Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
More electronic embodiment, please. Easy on the predictability.
I just finished reading Vijay Iyer's article in "Sound Unbound" on improvisation and embodiment and it just occurred to me what it is about Hip-Hop DJs that keeps me constantly searching through YouTube for clips of DJ competitions and performances. The actual act of scratching adds the percussion with the human touch that reminds the listener who still makes music. It's not the computer, although the computer can and often does simulate most every instrument, that makes the music but the artist.
I love listening to electronic music but sometimes it all starts to sound the same to me no matter what artist I listen to simply because it is recorded. Tracks often start becoming predictable even after listening to new stuff that you find through Pandora or whatever because there isn't any improv or deviation from the standard structure.
When a DJ is scratching on his turntables he is making authentic music on one table while spinning a sample of the other. These motions provide the human link to music that Iyer argues is missing in recorded electronic music.
But instead of a contrast between electronic and instrumental genres maybe this is just an obvious difference between live and recorded performances. When I saw RJD2 perform at Toad's Place last year, I had already listened to just about all of his music and was still blown away by his performance. He didn't just play through the tracks and stand back with his arms crossed; he got in there and put on a show, mixing and mashing, sampling away, and pumping up the crowd with each tap of his beat pad. It was much better than the albums because we didn't know what to expect next.
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Genius Bar is... well... genius
So when starting up iTunes on my computer i once again got that annoying popup asking if i wanted to download the latest version of iTunes. Usually i ignore these requests and move on but since seeing the latest ads for the new line of iPods, i gave it a try and downloaded it.
I'll just cut to the chase and say that the waiting time for the download is definitely worth it as Apple finally added something to the interface that is actually useful and pretty cool to use. They created the Genius Bar which is pretty much the exact same technology as what Pandora uses. By clicking a song in your library you will be shown what popular songs you are missing from that artist as well as numerous recommendations for songs to listen to based on your taste. It also has a function that automatically creates a playlist from the similar styles of music in your own library.
Ever since i downloaded the update i've been constantly making playlists and rediscovering music in my library that i haven't listened to in years.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
