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-   -   They look wrong,they sound wrong and they are doing it for the wrong reason (http://www.sonicyouth.com/gossip/showthread.php?t=1945)

porkmarras 05.21.2006 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glice
I remember that interview, he made another very good point about modern improv being the antithesis of what it originally stood for... I think he misses part of the point, but I agree with the sentiment. I agree with the Radiohead thing, I like them, but I can't stand them being crowned as innovators par excellance. They are an above average pop group to me (seeing as they still use very, very pop structures), they certainly don't deserve all the accolades thrown at them (and I could argue the same for SY).

There are worse bands for white guilt though, The Clash being foremost to my mind.

It's a shame I don't really like ADF's music, they give one of the best interviews of any band...

Yeah it's a pity that Asian Dub foundation are a mostly crap band themselves

Glice 05.21.2006 05:52 PM

I remeber being really excited when they did a 7" with Atari Teenage Riot (I was young at the time), but they never really lived up to the promise of Free Satpal Ram, which is still a blinding song.

porkmarras 05.21.2006 05:58 PM

Yeah that was an ace song.Didnt they do a version of it with Mark E. Smith or memory is simply failing me?

Toilet & Bowels 05.21.2006 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porkmarras
What struck me as being totally intelligent of this guy is how he states that ethnic minorities generally go for more technologically enhanced music because of the fact that the nostalgia generally attached to guitars is one for a past that was good only for the white oppressors of this earth, while the embracing of the latest technology in music making is generally more widespread in the black community because the future is the only thing to be longing for


well i don't particularly agree with that theory, i'm kind of tired at the moment and i can't be bothered to think this through properly and form a coherent arguement so i'll just put out a list of points that probably won't mean a thing unless you are a mind reader

firstly, there's more musical intruments than the electric guitar, so why have all traditional instruments been largely abandoned in favour of technology.
secondly, i think this has to do with dance culture and music being played in public by DJs rather than bands... essentially i think this dates back to the begining of hiphop when black kids from very poor neighbourhoods were too poor to buy instruments and had to find other ways to make music which lead to the DJ as musician and thus sampling, the loss of the value of actual live music played on instruments... in turn, this lead to the rise of music created by one man bands, which i think is far more appealing to a young man's ego (being the sole creator) than having to do make music in a group. and this lead to the use of instruments being seen as being against the spirit of hiphop.
i guess this has to be tied into jamaica too, because of the influence jamaican music has over electronic dance music, where there was that school (alpha boys school, or something) in the 60s where all the apparently most of the future ace musicians were trained my this one nun... i don't know what happened to that nun, but i imagine that at some point or another she got too old to teach, and then with the way the jamaican scene worked with it being controlled by a couple of label owners/producers who produced the majority of records to come out on certain key labels, and the logical move for those guys was to embrace technology because it gave themselves more control over the sound and required less reliance on musicians...
also, it makes me think about some stuff that joe carducci said in his book Rock and The Pop Narcotic, about the nature of pop music being a primarily studio based music, and dance music is essentially pop.

not to mention that some of the pioneering groups that are supposed to be influential to house and techno, like new order or erasure were also super-white in their sound and appearance.
then i suppose you'd have to draw kraftwerk into this, i guess those guys represented the future, but they were also about as white* as it's possible to be, but their music was embraced by a handful of black dudes in america which lead to the births of house and techno

thirdly... zillions of white people embraced technology based too.
fourthly, in countried like the UK, where all the non-whites are immigrants, i think there is something in this that has to do with them separating themselves from the music traditions of their nations of origin. for example, lots of people immigrated to the UK from jamaica, but as far as i know no jamaican musician of any significance ever immigrated here, thus the traditions of the music (and intrument playing) remained in jamaica, and the primary interface british jamaicans had with jamaican music was through recordings, so it could be sort of argued that records/DJs became more important than musicians... this is getting really incoherrent, i'll stop.

basically, i think there's this really something to base an essay (that i'll never write) on rather than some post on an internet message board.

in years to come i think this current period of technology over conventional instruments is going to be seen as an anomally, and that instruments will return to equal if not higher grounding.

and ADF have a fucking guitarist anyway.

