Re: (313) George Clinton Answers
Shhh! If the journalists get their facts right, we won't be underground any more! On Tue, 1 Oct 2002, sean deason wrote: speaking of writers doing research: the lastest copy of REMIX mag has an article on the very last page about Juan Atkins. In it they claim that he and Rick Davis used a Roland R8 on the Cybotron - Enter album back in 1981. Maybe I'm no longer clear on my gear timelines, but it seems to me that if the Roland 808 (with analog drum sounds) was in production in (roughly) 1982 and the 909 (with a mixture of analog and sampled drum sounds) in 1983, wouldnt the R8, which contains sampled drum sounds only, have followed those machines years later (especially since it samples sounds from the 808 and 909 machines)?
Re: (313) George Clinton Answers
I have never met Mr. May but the impression I get is that he's the sort of guy who could sell burning coals to lost souls in hell. He's smoove like that. If it weren't for techno he'd have the gang down on the corner hanging on his every word. And was Cyclone quoting himself here or is this one of those 313 attribution meltdowns? On Wed, 2 Oct 2002, Cyclone Wehner wrote: At 11:55 PM +1000 10/1/02, Cyclone Wehner wrote: From Derrick's standpoint, I think in interviews he has always been someone who carefully thinks about what he says because he knows it's for prosperity.
Re: (313) George Clinton Answers
On Tuesday, October 1, 2002, at 11:48 PM, Kent williams wrote: I have never met Mr. May but the impression I get is that he's the sort of guy who could sell burning coals to lost souls in hell. yeah, that's about right. this is not a knock on him or an inflated ego-type comment: he's one of those people who somehow just barely fits in the room.
(313) George Clinton Answers Techno#8217;s Greatest Question
Found this article on the net, made me laugh Legendary funkateer George Clinton has finally revealed what he thought of Derrick May#8217;s classic description of Detroit techno as sounding #8220;like George Clinton and Kraftwerk stuck in an elevator, in typically robust fashion. Speaking to Australian journalist Cyclone recently, he chuckled when asked what he#8217;d really create if he genuinely got stuck with the Germans in the aforementioned lift. Well, some funny lil' babies, that's for sure. We sho' f**k 'em in the butt! You'd definitely come up with some lil' battery-operated children that won't 'techno' for an answer... You'd probably come up with techno doo-wop. ___ Freeserve AnyTime, only £13.99 per month with one month's FREE trial! For more information visit http://www.freeserve.com/time/ or call free on 0800 970 8890
Re: (313) George Clinton Answers Techno#8217;s Greatest Question
At 8:42 AM +0200 10/1/02, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Legendary funkateer George Clinton has finally revealed what he thought of Derrick May#8217;s classic description of Detroit techno as sounding like George Clinton and Kraftwerk stuck in an elevator, in typically robust fashion. Speaking to Australian journalist Cyclone recently, he chuckled when asked what he'd really create if he genuinely got stuck with the Germans in the aforementioned lift. I'm sure that quote probably ended up annoying George C. as much as it probably annoyed everybody in the 313 for its all-too-frequent repetition. Unfortunately, with all that has been said about techno, it was this comment that always made the final print. and usually without the with only a sequncer to keep them company proviso. sheesh, the comment's more than ten years old. let it die. let it die. -marc -- NRR. have folks seen the HL server at det.servemp3.com? -- _ In the U.S. you have to be a deviant or exist in dreary boredom. Make no mistake; all intellectuals are deviants in the U.S. -- William S. Burroughs, Yage Letters (1963)
RE: (313) George Clinton Answers Techno#8217;s Greatest Question
Chill out - it's just a quote that is repeated often because it has a certain resonance with fans and journalists. -Original Message- From: marc christensen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, October 01, 2002 12:13 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; 313@hyperreal.org Subject: Re: (313) George Clinton Answers Techno#8217;s Greatest Question At 8:42 AM +0200 10/1/02, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Legendary funkateer George Clinton has finally revealed what he thought of Derrick May#8217;s classic description of Detroit techno as sounding like George Clinton and Kraftwerk stuck in an elevator, in typically robust fashion. Speaking to Australian journalist Cyclone recently, he chuckled when asked what he'd really create if he genuinely got stuck with the Germans in the aforementioned lift. I'm sure that quote probably ended up annoying George C. as much as it probably annoyed everybody in the 313 for its all-too-frequent repetition. Unfortunately, with all that has been said about techno, it was this comment that always made the final print. and usually without the with only a sequncer to keep them company proviso. sheesh, the comment's more than ten years old. let it die. let it die. -marc -- NRR. have folks seen the HL server at det.servemp3.com? -- _ In the U.S. you have to be a deviant or exist in dreary boredom. Make no mistake; all intellectuals are deviants in the U.S. -- William S. Burroughs, Yage Letters (1963)
(313) George Clinton Answers
