Re: [microsound] Deleuze dis-Influence on Post Digital Music

[Ian Andrews <i.andrews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>i'm not addressing the way people think. i don't assume to know in what
>manner thoughts are generated by anyone. i'm not even sure that everyone
>has the ability to think.
>i'm merely questioning the importance and reverence granted to
>post-structuralist model building on this list. one's level of exposure to
>post-pop philosophy is not in any way discernable in one's music. sorry.
>staying up late reading microsound or the computer music tutorial by
>curtis roads will impact one's music a helluva lot more than the collected
>works of Deleuze & Gutarri (sp.?).
>
>but besides that, does a knowledge of memes or rhizomes or whatever
>actually help one do anything? i mean, has anyone been able to actually
>put any of these ideas into practice in such a way as to benefit
>themselves or others. i'd like to know. or, is the whole point to nod with
>understanding at televised images of a world run by the bourgeoise (those
>savages)? talk is real cheap.
>
I've gotta agree with alot of this.

One of the most interesting aspects to the work of D&G is that they take an
interdisciplinary approach. That is, they don't just use music, film, art,
as illustrations for their philosophy, they actually build their theory out
of concepts which belong to other fields. For instance, Deleuze has written
two books which constitute a philosophy built from cinematic  concepts (via
Bergson). These texts, however, do not constitute a philosophy of film, nor
are they film theory. I have always found attempts to go back the other
way, and apply Deluze's work to film criticism as rather pointless.
Similarly 1000 Plateaux grabs its concepts from musicology, anthropology
and number of other disciplines. The title "mille plateaux" in fact comes
from Gregory Batesons work on Balinese music and culture. Again it seems
unproductive, and even uninteresting, to apply a philosophy based on
musicology back to music. Yet it seems that every second person doing a
humanities thesis these days is intent on doing just that.

I have been making experimental electronic music for 20 years and started
reading D&G about 15 years ago (since then I've read most of their work). I
have to say that the influence that they have had on my music has been
minute. On the other hand, their influence on my reading of philosophy,
psychoanalysis and politics has been huge.

Lastly, I would advise people who want an introduction to Deleuze and
Guattari, vis a vis post-digital music, to stay away from the
mille-plateaux site. The texts there are, for the most part, either poorly
written, or poorly translated, or both.