From Brother Alphabet Sent Thu, Jun 4th 1998, 02:32
From Brother Alphabet Sent Thu, Jun 4th 1998, 02:32
I just got Terre Thaemlitz's "Couture Cosmetique"...(Yes, I KNOW I'm late). I have ambled through the labyrinthine hoopla, in certain circumstances also known as "liner notes". However, in this case, "Liner Notes" would not be the best term for the words contained therein. Overall, they are a huge pile of self-gratifying nonsense, but there is one particular note that I'll discuss here, since the author has deemed it necessary to self-quote within the context of his own ramblings. Thaemlitz says: "For example, "Abandoned Left" focuses on feelings of paranoia and ineffectiveness among activists amidst popular anti-Leftist sentiments and self-critique..." 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. Thaemlitz just made a bunch of noise and added in this supposed meaning in subsequence. Feelings of paranoia and ineffectiveness...Well, from the general body of the rest of the liner, I'd say someone was paranoid for sure. Ineffectiveness? That generally comes from the repeated proof we see in every day news that leftists are a sackload of morons. You use the term "leftist" as though it were a nation or a religion. It requires no proper status and is but an indicator of where one stands on a political/social scale. The end of that sentence is complete unintelligible thin air. Continued: "...To exemplify this condition, but largely obscured from observation, the track is constructed from digital analyses of fade-outs from 1970's jazz/R&B titles (perpetual moments of abandonment from music with both Leftist and populist connotations)." Well, why the heck can't "populist" be esteemed as much as "leftist"? Seems like someone's being slightly classist. 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. As if we, the audience sits here, listens, and come collectively to the realization : "Hey! There's the end of Sly and the Family Stone! Dang, have I been overly heterosexist lately?" Thaemlitz had to actually explain the song's construction to support the invented meaning! This is piteously phony. 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? 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! 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...) :) I know I'll probably get a few nasty mails about this rant, but that's all well and good. The louder folks yell, the more I know the truth's sinking in. In conclusion, I'd like to suggest that Terre Thaemlitz get way over himself and that he quit pretending other people give a damn about his distorted social issues. He should just make the tunes and keep those wacko politics to himself. I guarantee the music will improve if he does. Good evenin. Hutto. -=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=- "I paint what I think, not what I see..." - Pablo Picasso "You're not the boss of me!..." - J. A. Hutto (Pre age 3) http://www2.msstate.edu/~jah10 + xxxxx@xx.xxxxxxx.xxx