*white in the sense of what black people make fun of white people for being like, i.e. stiff, uptight, asexual, nerdish.

Savage Clone 05.21.2006 09:05 PM

Yep.
That sure looks like the post of a tired man who can't be bothered...

Toilet & Bowels 05.21.2006 09:07 PM

and hopefully one day the phrase "white boys with guitars" will never be uttered again!
(particularly it is the hypocrisy of white people using this phrase that irritates me)

porkmarras 05.22.2006 03:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toilet & Bowels
well i don't particularly agree with that theory, i'm kind of tired at the moment and i can't be bothered to think this through properly and form a coherent arguement so i'll just put out a list of points that probably won't mean a thing unless you are a mind reader

firstly, there's more musical intruments than the electric guitar, so why have all traditional instruments been largely abandoned in favour of technology.
secondly, i think this has to do with dance culture and music being played in public by DJs rather than bands... essentially i think this dates back to the begining of hiphop when black kids from very poor neighbourhoods were too poor to buy instruments and had to find other ways to make music which lead to the DJ as musician and thus sampling, the loss of the value of actual live music played on instruments... in turn, this lead to the rise of music created by one man bands, which i think is far more appealing to a young man's ego (being the sole creator) than having to do make music in a group. and this lead to the use of instruments being seen as being against the spirit of hiphop.
i guess this has to be tied into jamaica too, because of the influence jamaican music has over electronic dance music, where there was that school (alpha boys school, or something) in the 60s where all the apparently most of the future ace musicians were trained my this one nun... i don't know what happened to that nun, but i imagine that at some point or another she got too old to teach, and then with the way the jamaican scene worked with it being controlled by a couple of label owners/producers who produced the majority of records to come out on certain key labels, and the logical move for those guys was to embrace technology because it gave themselves more control over the sound and required less reliance on musicians...
also, it makes me think about some stuff that joe carducci said in his book Rock and The Pop Narcotic, about the nature of pop music being a primarily studio based music, and dance music is essentially pop.

not to mention that some of the pioneering groups that are supposed to be influential to house and techno, like new order or erasure were also super-white in their sound and appearance.
then i suppose you'd have to draw kraftwerk into this, i guess those guys represented the future, but they were also about as white* as it's possible to be, but their music was embraced by a handful of black dudes in america which lead to the births of house and techno

thirdly... zillions of white people embraced technology based too.
fourthly, in countried like the UK, where all the non-whites are immigrants, i think there is something in this that has to do with them separating themselves from the music traditions of their nations of origin. for example, lots of people immigrated to the UK from jamaica, but as far as i know no jamaican musician of any significance ever immigrated here, thus the traditions of the music (and intrument playing) remained in jamaica, and the primary interface british jamaicans had with jamaican music was through recordings, so it could be sort of argued that records/DJs became more important than musicians... this is getting really incoherrent, i'll stop.

basically, i think there's this really something to base an essay (that i'll never write) on rather than some post on an internet message board.

in years to come i think this current period of technology over conventional instruments is going to be seen as an anomally, and that instruments will return to equal if not higher grounding.

and ADF have a fucking guitarist anyway.

*white in the sense of what black people make fun of white people for being like, i.e. stiff, uptight, asexual, nerdish.

Hmmm....Let me think about this a bit more and i'll get back to you at one point.You never know,one day we might even write that essay together.......