To begin with, I am not sure how it ended up on that site, but it's kinda cool. I did the interview a few months ago for an RB magazine and it fitted the context since he had just performed at the DEMF. He is actually working on a new album of 'techno doo-wop'. Just last week I finally remembered to send the quote to a good friend of mine in Detroit and he circulated it maybe. I then saw it on a Skruff newsletter I got. George had never toured Australia before. I am not even sure if he has talked to Australian media before. I knew people here, especially younger people, would be interested in his thoughts on techno generally (as well as hip-hop) and so that was on my list of questions - that quote was a useful device to draw a link. George came across as very mellow, and was far from annoyed, he doesn't seem to get annoyed by too much. I don't believe in asking veteran artists purely about their past (he says he doesn't recall much about his anyway) as it then assumes people are musuem pieces and have nothing else to offer. If anything, that can annoy artists. From Derrick's standpoint, I think in interviews he has always been someone who carefully thinks about what he says because he knows it's for prosperity. It's more being misquoted that gets to him. The quote is part of techno's mythology, so if it dies, techno dies. Does that quote really annoy anyone? I would be interested to know. I think there's more annoying things - like being marginalised by the likes of Sasha and Digweed, or people assuming that if you're techno you will play a certain kind of techno, or being musically stereotyped, or whatever. I'm sure that quote probably ended up annoying George C. as much as it probably annoyed everybody in the 313 for its all-too-frequent repetition. Unfortunately, with all that has been said about techno, it was this comment that always made the final print. and usually without the with only a sequncer to keep them company proviso. sheesh, the comment's more than ten years old. let it die. let it die. -marc
Re: (313) George Clinton Answers
At 11:55 PM +1000 10/1/02, Cyclone Wehner wrote: From Derrick's standpoint, I think in interviews he has always been someone who carefully thinks about what he says because he knows it's for prosperity. I think the longevity of that one quote has certainly added to May's historically-conscious introspection. Not that he wasn't a thoughtful and articulate guy before, but that quote has just been beat like a dead horse. Does that quote really annoy anyone? I would be interested to know. The annoying thing about it at this point is that every time i see it in print, i ask: couldn't they put something fresher in here? can't they get a writer who can do a little bit of real *work* on their topic? Imagine how much fun XLR8R would be to read if each and every issue had to run that quote just one more time. I've got little against the quote itself (except that one reading of it overemphasizes the specificity of the Kraftwerk influence, which Simon Reynolds uses to pretty directly diss detroit). I object to its mass republication-as-oversimplification. -marc
Re: (313) George Clinton Answers
speaking of writers doing research: the lastest copy of REMIX mag has an article on the very last page about Juan Atkins. In it they claim that he and Rick Davis used a Roland R8 on the Cybotron - Enter album back in 1981. Maybe I'm no longer clear on my gear timelines, but it seems to me that if the Roland 808 (with analog drum sounds) was in production in (roughly) 1982 and the 909 (with a mixture of analog and sampled drum sounds) in 1983, wouldnt the R8, which contains sampled drum sounds only, have followed those machines years later (especially since it samples sounds from the 808 and 909 machines)? wow! Juan really was ahead of his time, not only did he make futuristic music, he even used equipment from the future to do it :^) sean deason From: marc christensen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 1 Oct 2002 07:45:09 -0700 To: Cyclone Wehner [EMAIL PROTECTED], 313@hyperreal.org Subject: Re: (313) George Clinton Answers At 11:55 PM +1000 10/1/02, Cyclone Wehner wrote: From Derrick's standpoint, I think in interviews he has always been someone who carefully thinks about what he says because he knows it's for prosperity. I think the longevity of that one quote has certainly added to May's historically-conscious introspection. Not that he wasn't a thoughtful and articulate guy before, but that quote has just been beat like a dead horse. Does that quote really annoy anyone? I would be interested to know. The annoying thing about it at this point is that every time i see it in print, i ask: couldn't they put something fresher in here? can't they get a writer who can do a little bit of real *work* on their topic? Imagine how much fun XLR8R would be to read if each and every issue had to run that quote just one more time. I've got little against the quote itself (except that one reading of it overemphasizes the specificity of the Kraftwerk influence, which Simon Reynolds uses to pretty directly diss detroit). I object to its mass republication-as-oversimplification. -marc
Re: (313) George Clinton Answers
Yeah it seems they do have it a bit screwed up (I thought something was odd about that article too) - according to the Vintage Synth website http://www.vintagesynth.org/roland/r8.shtml the R8 was first available in '89 This is really poor for a magazine dedicated to the equipment of electronic (and more focused - dance) music. Maybe a basic phone call/email to him could have clarified that. Anyway, you'd think they'd know this sh:t or have someone on staff doing some fact checking. Sean - do you what drum machine was used? MEK sean deason [EMAIL PROTECTED]To: marc christensen [EMAIL PROTECTED], Cyclone Wehner .net [EMAIL PROTECTED], 313@hyperreal.org cc: 10/01/02 10:36 AMSubject: Re: (313) George Clinton Answers speaking of writers doing research: the lastest copy of REMIX mag has an article on the very last page about Juan Atkins. In it they claim that he and Rick Davis used a Roland R8 on the Cybotron - Enter album back in 1981. Maybe I'm no longer clear on my gear timelines, but it seems to