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NEWMUSING9
Oct 01, 2001
"What I've been thinking is that some of the values
that are implied by the act - or the end - of
improvisation are no longer as relevant to needs
of the world as they once were. Individuality,
spontaneity, a sort of American Transcendentalist
process over product... These are still great
ideals, and the world needs them, but perhaps not
as much as art which is more communal, less anarchic,
and less specialist.
"Improvisation teaches us the skills of how to make
beauty in any circumstances - it's sort of a survivalist
spirituality - which is great. But these skills
are not as well suited for dealing with the big issues
in the world today. And one thing I've realized
post-9/11 is that I'd prefer not to see the world
fall entirely to pieces. I'd rather try to address
the big problems that our country has attempted
to avoid dealing with, in the name of capitalism,
or rugged individualism. These are compositional
problems, as I see it."
Dan Plonsey
on the ba-newmus@ella.mills.edu
mailing list, Oct 01, 2001
Some accumulated random thoughts:
The guys who run the corner
store below my apartment do
not seem to be plagued by a
sense that their lives More people died
have no relevance after last month in the
9/11. They crank out the US in traffic
sandwiches, sell the beer accidents than in
and the milk, and pretty the World Trade
much fufill whatever function Center collapse.
they've always fufilled.
Kill your
They probably spend a little television?
more time talking about
politics and a little less
time talking about sports.
(But then, it's not football
season yet.)
But I, also, would be
interested in an art
with concrete, This has some horrible
denotative meaning. implications though: if
you're going to stand up
To me, this and say something coherent,
means working Someone you actually have to have
with words. else a coherent philosophy.
might
Words don't think And you need to be
necessarily of willing to risk
preclude working being wrong. Or
improvisation. with worse, trite and
images. inane.
(Though
my claim CONCRETE_MUSIC A third (The bay area style
remains approach: often seems to revolve
that There are work with around hiding behind
improvised also hybrid one of the a mask of dada/kitsch.)
words approaches, established
are of course. languages of And it's not only
difficult Use improvised music. the newmusers
to use sound to who are "guilty"
well.) accompany a of this: consider
composed the squids.
element:
poetry? slide show?
singing? film?
((fashion??)
I'm not much of a purist
in any direction, but
I would suggest that
individualism is not yet
Audience sizes: dead, John Ashcroft not
small audiences don't withstanding.
bother me at all
when I'm in the Further, I don't think
audience (which is communal art and improvisation
almost always). are necessarily opposed.
There was one occasion Bring a bucket of kazoos to
when Raven and I showed up you're next show: instant
and found the only other audience participation group
person in the audience was improv.
Buzz, and he had given the
band a ride that night. You can sometimes
Things like this seem find cheap bamboo
really funny to me. flutes in chinatown
for a buck a shot.
Though it's
too bad if
the musicians Put the lines
feel psyched of a poem on
out by this. numbered cards.
Deal them out
to the audience,
Here's some thoughts to get a different
on small audience sizes. voice doing each
(Warning: if any of these line.
thoughts seem depressing,
remember that I'm a negative-
kind-of-guy, there's probably
a more constructive way to
put it.)
A music where the artist is
free to choose any set of (I wrote this paragraph,
rules at any moment, is a while listening to
music that's inherently Oliveros, Hikage & Tomita
limited to one function: at the Meridian. Someone
it demands focused attention... wanted to know if I was
It cannot be backgrounded, "writing to the music":
it cannot be an accompaniment Yes and no.)
for popular dance, it cannot
be a vehicle for words or
for worship. PURPOSES_OF_MUSIC
At least not in
any ordinary way.
Most people are not really interested
in music: but they need music to go
with their other interests.
I suspect (though am not certain)
that with some effort I could
attract a larger audience to some
improv/newmus/creative events.
But I'm not sure that most people Consider the
here would like the approach. possbility that
if you *did*
get a large
One idea: partner with audience, you
some of the local sex wouldn't be
worker/performance happy with the
artists to develop a quality of it.
new art form:
improvised fashion. Ref:
An inverse strip-tease, Dr. Chadbourne's
accompanied by an remarks in
appropriately unpredictable "I Hate the Man
music. Who Owns This Bar"
As a KZSU DJ I know
A possible problem: puts it, there are
music that requires both "buzz addicts" out
the energy and enthusiasm there who just follow
of youth, and also an the buzz around
experienced, educated ear. without any under-
standing of what
I find it's not at all they're hearing.
unusual to talk to someone
with a fairly noisy (Me, I just
approach to their own follow Buzz
music, who admits to around.)
having a preference for
listening at home to
more conventional, less (E.g. in the mid-nineties, I
challenging music. knew two different industrial
noise artists that were Tori
Amos fans.)
As for me, I haven't seen
any live music in the last With any luck, I'll make it
several weeks, but it's not to the luggage store. Maybe
because of WTC-mania. I'm weird, but I still like
week night events, and making
This last weekend I road in it to the East Bay is rough.
Critical Mass and attended
the Folsom Street fair. The (I travel almost exclusively
week before I had deadlines by bike and public transit
at work... and I'm still these days, and Bart is kind
cleaning up my gear after of lame on Sunday nights.)
my Burning Man trip.
Life in the Bay Area:
More culture per capita
than any place in the country.
It's rough on the hipsters:
you get worn out running
about trying to keep things
moving.
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