From grey Sent Thu, Aug 6th 1998, 18:36
From grey Sent Thu, Aug 6th 1998, 18:36
This has to be one of the most foolish things I've ever read. Do others here actually feel this way? Are we so very, very addicted to DAT? What exactly do you think live performance is _supposed_ to be? Have you ever seen live improvisation? Did you think that to be pointless, as well? Do you think a person playing an instrument live, and creating that music *as they go* is "wanting to fuck with the crowd"? Live creation is one ofthe most awesome feats of music, in my opinion - live renditions of pre-recorded material are a mere impersonation. While interesting and satisfying in their own way, they offer no challenge to the listener, and except in extrordinary cases, nothing really unique. As for "wanting to satisfy the trainspotters in the audience" et al... merely by stating this kind of nonsense you betray your own eliter-than- elite attitude. Let me guess. You're above all this. YOu want to hear the album really loud at a party? Go throw a party, and play the album really loud. In the meantime, if you'll step away, I would have *gladly* taken your place there. eo, waiting for _her_ turn to see autechre. On Wed, 5 Aug 1998 xxxxx.xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx wrote: > I'd say I'd have to agree wholeheartedly with the below comments. I > myself saw Autechre in Jan. 96 in NYC, and I too was put off by what I > think of as just wanking to fuck with the crowd, i.e. "try and figure > out what song _this_ is!!!" I'm sorry, but that's what going to a > concert is _not_ about. When you go to a show, you're hoping to enjoy > a band's music with people who also enjoy it, a party put on by the > band itself. Now I'm no fan of bands that do verbatim renditions of > recorded material, I find that fairly uninteresting in itself. But > the Orb is a good example of an electronic group that manages to remix > their songs for live performance, making them new and exciting, yet > keeping them recognizable at the same time. Yet Autechre seems to > have decided that in order to be taken seriously "live" they have to > completely remake all their songs with virtually nothing remaining > from the originals. This may make them feel like they're s00perk00l > and may satisfy the trainspotters in the audience, but for the vast > majority who's seeking a more visceral thrill, it simply seems > pretentious, a bunch of techno-geeks pulling noise out of their arses. > > I doubt I'd ever go to another one of their so-called live shows. > > > ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ > Subject: (idm) RE: AE in Vancouver > > [snip] > > It was a real disappointment for me because I am a really big > fan. But as is often the case with live electronic acts, Autechre saw > fit to completely dissect all of their songs and reassemble the parts > into much grungier, less danceable, and in my opinion, less enjoyable > tracks. > > The formula went like this for several songs: Start with a > stunning AE beat that causes the whole crowd to go nuts and scream and > begin to dance. Layer sound->layer->layer->layer->watch crowd stop > dancing and start scratching their heads. Either that or they were > > I can appreciate that the audience would want to hear artful > rearrangement of their songs, but these tracks were beyond the pale in > terms of experimentation. They were frequently undanceable (when I say > that I don't mean 'they weren't 4/4 I couldn't handbag around the > dancefloor whine whine' I mean they were grating and inaccessible when > compared to the tens of songs that they have that make you want to wig > out). > > Why don't they play the songs that are full of amazing melodies > that everyone loves? Why does a live concert from them (and others, > notably Aphex) consist of a sonic middle finger to people that pay good > money to hear what they like? > > The argument goes, "If you just wanted to hear the same music > played live, then why not just stay home and crank up your stereo to get > the effect?" to which I reply that in this case, Autechre overshot the > space where artist and audience meet to have a good time. > > [snip] > -- xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xx.xx.xx http://www.extortion.com "Millions of human hands at work, billions of minds...a vast network, screaming with life: an organism. A natural organism." - Max Cohen, in the motion picture pi