Quote:

duncan wrote:
this guy sounds like a grumpy old man.

Let me try this again. I actually do like Kraftwork and I have a love for ealy "electronic" music when people were playing around with tape or people who record their own sound to exploit them. What I am not all about is recording a lick and cutting and pasting it through a track; singing a line once and doing the same; looping a drum beat that is four bars long so that it is the same all the way through the track. I am not really a fan over sampling when you take nearly an entire song and rap over it and call it new. I am also not a fan of using computer generated sounds that are meant to replace the bass player or drummer so that everything is perfect. If you are going to do this, you might as well have robot baseball players.

I understand what you are saying about the drum machines and I do agree with you. When used as a texture in the song, it makes sense. What I don't like is the approach that of laziness. I think we are agreeing here, just saying it in different ways.

This all brings me to this thought-
What is the art of the music? Is it the song? The melody? The performance? The production?
In my eyes, popular music is all of these things. Other forms of music (classical, jazz, folk) are very different, but popular music is really steeped in bringing all of these things together and making each as important to the next.

Just some thoughts.

I'm just really surprised that it is drum machine. I'd have to dig it up to really listen to it, but I already don't like the song, so the point is moot. surely it wasn't hard to program. (sarcasm)

I for one like the music that strikes a balance between the two forms...I like new electronic / felame fronted stuff like Duncan does, and there's a good mix of it in that, and bands like Curve & even Chemical Brothers who indeed use organic instruments (tho standard fare guitar and bass, I can dig it) I like the tension.

Roger once said that he doesn't really like drum machines that are programmed to soley sound like a drummer replacement, and I'm inclined to agree with him. I like knocking out a basic beat on one, but it's the peripheral stuff that would take 16 arms to play for real that texturalizes it and I can appreciate that more...so I'll continue to use it...but seeing I'm just jumping into home recording, I'm green to the whole thing.

I will most likely play my own basslines. ;-)

In the end to me it's about the song / "intent" and making sure that gets across. I've been spoiled by really great production (thru the company I keep :-) ) But if the song isn't there, it ain't happenning.

I believe that technology only effects production not songwriting. I think most people buy music for the lyrics and melodies not the production (which sucks for me couse I am a terrible songwriter) but with my small studio i can compete (megerly) with the pros becouse my production is good becouse of technology.
I figure there is nothing wrong with loops if thats what your looking for. I've used 'em. But all the computers in the world will not write a good song. But a good song with no production behind it is just some old folk.

Quote:

Yetitibbs wrote:
I went to college with someone who was a whiz at creating music via the computer, but couldn't play a note. He couldn't even tell you the difference between a half note and a quarter note and he was working towards a music degree. Fortunately, he was not allowed to graduate, but if he was allowed to, I feel like my degree would have been devalued.

Hal, I am glad you're here, thanks for taking the time to write.

"Mr. Cragin said he feels technology has lowered the bar on quality and on creativity."

I feel the opposite. I think that the amount of creative, quality new music be produced electronically is high. Take the music from Bjork for instance. It is so incredibly creative that I am not sure I am even ready for it sometimes. Groups such as Propellerheads continually amaze me with the feel and groove that they are able to produce electronically. St. Germain, Aphex Twin, Amon Tobin, Orbital, Massive Attack, Morcheeba and Thievery Corporation just to name a few, all raise that bar as far as I am concerned.

You suggest that computers lowered the bar but recognize that computers have infinite potential. I may have misunderstood this when I initially read the article so let me ask. Are you saying that even though, "With the computer today, the sky

I was just talking talking about this thread with some people. Thought I would remind you that this is here.

enjoy.

I like drum machines...they always show up to practice and never drink too much before a show :)

eh...I kid.

I think this is like everything else...there are going to be people who use it for good, and those who use it for bad. Was it 'cheating' the first time a distortion pedal was created?

I remember this very same argument being used against guitar pedals...oh this guy or that guy couldn't play with out XYZ pedal, and then it was, oh, she couldn't sing a lick without autotune. I am sure at some point some one looked at an old blues player and said, boy, he couldn't play if someone took that bottle off his finger and put his speaker back together.

Music is a representation of so many things, creativity, life experiences, talent (or lack there of), and even the technology of the day. Sometimes that technology is just designed to simulate technology that is no longer available, some times it is completely new and scary (insert caveman lawyer reference here).

I am not a techno fan by any means...the closest I have gotten is a crystal method cd that I used to keep me awake while on a josta/ mt dew fueled all night study session at ASU.

For some, the computer IS their instrument, and while I may not usually enjoy listening to that, they mostly become just something else that doesn't fit my tastes.