RE: (idm) friday's (musical) musings

From Akashic Librarian
Sent Sat, Sep 4th 1999, 18:51

Who'd want to listen to those old crappy stereo recordings
 >when you have you're 8.1 surround sound set up that gives you the full joy
 >of the recent octosonicly enhanced
 >releases,

I don't see this as a factor. You still watch, say, Casablanca or Citizen
Kane even though they aren't in colour; anyhow, I like scratchy 78's.
That's why I mentioned 'a few timeless albums' later on... Though I'd like 
to believe there's a BIG difference between the concept of oldies in film 
and in electronic music. I'll have no problem watching Citizen Kane in the 
future (or any other Orsen Welles related movie for that matter). The music 
doesn't have a story line, but concepts of sound being realized, and 
preferred sounds/concepts of old being reintroduced/resampled. Yes, we'll 
always go back to the old innovative releases that sparked certain creative 
forms, to have a sense of history, to connect to old emotions. I guess it's 
all down to some of the people into the music in a pop context and once a 
few years go by, their tastes will freeze to whatever stretch of styles 
they were listening to and be listening to their good oldies while time 
slowly seperates them from the new 'strange' sounds coming out, as is with 
anyone who stops growing along with the music. (how many of you older 
listees have friends that are stuck in eighties electropop/industrial who 
are incapable of comprehending todays mainstays like autechre, mouse on 
mars, etc. ) Then there are those that have that streak of neophilism 
that's fueled their musical tastes and changes since the start, who are 
probably going to continue changing with the newer developments in 
soundsculpture. Budd's Lovely Thunder is playing in the background, and at 
this point I'd like to say I'll love it to bit forever into the future just 
like I've done in the past, but something give me the feeling that I'll 
find something else in the future that will succeed in recontaining the 
sounds and emotions within that recording, produced with some new 
mindblowing technology, and somehow eclipsing and extending what I felt. 
(yeah, I'm just restating some obvious things...)

As well, I look as an example at my father who's been a classical 
audiophile from the sixties, constantly upgrading his system as the years 
passed. He's tossed the three reel to reel machines a few years back, and 
his CD collection is starting to collect dust now that he's switched to 
DVD. Aside from once a blue moon where he'll stick on an old fave CD, he's 
not happy unless it's digital video with full surround technology. There 
are so many pieces that he used to play constantly, not being rereleased in 
some new digital form for him to continue enjoying, he's simply archived 
them and gravitates to the 5.1 a/v items in his collection, as they 'don't 
succeed in filling the full range of senses' like the newer releases do, 
even if that means deposing some favorites.


 >Listening to the majority of
 >releases from the early nineties, except for a few timeless albums and
 >others released years before their time, is already just for those moments
 >when you reminisce about good old days and faves of the day.

You think so? I hadn't heard of idm for much of the early nineties, but
getting hold of it now, it sounds pretty good. Sure, the majority of records
from any period seem slightly weak in retrospect, but thats not because the
music dates. Its more that we tend to be more excited (and less honest) about
the exciting new 12". (Sorry if thats what you were saying all along).
All the people I know who's been changing along with the styles since 
acidhouse seem to share the similar thought that the first few years were 
just a general structuring, with the recent years concentrating more on 
greater innovation. I would deem the early 80's more innovative than the 
early 90's within electronic music, but that's just my opinion. My last 
purchases were some old Zoviet France LP's and Network 21 12"s, and I was 
quite excited for those finds as well.... (I'm partial to scratchy old 
records too :-) )


Akashic
"There are some kinds of knowledge that can only be expressed in music, not 
in any other art, not in science or philosophy."