Re: [microsound] Re: Music Presentation

[Jesse Kudler <jkudler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Yeah, of course.  I was mostly being stupid and ironic.  Point being that I
don't think that the presentation of a product is necessarily interesting in
a more superficial way than said product (music in our case).  I mean, I
could make an analogy to the below by talking about packaging and
presentation of ethnic music comps. or even non-Western music as played by
Westerners.  I definitely think it's offensive when Americans (or other
Westerners) doing their Indian music or gamelan or whatever present it as
exploring some exotic culture or looking for some kind of more "pure" music.
It's all manipulation of your audience, and I think that's interesting.
Case in point, I was recently told by my computer music teacher that I
couldn't write one of these concert reports we have to do on the
Pita/Fennesz/Pan Sonic show in NY because "That's popular music."  Leaving
aside that he had only heard of Pan Sonic among the performers, I think it's
interesting that this music gets deemed popular because the channels through
which it disseminates and places where it's performed are more through a
general subculture (clubs, mailing lists, etc.) than the academic route.  It
definitely seems like it's a politicization of the presentation to me,
especially since said teacher told me to instead write about a different
concert on campus here which sounds much less "experimental" and relevant to
the class but exists in an academic context.  Hey, if anyone can make
experimental computer music and put out records, why do I deserve tenure any
more than anyone else?

Partially fueled by my bitterness over having to find something else to
write about.

-Jesse


----- Original Message -----
From: "patrick halbig" <phalbig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <microsound@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2000 5:05 AM
Subject: [microsound] Re:Kudler


the sound as weaponry arguement can now take a bow.
Context:  Ambivalence towards sound art fueled by listening to and recording
digital music on a recent trip to Mauritania.  I think I will leave the
colonial equipment home next time.