me that if the Roland 808 (with analog drum sounds) was in production in (roughly) 1982 and the 909 (with a mixture of analog and sampled drum sounds) in 1983, wouldnt the R8, which contains sampled drum sounds only, have followed those machines years later (especially since it samples sounds from the 808 and 909 machines)? wow! Juan really was ahead of his time, not only did he make futuristic music, he even used equipment from the future to do it :^) sean deason From: marc christensen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 1 Oct 2002 07:45:09 -0700 To: Cyclone Wehner [EMAIL PROTECTED], 313@hyperreal.org Subject: Re: (313) George Clinton Answers At 11:55 PM +1000 10/1/02, Cyclone Wehner wrote: From Derrick's standpoint, I think in interviews he has always been someone who carefully thinks about what he says because he knows it's for prosperity. I think the longevity of that one quote has certainly added to May's historically-conscious introspection. Not that he wasn't a thoughtful and articulate guy before, but that quote has just been beat like a dead horse. Does that quote really annoy anyone? I would be interested to know. The annoying thing about it at this point is that every time i see it in print, i ask: couldn't they put something fresher in here? can't they get a writer who can do a little bit of real *work* on their topic? Imagine how much fun XLR8R would be to read if each and every issue had to run that quote just one more time. I've got little against the quote itself (except that one reading of it overemphasizes the specificity of the Kraftwerk influence, which Simon Reynolds uses to pretty directly diss detroit). I object to its mass republication-as-oversimplification. -marc
Re: (313) George Clinton Answers
Certainly doesn't annoy me. Makes me imagine music I want to produce... even if its not an all encompassing definition of techno (not that such a thing meaningfully exists). ScottV. To begin with, I am not sure how it ended up on that site, but it's kinda cool. I did the interview a few months ago for an RB magazine and it fitted the context since he had just performed at the DEMF. He is actually working on a new album of 'techno doo-wop'. Just last week I finally remembered to send the quote to a good friend of mine in Detroit and he circulated it maybe. I then saw it on a Skruff newsletter I got. George had never toured Australia before. I am not even sure if he has talked to Australian media before. I knew people here, especially younger people, would be interested in his thoughts on techno generally (as well as hip-hop) and so that was on my list of questions - that quote was a useful device to draw a link. George came across as very mellow, and was far from annoyed, he doesn't seem to get annoyed by too much. I don't believe in asking veteran artists purely about their past (he says he doesn't recall much about his anyway) as it then assumes people are musuem pieces and have nothing else to offer. If anything, that can annoy artists. From Derrick's standpoint, I think in interviews he has always been someone who carefully thinks about what he says because he knows it's for prosperity. It's more being misquoted that gets to him. The quote is part of techno's mythology, so if it dies, techno dies. Does that quote really annoy anyone? I would be interested to know. I think there's more annoying things - like being marginalised by the likes of Sasha and Digweed, or people assuming that if you're techno you will play a certain kind of techno, or being musically stereotyped, or whatever.
Re: (313) George Clinton Answers
At 11:55 PM +1000 10/1/02, Cyclone Wehner wrote: From Derrick's standpoint, I think in interviews he has always been someone who carefully thinks about what he says because he knows it's for prosperity. I think the longevity of that one quote has certainly added to May's historically-conscious introspection. Not that he wasn't a thoughtful and articulate guy before, but that quote has just been beat like a dead horse. Does that quote really annoy anyone? I would be interested to know. The annoying thing about it at this point is that every time i see it in print, i ask: couldn't they put something fresher in here? can't they get a writer who can do a little bit of real *work* on their topic? I don't know, man. Like I said, I used it as a literary device to link some ideas together and I had never seen it employed in that context (and context is everything) before - ie a story on George Clinton that stresses his influence on and ongoing involvement in contemporary dance musics. I spent two hours finding the quote, destroying my office in the process. I think I found it in Dan Sicko's book in the end. Pop culture and journalism rely on 'hooks' as songs do (and even underground records have hooks). A lot of Derrick's insights are quotatable, he is very clever with words. I can think of similiarly memorable things Jeff Mills has said, Mike Banks has said, Juan and Kevin have said, etc. You could say some of Shakespeare's quotes are played out too. Above all I think the response was fun. George is a fun guy, even the serious questions he had humourous things to say.
Re: (313) George Clinton Answers
Cyclone Wehner wrote: [on the infamous 'elevator'-quote] I spent two hours finding the quote, destroying my office in the process. I think I found it in Dan Sicko's book in the end. The oldest source I could come across with that quote is the inlay to the Retro-Techno compilation on Network from 1991 or does someone have a citation that predates that? Totally different topic: Pop culture and journalism rely on 'hooks' as songs do. I agree that they do, but do they *need* to? I sometimes wonder if 'we' are not underestimating the audience in making everything as accessible as possible... Otto
