From jon anderson Sent Fri, Aug 6th 1999, 19:46
From jon anderson Sent Fri, Aug 6th 1999, 19:46
listening to cage's sonata xiii for prepared piano -beautifully melodic while texturally fascinating and (i hate this word too...) "ambient" - i am reminded of another word that sticks in my craw: "experimental". cage, i think was experimental. in formal ways - but more so in conceptual ways - he explored new territory. but even in his case i resist this word, because it seems to imply (at least in my head) that other musicians using conventional instruments or compositional modes or constraints are not "experimenting". yet the word does seem to have meaning... but the contemporary electronic stuff under this banner (including, as someone put it, "digital wankery", and noisy stuff and fuzz that's supposed to be "challenging listening") is generally not "experimental" in any significant sense, if you ask me, at least not at this point in time. don't get me wrong, i have no problem with fuzz. i love fuzz! but far from experimental, it is now just as normal a part of musical vocab as guitars, and in many cases just comes off as cliche. it's funny that when someone says "experimental music", i immediately have an idea of what it sounds like, which is what tips me off that this word perhaps is no longer is appropriate! jon p.s., of course, i won't mention anything about "idm". _____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com