[microsound] Re: How long should a "digital" album be

[Gregory Taylor <gtaylor@xxxxxxxx>]

>

Never gave it much thought - I'm more an "is" than a "should"
person, I suppose. In terms of recordings to release, I have
tended to focus strongly on complete live sets, no overdubs,
etc. - the recent c74 release is right about 45 minutes because
that was the time frame I was given by our mutual friend Derek
Holzer. As it happened, there wasn't much sign during the
performance that the audience was restive, so I didn't cut it
short. That particular iteration seemed worth "going to the wall"
for, so it was that long. Other things are longer, some shorter.

<aside borne of the idea of linking length to a real event>
I expect that many of you don't think of constructing things
in this manner, since some of you probably don't do much
live work. I would encourage you to consider it; I think that
there are a large number of kinds of engagement with an
audience that don't involve pandering, that there's no real
substitute for personal contact, and that you may discover
in practice that a sufficiently engaging performance may
actually trump the expectations of "entertainment" in terms
of presentation (i.e., an audience can actually tell how hard
you're working on your interface of choice). Perhaps not
always, of course - but enough to be worthwhile, I think.
</aside>

And then you can collect that work until you think it's
"right" [after all, you do get to make that choice. So little
is yours to decide in the world, you might as well enjoy
as many decisions as you can] and release it. With luck,
DIY means that you're free to reconsider all kinds of
expectations - length of work, presentation, and so on.

Your mileage may vary.

gregory

P.S. I have reached a decision as I typed my name:
A "digital" album should be longer than one byte.
Should we try an "impulse compilation"? Maybe.


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