rlr@pyuxn.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (05/02/84)
> Don't get me wrong, I'm pro-nuclear, deviate, and enjoy insulting > and slandering anything that moves, but I have one question for Mr. > Rosen: > Is there any form of music that you do like? > Richard Wade It's always nice when someone makes clear what it is he is referring to when he makes a statement. (WHO ARE THE FOOL?) Since you asked (and since I know phrasing it the way I plan to it will cause trouble, which every good subversive does for fun [*]): Bach, J.S. (linear countermotion at its finest hour; no one understood the whole notion of tempered scales, counterpoint, ... better than he; other linear music that appeals to me includes Gary Numan's "Cars") Chopin (only when he's not "noodling" around the keyboard; the Prelude in E minor does such incredible chromatic harmonic things that your eyes fall out in awe, and it may well be the simplest thing he wrote; on the other hand, most 19th century music turns my stomach, being a load of blithering self-indulgence; note that many self-proclaimed "classical" [sic] music aficionados know nothing but this sort of stuff) Debussy (perhaps the single greatest harmonic innovator in a long time; the piano preludes are a repository of sheer harmonic sound power without blithering pompousness; witness The Sunken Cathedral or Footprints in the Snow; and don't tell me Schoenberg made greater harmonic strides, he only made anti-harmonic strides) Stravinsky (a musical chameleon, though he's living proof that artists are most powerful in their younger early years) Berg, Webern (I always find it incredible that these people found a harmonic vocabulary (of sorts) from using the tools of the anti-harmonic Schoenberg; I need to go back and listen to these guys more) George Perle (OK, he was a teacher of mine, but he wrote THE book on Serial Composition and Atonality AND he reconstructed the last act of Berg's "Lulu"; he always insisted that dodecaphony was NOT mathematical, yet his teaching method concentrated on the mathematical aspects of it (he said he was never any good at math), yielding incredible insights; but listening to "Sonnets to Orpheus" is enough to sway anyone who hates that "awful 12-tone music"; so, I'm prejudiced, he gave me an A; must have good taste, right?) Harry Partch (Fred Frith has followed his lead, but he has been the leader in making his own instruments to make his own sounds, specializing in the unusual; for Dr. Demento fans: the music from the Funny Five countdown culminating with "Number Three" et al. was written by Partch [with the strange xylophonic sound]) Beatles (both the great pop songs of early years, and the innovative work of the middle years; to give you an idea, my favorite Beatle cuts: "She Loves You", "If I Fell", "I Am The Walrus", "Revolution 9"; note that they are all Lennon cuts) Motown sound (real musical craftsmen, the people at Motown; great musicians, great (though sometimes redundant) songwriters, great production, great songs; I can't even begin to list names of people and songs) British school of so-called progressive rock (when they weren't pompous and idiotic and boring, they were quite interesting; Yes (Close to the Edge--with its counterrhythms & counterharmonies), ELP (Trilogy album and first album are full of great cuts, even if most of them were stolen), Genesis (a whole different breed, more middle earth than outer space or underwater; their biggest problem in early days was their need to always give their songs a "proper" classicalist ending; biggest problem today is the pappiness of their success); the whole genre (like 19th century Romantic music) got too self-inflated for its own good, where technical skill and showing off became more important than the music itself) Brian Eno (the difference between Eno and a charlatan like Cage is that when Cage uses aleatory methods, the methods make the music; with Eno the process is selected by which *he* makes music; I just got a copy of Music For Films, Volume Two (which is only supposed to be available in the Working Backwards boxed set) which is absolutely fantastic; Eno's gotten bogged down recently, but his repertoire still stands) Magazine (the only really progressive punk band --- including Talking Heads, whom I also like, but they're not anywhere near the term "punk"--- with tinges of all sorts of unusual styles; their first album, "Real Life", is a masterpiece; also the band from which Devoto came, the Buzzcocks, provided real punk *songs*) Dirge school of post-punk (I still fail to see why people see this music as inspired by the likes of the Doors; Joy Division, the Cure, and to an extent Siouxsie & the Banshees lead the pack of post-punk semi- existentialist craftspersons---though Joy Division has evolved into the extremely banal New Order after death-wish-fulfillment by their lead singer: does anyone really think that new New Order is anything more than BAD electropop?) New pop (XTC, Squeeze, Bongos, dB's, Jam --- all proving that "pop" doesn't necessarily mean pap; creative innovative sound in a pop context) Fun music (B-52's, early Blondie, Devo, George Clinton & friends, Gap Band, Black Flag) School of eclectic weirdness (of course, the Residents, Tuxedomoon with their chamber punk, Renaldo & the Loaf, Throbbing Gristle, Fred Frith, Flipper --- definitely an acquired taste) ---- In other words, what I look for is innovation, in particular harmonic innovation. Movement from chord to chord (when done in unexpected ways) can send chills up and down my spine. Listening to most of the drivel out there (19th century music included) one could readily fall asleep and wake up having purchased a refrigerator at Sears (which is just what the muzak-makers want). Remember, this guy specifically asked me if there was any music I liked. (Of course, I could have just answered "Yes". But the one-word answer method doesn't stir up as much trouble.) * - Every Good Subversive Does it for Fun is NOT a mnemonic device for a new clef I've invented. (S#??) -- Those responsible for sacking those people who have just been sacked, have been sacked. Rich Rosen pyuxn!rlr
gtaylor@cornell.UUCP (05/03/84)
I give up...where did you find a loose copy of Music for Films Volume 2? gtaylor