Glice 05.22.2006 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toilet & Bowels
firstly, there's more musical intruments than the electric guitar, so why have all traditional instruments been largely abandoned in favour of technology.
secondly, i think this has to do with dance culture and music being played in public by DJs rather than bands... essentially i think this dates back to the begining of hiphop when black kids from very poor neighbourhoods were too poor to buy instruments and had to find other ways to make music which lead to the DJ as musician and thus sampling, the loss of the value of actual live music played on instruments... in turn, this lead to the rise of music created by one man bands, which i think is far more appealing to a young man's ego (being the sole creator) than having to do make music in a group. and this lead to the use of instruments being seen as being against the spirit of hiphop.
i guess this has to be tied into jamaica too, because of the influence jamaican music has over electronic dance music, where there was that school (alpha boys school, or something) in the 60s where all the apparently most of the future ace musicians were trained my this one nun... i don't know what happened to that nun, but i imagine that at some point or another she got too old to teach, and then with the way the jamaican scene worked with it being controlled by a couple of label owners/producers who produced the majority of records to come out on certain key labels, and the logical move for those guys was to embrace technology because it gave themselves more control over the sound and required less reliance on musicians...
also, it makes me think about some stuff that joe carducci said in his book Rock and The Pop Narcotic, about the nature of pop music being a primarily studio based music, and dance music is essentially pop.

not to mention that some of the pioneering groups that are supposed to be influential to house and techno, like new order or erasure were also super-white in their sound and appearance.
then i suppose you'd have to draw kraftwerk into this, i guess those guys represented the future, but they were also about as white* as it's possible to be, but their music was embraced by a handful of black dudes in america which lead to the births of house and techno

thirdly... zillions of white people embraced technology based too.
fourthly, in countried like the UK, where all the non-whites are immigrants, i think there is something in this that has to do with them separating themselves from the music traditions of their nations of origin. for example, lots of people immigrated to the UK from jamaica, but as far as i know no jamaican musician of any significance ever immigrated here, thus the traditions of the music (and intrument playing) remained in jamaica, and the primary interface british jamaicans had with jamaican music was through recordings, so it could be sort of argued that records/DJs became more important than musicians... this is getting really incoherrent, i'll stop.

basically, i think there's this really something to base an essay (that i'll never write) on rather than some post on an internet message board.

in years to come i think this current period of technology over conventional instruments is going to be seen as an anomally, and that instruments will return to equal if not higher grounding.

and ADF have a fucking guitarist anyway.

*white in the sense of what black people make fun of white people for being like, i.e. stiff, uptight, asexual, nerdish.


First of all, good post. An underappreciated poster (Iain falls into this category as well).

I personally don't really like the white/ non-white division of music, although unfortunately, in England at least, there is a predominance of white boys playing with the 'classic' rock format, and non-white playing dance type instruments (samplers, laptops, decks). I think within a wider perspective instruments don't really belong to anyone - Take a genre like African Soukous, where the rock format is used (with additional percussion) in an entirely different fashion. I think there are some instruments, usually on the classical side of things that are played by the culture (which is a different thing to race) from which it comes - it's not that white guys or black guys (or whatever) can't play Tabla, Sitar, Shukihachi, Er-hu (etc, etc), it's that they require a very intense training which generally doesn't happen outside of that culture - for instance, I have to travel about 25 miles to find a Tabla teacher, whereas if I were in Delhi it wouldn't be quite so difficult. By the same token, I suspect European classical players are predominently white because European classical music is the music of white Europe. I should modify that - I am talking about a culture which goes back before the widespread immigration which was afforded by technological developments - in the 20th Century onwards, there is no real reason why you couldn't have a black bassoon player, and the modern rise of Japanese / Chinese piano/ Violin virtuosos is probably due to the 'importing' of European traditions to those countries. Again, I don't particularly think that music belongs to a race, but it can be more difficult to make a decent scratch at some genres without being immersed in that music - for instance, Reggae is predominantly from the culture of Jamaica. In this case, a white guy could very easily make decent reggae, but they probably wouldn't if they were from anywhere other than Jamaica. Lately I've been finding myself most interested in areas which are between, or made up of several different cultures - the Balkans, for instance, where there is a lovely mixture of Jewish, European and Arabic musics (Jewish itself being an agglomorate of various musics from the pogroms (sp?)).

