Re: KT NEWS; and IED, against a sea of naysayers, defends himself

[gfd@att.att.com@mtdca.att.com]

In article <8905090049.AA00302@GAFFA.MIT.EDU>, Love-Hounds-request@GAFFA.MIT.EDU writes:
>  >>_The_Dreaming_ "pop songs" are no longer being "composed". Kate is
>  >>attempting instead to transcribe the miraculous essence of her muse
>  >>_directly_onto_tape_, using every technical means she could find. In other
>  >>words, Kate Bush, for the first time in modern musical history, attempted
>  >>in a very physical, literal sense, to perform an act of _musical_alchemy_.
>  >
>  >Let me get this straight...you're trying to tell me that you don't
> 
> For what it's worth, his contention was that Kate's _attitude_toward_
> the act of making music itself was new and different, in that she was no
> longer trying to "translate" into relatively well-established terms
> the original music she had conceived. Instead she was trying to
> reproduce _directly_ the ideas in her head. IED would argue that
>
> <Insert defense>
>
> to produce her own music! ALCHEMY! That's what IED is talking about--
> ALCHEMY!


Listen, I think that Kate is a wonderful artist and I bless her for not
being restrained by the limited musical outlooks that too many modern 
pop artists have adopted.  But, PLEASE, don't take this too far.  Talking
about who did what first is always a dubious undertaking.  This process
(or non-process) of musical creation may be a refreshing change in pop
music of the eighties but it is hardly something that has been uncovered
by Kate (or any single artist for that matter).

It is a fundamental practice of artists in many of the Eastern countries.
The fact that principles of Zen, meditation and the like have slowly been
trickling in to the West has become more evident as musicians like Kate,
Steve Reich and David Sylvian get recognition and understanding.  Even
so, I would contend that the only means of "Alchemy", as you term it,  would 
be through improvisation.  This, of course, could be argued (probably without 
any decipherable outcome).  While I'm way out here on a limb, I would liken 
_The Dreaming_ to a Claude Debussy piece rather than to a John Cage piece.  
That is, like Debussy, Kate uses the studio sounds like a palette.  Of course, 
the studio has certain limiting factors (to our minds), but Kate seems unaware 
of them (and thus they don't exist! (there is a nice explanation of this idea in
_Zen in the Art of Archery_ by Eugene Herrigel)).  These are ideas that both
Debussy and Cage explored.  They did not see limitations in there work.  That is
a feeling I get with a few of Kate's records: the artist's total indifference to
the ideas of limitation in their composition.

This is something I am working towards in my own music and something that
we all can aply to any aspect of our lives.  So,  LIVE CREATIVELY!!!!!

George

P.S. If the tone of this article sounds a little negative, it is not meant to
     be.  I think that having sheros is fine.  I think keeping your feet on 
     the ground when talking about them makes for better net reading.  On
     the other hand, when listening to her...

P.P.S. I have noted a bit of a double standard on the net.  Those of you who
     speak so highly and greedily about Kate bootlegs must be aware that 
     your purchasing of bootlegs is a backhanded insult to the artist you
     so adore.  These recordings (unless sanctioned by the artist) are 
     really just stealing from Kate.  She doesn't see a cent of the money
     for these things.  Those that illegally record and reproduce Kates
     (or anyone's) material should be turned in rather than supported.