From Jon Logan Sent Fri, Apr 10th 1998, 21:30
From Jon Logan Sent Fri, Apr 10th 1998, 21:30
There was a very interesting and emotional thread about Terre and his philosopies/lack thereof that got a response from Mr. thaemlitz himself. I myself, upon careful reconsideration of his writing, find him bombastic and incomprehensible. I like his music, tho. At 3:25 PM -0400 4/10/98, Andrew Minett wrote: >Post-Genre Discussion: >All of the ongoing talk about genres on the list has prompted me to post my >thoughts about the issue. I must note, however, that Terre Thaemlitz's new >'G.R.R.L.' (Comatonse/Caipirinha) release is the true inspiration behind it >all. Terre, whom I've only discovered in the past couple weeks, takes genre >noodling/composing to the next post-modern level. First the packaging is >brilliant. A white cover with the title, G.R.R.L., in big black bold >letters and below, a diagram showing sillohuettes of a pink man and a blue >woman, both colours converging in the centre with a purple man/woman? >(Before continuing I will note the well-known fact that Terre is a >transvestite and has been for years. Much of the conceptual thinking of his >cd's clearly coincides with his lifestyle.) >The songs on G.R.R.L. are literally charted into tongue-in-cheek genre >monikers like: Abstract Drum & Bass; '80s Chicago; and my favourite, >Improvisational Lounge! Some are even applied with two genre descriptors. >The impression I get, and this is somewhat influenced by Terre's excellent >liner notes--a very funny mix of serious theory and philosophy--(Examples: >"G.R.R.L. embraces Space Jam as a powerful deconstruction of the cultural >fabrication of desire, as exemplified by its lackluster appeal despite >shameless over-financing and over-promotion" and "G.R.R.L. assures the >audience that each track is produced with 110% cyncerity") is that Terre >maligns genres but sees their purpose in the marketplace. Our society is so >bloody used to the three second sound-bite that instead of just listening to >a record we listen to it beforehand through media-influenced notions of what >to expect. And when the sound isn't conforming to those expectations it is >often dismissed as poor. >I for one do not adhere to this ideology (If I did, why would I have bought >the G.R.R.L. album). Unfortunately many people still do. It really sucks >that a lot of electronic music is 'this genre' or 'that genre' and not >merely music. Whatever the truth of the situation, I believe that Terre is >the shit. Having recently had the chance to hear his 'Couture Cosmetique' >album (if you like your ambient closer to the subliminal, check this album >out), and read its very well-reasoned and conceived liner-notes I really >hope that more idm-style producers, or musicians in general are as deep and >serious about their music. I know of a few myself: DJ Spooky, Panasonic, >Autechre, and Nonplace Urban Field/Bernd Friedmann. Well those are my >thoughts; feel free to comment/flame/drink/smoke/classify/opinionate/smile >: ) > >Digression of Sorts: >I also listen to music which clearly contains less introspection than the >above, but really when it comes down to it, this stuff is mostly filler. > >Mini-Review: >Picked up Richie Hawtin's Concept:96 (M_nus/Plus 8) yesterday and having >listened to it 5 times through already wish I hadn't passed up on those >Concept 12"s I saw all lonely in the bins last year. The 808 and what >little else used shouldn't be able to create the cd's breadth of sound. >Expert tweaking?? Who cares! Now I feverishly await the arrival of the new >Plastikman album (name?). I say with confidence that Concept:96 is a >must-buy for any Plastikman fan, minimal-techno devotee, or liker of fine >music! BTW, if you are holding off because you own the 12"s: don't. The >shop-owner informs me that she thinks the cd is a totally different, and >welcome, experience to the vinyl releases (of which she owns all twelve). >++Genre-based recommendation included at no-cost to the reader++ > >@nd..(..)..."purveyor of plentiful parentheses" >np: music in my head > >######=============^=============###### >Andrew Minett, resident pusher of FREAKONESEES >Floating out of London, ON on 94.7 FM >Every Wed. from 2 to 6:30 a.m. >tune in on the web @ http://www.usc.uwo.ca/chrw/main/chrw.ram >"It's just like a right strange dimension." > -Richard D. James ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jonathan Logan Work: 415 543-2800 UI Droog Home: 415 487-0424 CriticalPath, Inc. Mobile: 415 902-8079 ------------------------------------------------------------------------