It's an interesting point you raise about techno and Erasure - I think Erasure are fantastic, but ultra-white as you say. But then again, there was a lot of disco in their music, and disco comes from places with a heavy ethnic mix generally. But yeah, techno, as we understand it now, comes from Black guys (Derrick May et al) listening to white guys (Erasure, Throbbing Gristle, Kraftwerk). But like I say, I don't think racial divisions are as important as cultural ones.

There's a lot more I could write, but I can see why you gave up, sudden paranoia about this boring the arse off of everyone.

porkmarras 05.22.2006 08:31 AM

for the time being all i can say to you guys is this
Give a call to:
The Samaritans
08457 90 90 90 (in the UK and Northern Ireland )

Glice 05.22.2006 08:34 AM

Seeing as we're being helpful: http://uk.gay.com/.

porkmarras 05.22.2006 08:36 AM

Not as good as this though:
www.gaydar.co.uk

Glice 05.22.2006 08:41 AM

Oh, I have a friend who met an absolute monster through gaydar... they were sat in a bar that was quite busy, and the monster was apparently talking about his sexual exploits, which, gay or otherwise, is not really the most charming thing to do on a first date. Worse, the bar filled up and a chap came over and asked to sit with them, and then the chap and his 13-yr-old daughter sat there and were unfortunate enough to be regailed with tales of the monsters cottaging experiences. My friend was then pestered with oodles of texts and e-mails when he said he didn't want to see the monster again, to the point where he was considering legal action.

Toilet & Bowels 05.22.2006 09:43 AM

i don't understand why somebody like brian blessed isn't seen as the height of male beauty, i think if i was gay i'd be attracted to big hearty hairy manly chaps like him.

Toilet & Bowels 05.22.2006 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glice

I personally don't really like the white/ non-white division of music, although unfortunately, in England at least, there is a predominance of white boys playing with the 'classic' rock format, and non-white playing dance type instruments (samplers, laptops, decks).


yeah, the black/white division is of little concern to me, and i find it tiresome when it's raised, but people raise it so you have to address it. what irks me most of all are white people who put music down for being, "too white".
for what it's worth, while i'm no fan of erasure, i love kraftwerk.

Savage Clone 05.22.2006 09:49 AM

If you were gay, you'd be into the Bears, eh?
Too bad you are such a skinny pale type!

porkmarras 05.22.2006 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glice
Oh, I have a friend who met an absolute monster through gaydar... they were sat in a bar that was quite busy, and the monster was apparently talking about his sexual exploits, which, gay or otherwise, is not really the most charming thing to do on a first date. Worse, the bar filled up and a chap came over and asked to sit with them, and then the chap and his 13-yr-old daughter sat there and were unfortunate enough to be regailed with tales of the monsters cottaging experiences. My friend was then pestered with oodles of texts and e-mails when he said he didn't want to see the monster again, to the point where he was considering legal action.

That is an awful story.I have a profile on gaydar but i never use it.I don't like the idea of dating someone you meet on the internet but,as they say,to each their own.It is awful when adults talk about sex that way in front of children.It is quite disturbing.
Toilet & Bowels:The XXl club is all the rage at the moment

Toilet & Bowels 05.22.2006 10:10 AM

what's that?

and do you know that roman spa place, i think it's called "Charriots" on shoreditch high street, by the texaco garage? what's the deal with that place?

porkmarras 05.22.2006 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toilet & Bowels
what's that?

and do you know that roman spa place, i think it's called "Charriots" on shoreditch high street, by the texaco garage? what's the deal with that place?

XXL is a club for large men that people go on about a bit at the moment.Yes,i know that sauna but i have never been to a sauna in my entire life.I'm quite a funny gay man like that.

jon boy 05.22.2006 10:16 AM

in other 'things you shouldnt do infront of a child' related news, i hate it when parents smoke infront of their kids, especially young ones they are pushing around in a buggy dropping ash all over the poor sods head and clothes.

