From Jon Logan Sent Thu, Jun 4th 1998, 03:31
From Jon Logan Sent Thu, Jun 4th 1998, 03:31
Yeah, a musician *could* create a ten minute drumbeat that has tremendous meaning to him/her, and title or describe it in such a way that the listener would gain a deeper understanding of the piece. However, I get the sense that Terre is justifying his music's existence much more than he is simply describing it. It seems as if he lacks the confidence to let his music stand for itself. To me, this is counter to artistic expression. This is not to say that liner notes or essays or public radio interviews are invalid media for describing oneself, but, his writing is so bombastic and self indulgent that it is pretty useless as an aid for listening to his music. I enjoy listening to Terre's music, but I derive nothing from his writing. Not because his music lacks meaning, but because he's just so bad at describing himself that I don't want to waste the time deciphering his convoluted words. At 6:43 PM -0700 6/3/98, Jon Drukman wrote: >Brother Alphabet wrote: >> I listened to the track a number of times. I didn't get that impression at >> all. The point that people like Thaemlitz seem to chronically miss is that >> no matter how long you puke up so-called meanings, there is no way you can >> guarantee they'll transliterate to the minds of those who ingest what you >> do. If you have to blatantly define what you're doing over 6 panels of >> liner, you're a liar and a fraud. > >says who? you, that's who. i think that's crap. an artist can present >ten minutes of a single drumbeat and say "that's about the failure of >communism." who are you to disagree? the beautiful thing about music >is its ultimately abstract quality. that's part of why i like it, >anyway. one of my forthcoming tracks is called "how it feels to be >29". who are you to say that i can't define the track as that feeling? >i could just as well paint a picture or make a sculpture and call it the >same thing. > >> Thaemlitz just made a bunch of noise and >> added in this supposed meaning in subsequence. > >i don't think that invalidates it. > >> That generally comes from the repeated proof we see in >> every day news that leftists are a sackload of morons. > >you sound more like you have an axe to grind rather than any legitimate >musical criticism to offer. > >> Anyway, it wouldn't matter if the track was composed of samples of >> Thaemlitz farting on the toilet over a span of two months. No >> unrecognizable sound will "exemplify" anything. > >to you perhaps. some of us can think in 3 dimensions. > >> I hear so many "artists" say things so similar to this that it's making me >> question the point of creating at all. What ever became of making things >> because one felt compelled to make them? > >maybe you make the track first and then figure out what it means to >you. if you want to share it, that's fine. if you want to call it >"phart 3.14159" then that's fine too. > >> The sad fact of the matter is that the untalented get away with making >> worthless crap because they are able to pass it off as some >> sort of intellectual experimentation through the use of ArtSpeak. Funny >> how crap like that almost always comes from those beloved leftists! > >well thank god you're so much better than us and can see through all >that crap then. > >> As an artist and as a fan of this form of music I am completely repelled >> by this bullshit Thaemlitz peddles in his liner notes. The only thing >> that keeps me buying his music is that I like the way it sounds. (Oh, >> well...that's reality...) :) > >then shut up. i am uncomfortable with muslimgauze's anti-semitic >stances but i still listen to his albums. > > >Jon Drukman xxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx >----------------------------------------------------------------------- >Plan: Eat right, exercise regularly, die anyway. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jonathan Logan Work: 415 543-2800 UI Droog Home: 415 487-0424 CriticalPath, Inc. Mobile: 415 902-8079 ------------------------------------------------------------------------