Thursday, October 18, 2012

I Could Totally Do That, I Just Don't Want To

One of the things about electronic music is that it's hard to be impressed by it - even if it's likeable and listenable - once you know what it takes to make it. So for instance I have a bunch of deadmau5 at work that's useful and memorable, but what's most interesting to me about it is how he gets away with long pieces in which very little that's technically or sonically remarkable happens. Maybe he just has a long and productive bus route (and the ability to wait out sixteen bars instead of four or two).

What eventually becomes more impressive is DAMMIT I SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT such as the Anthony Braxton samples* at around 2:30 here:



That weird skittering Braxton does is a good match for hyperkinetic pseudo-percussion. CURSE YOU AMON TOBIN.

Also the amount of effort put into this piece will clearly never ever come from me unless I am paid, (no not then either) so there's that.

So:



*Pretty sure, open to correction...

5 comments:

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

Needs more nyckelharpa.

Substance McGravitas said...

It's a rare instrument in which adding knobs decreases functionality.

There used to be a street musician here with a bandura. Good for xmas.

mikey said...

I miss old SuperHet HF/SSB transceivers that would get warm and glow and had like twenty or thirty knobs and veneer dials and frequency band selectors and BFO selectors and selectable bandpass filters and those big funky variable capacitors with all the shiny metal plates. The new digital radios just aren't as satisfactory, and besides, there's the internet now. Blargh.

The day of the knob is past, my friend...

Substance McGravitas said...

Not on instruments, that's for sure.

M. Bouffant said...

Your title is the story of my existence.

And to the contrary, this is more than ever the day of the knob.