Clarification and Responses.

[rosen@ucbarpa.Berkeley.EDU (Rob Rosen)]

Comments concerning recent incontinence directed toward my person:
( > represents IED, a.k.a Andrew E. Marvick; >> represents me)

>Doug's comments about Eno are incontrovertible.
>It is amazing that anyone could actually still maintain
>that Eno's music is "consistently more crafted" than Kate's --
>especially someone who purports to understand the principles behind
>Eno's music, and who dares to question others' ability to understand
>them.

	It is interesting to note that I have been accused of mis-reading
the intent of messages posted to this newsgroup, and yet many who accuse
me of committing such an obvious crime against humanity demonstrate
exactly the crime I supposedly commit by unconsciously duplicating it.
Not that my stating the obvious would make any difference, but I never
maintained that Eno's music is more crafted than Kate Bush's.  I merely
stated that what others often mistake as intentional non-craftedness
(excuse the clumsiness of the expression) is actually constructed carefully
to give just that impression, and that Eno often constructs his music
with that goal in mind; he has often issued statements to this effect
in interviews and written essays.  No reference was made, directly or 
otherwise, to Kate Bush's music.  

>>The man SINGLE- HANDEDLY introduced the rebirth of Minimalism in
>>today's music.
 
>As Doug says, this is absolute bullshit, and it reveals the sore
>limitations of your own expertise on the subject in which you claim
>such superiority. Have you never heard of John Cage? Hell, there are
>even several pieces "composed" by Satie in the twenties, which are
>widely recognized as prototypes of conteporary minimalism.
>And of course, parts of the Well-Tempered Clavier, The Art of the Fugue,
>and the sixth Suite for solo cello (all by Bach) are masterpieces
>of extreme minimalism.

	Note that I used the word ``rebirth,'' the meaning of which differs
quite radically from that of the word ``birth.'' ``Today,'' in my statement, 
referred loosely to the 1980's.  I was attempting to assert that Eno has in-
fluenced countless recent musical expression, either directly (through his 
music) or indirectly (through his production).  Moreover, I never claimed 
superiority on any facet of music, minimalist or otherwise.  

	I threw in this statement to provoke certain individuals; the attempt
at baiting those who adopt the doctrine of absolutism in the context of musical
expression seems to have been successful.  I merely wished to observe your
reaction to a statement which, in content and form, strongly resembles that
which is often perpetuated by absolutists such as yourself.  Note that I have
not judged absolutist philosophy as being either ``good'' or ``bad.'' 

	For the most part absolutists interpret statements which deny the 
validity of their opinions as personal insults, and respond accordingly; 
unfortunately their actions only serve to reduce the amount of useful 
information disseminated in this digest.  Correspondingly, I will refrain 
from further expression on this matter, and from this point on will resume 
my attempts at gleaning various tidbits of unopinionated information from 
the postings to love-hounds.  

	%%Rob