Everyneurotic 05.22.2006 11:35 AM

asian dub foundation are a bunch of racist idiots.

the guitar was not invented by colonialists, but if they wanted to justify their use of synths and shit, that's a very retarded way to do so. and if they were so bothered by the "white oppressors of this earth", why didn't they move to india or wherever the fuck their ancestors were from and started an indie label there and stopped talking in english? to me, it sounds hypocrite.

porkmarras 05.22.2006 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Everyneurotic
asian dub foundation are a bunch of racist idiots.

the guitar was not invented by colonialists, but if they wanted to justify their use of synths and shit, that's a very retarded way to do so. and if they were so bothered by the "white oppressors of this earth", why didn't they move to india or wherever the fuck their ancestors were from and started an indie label there and stopped talking in english? to me, it sounds hypocrite.

To me this is not really saying much at all

Everyneurotic 05.22.2006 11:53 AM

ok, i'll explain it a little clearer for you.

if asian dub or anybody else knew anything, they'd know that the guitar was not invented by british or french imperialists (the prime conquerors in asia), and that their prejudice to the use of it is based upon some stereotype, the stereotype that only white people play guitars.

further more, the statement comes from a band formed by people who are immigrants or children of immigrants, they are asian immigrants in the uk who complain about "white opressors" when they could just embrace their inherited culture and move back to the place they or their forefathers were originally from and that way, stop being in the dominance of the white people. but instead, they stay in the uk and bitch about it.

they stereotype the people who use guitars as white opressors, and to me, that sounds very racist.

PAULYBEE2656 05.22.2006 11:58 AM

is there now form to this thread? cuz yknow, dont wanna interrupt the "flow". "flow" being wgatever you decipher it as!

porkmarras 05.22.2006 12:00 PM

This is kinda missing the point and taking it quite a bit out of context but i'll get back to you and Toilet Bowels when i get more time to do so

alyasa 05.22.2006 12:04 PM

I'm non-white, living deep in the heart of Asia... No matter how 'enlightened' Asian society has become or will become; there is always a stigma associated with anything 'Western'; whether stereotypical; such as guitars; or something essentially deeper; such as western english literature... The east and west shall never meet thing is very much alive here in Asia. It's a either you're with us or you're against us mentality here; and with rising wealth and greater exposure to global cultures; there's a mad scramble; a certain paranoia to clutch to 'traditional' Asian values; at all costs, even at the risk of censorship or ostracization. Asians are very proud, anyone watched Lost? that Korean dude? Went around beating everyone up? Asian people are really like that; I can tell you with all certainty... So anytime any cultural invasion; especially the white people with their guitars; come up; people around here get very edgy and hostile... And Asians can be very mercenary, so they might welcome these gwailos with their guitars and pop music, just to get their dollar, but secretly spit on everything they stand for... So yeah, racism works both ways... And not all supremacists speak with a Southern American accent...

Glice 05.22.2006 12:05 PM

Everyneurotic: Are you basing this on actually reading about ADF and knowing their music, or are you talking on the basis of some mis-quotes on this thread?

I don't think they're racists. I think they are one of the more intelligent bands out there (again, not that their music does a great deal for me). I think they have a lot to say about 'post-colonial Britain', insofar as they aren't terribly interested in the guitar side of things (which, as has been said, is not necessarily a 'white' thing) but they are interested in the cross-pollination of musical styles which you wouldn't be able to get anywhere other than Britain. A group of disenfranchised Asian kids is pretty much the same as an American hardcore band (just usually more attractive); I don't really see anything terribly racist in a band that throws in Indian classical, Dancehall, British Bhangra, British Drum n' bass, odds and sods of heavy metal into their songs. Again, I don't like it, but it is a very 'multi-cultural' British (that's BRITISH, not Indian or anything else) thing to do.

