a very pronounced split in the techno world, between the
"romantics" and those who are more "anti-romantic" in outlook. The first
would glorify "feeling" as the highest criterion of music, while the
latter group would look to other aesthetic qualities as that which makes
music interesting. I'm in the second group and I'm more interested in
hearing interesting combinations of timbre and rhythm. I still can feel
emotion, I just don't believe it is "in" the music, or what makes the
music interesting. I look at it as a natural by product when I
experience something sonically interesting. Anyway, my anti-romanticism
is part of why "Strings of Life" sounds cheesy to me, and I usually
dislike vocals in techno.
~David
Thomas D. Cox, Jr. wrote:
>now thats the base point of my argument, pretty well spelled out. and the
>idea is that the artist is trying to accomplish something here, trying to
>evoke some feeling by either letting things remain random or not remain
>random. its that purpose that is the emotion that is unquestionably
>intrinsic in music as opposed to just sound. sound is cool, undoubtedly.
>but its not music!
>
>tom
>
>
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