What few interviews I've read with ADF they are pretty much constantly speaking up for the opressed everywhere - not just against white opressors, oppresors period. It's a subtle difference.

porkmarras 05.22.2006 12:14 PM

Well said Glice.Sorry guys i'd love to join in but i'm trying to do 3 things at the same time

Everyneurotic 05.22.2006 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glice
Everyneurotic: Are you basing this on actually reading about ADF and knowing their music, or are you talking on the basis of some mis-quotes on this thread?

I don't think they're racists. I think they are one of the more intelligent bands out there (again, not that their music does a great deal for me). I think they have a lot to say about 'post-colonial Britain', insofar as they aren't terribly interested in the guitar side of things (which, as has been said, is not necessarily a 'white' thing) but they are interested in the cross-pollination of musical styles which you wouldn't be able to get anywhere other than Britain. A group of disenfranchised Asian kids is pretty much the same as an American hardcore band (just usually more attractive); I don't really see anything terribly racist in a band that throws in Indian classical, Dancehall, British Bhangra, British Drum n' bass, odds and sods of heavy metal into their songs. Again, I don't like it, but it is a very 'multi-cultural' British (that's BRITISH, not Indian or anything else) thing to do.

What few interviews I've read with ADF they are pretty much constantly speaking up for the opressed everywhere - not just against white opressors, oppresors period. It's a subtle difference.


i was making my statement from the misquote used here, i should have started my post with "if that what asian dub really said...", but i went on with what was stated.

yes, i know asian dub's music, i thought it was odd that a band that crosspoints so many styles would say something like this.

alyasa posted exactly what i was trying to say.

Glice 05.22.2006 02:38 PM

Word. Well, I'm glad, I can never be bothered with arguing with people for more than one post.

Group hug anyone?

porkmarras 05.23.2006 04:02 AM

 

porkmarras 05.23.2006 04:03 AM

 

porkmarras 05.23.2006 04:12 AM

 

porkmarras 05.23.2006 04:24 AM

 

alyasa 05.23.2006 04:31 AM

 

porkmarras 05.23.2006 04:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jon boy
in other 'things you shouldnt do infront of a child' related news, i hate it when parents smoke infront of their kids, especially young ones they are pushing around in a buggy dropping ash all over the poor sods head and clothes.

I totally agree with that.And what about parents feeding their children junk food at a tender age?Disgusting!

Toilet & Bowels 05.23.2006 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porkmarras
I totally agree with that.And what about parents feeding their children junk food at a tender age?Disgusting!



totally, i can't stand it when poor people have children either.

porkmarras 05.23.2006 09:43 AM

I feel really sorry for the poor kid below:
 

eatmychild 05.23.2006 03:23 PM

When people think of guitars as being stereotypically white, are they just ignoring Jimi? He's kind of important in guitar history.

atari 2600 05.24.2006 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by !@#$%!
who can love the stooges & ignore the doors?? :eek:


but i tell you this:
no eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn.
-texas radio & the big beat

You were trying to express something similar to that to me last night in the thread about the great big ball o' yarn in the sky haha

besides the whole Dionysian connection, there's the Danny Sugarman involvement with both bands (the Stooges & The Doors are the two bands I mean for those of you with poor reading comprehension).

people who like the bullshit alternative music of today & rag on some of the greatest bands ever have got some sort of brain damage. yes, i realize that youth are deliberately rebellious to the point of being irrationally confrontational, but shit, there's simply no comparison between the quality of the music. these people aren't in it for music; they care much more about image than music.

some of the picks aren't too bad, but overall, i found this page to be nauseating; this fuck ranks The Doors as the worst band of all-time: http://www.nothing-sacred.net/articles/033/

krastian 05.24.2006 12:54 AM

Brothers & sisters of the pale forest
O Children of Night
Who among you will run w/ the hunt?
Now Night arrives with her purple legion.
Retire now to your tents & to your dreams.
Tomorrow we enter the town of my birth.
I want to be ready.


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