responding to larry

[Jon Drukman <jdrukman@us.oracle.com>]

artists and their responsibility to their public...

>Drukman's response reminded me of every single unsuccessful artist who
>ever blamed their lack of commercial acceptance on the public (as opposed
>to merely accepting the fact that they were exploring ideas that didn't
>necessarily have universal appeal).

i don't see it... cocteau twins were blasting an album that was
well-received by the public and the critics.  if you were talking
about an artist that *failed* to sell or gain critical acceptance,
then i'd say you're right.  (the well-known "my music is just too
advanced for these slobs" claim.)  but kate's dismissal of TKI as
"juvenile, moon in june" stuff doesn't fit the pattern.

>This does not mean that an artist should not respond kindly to fans, and 
>speak graciously of them.

why?  my friend in college grew up with one of the Beastie Boys and
when he (the Beastie Boy) saw all the frat-jocks getting into "fight
for your right to party" he was disgusted.  he said "i hate the people
that like us these days."

wouldn't it be great if kate logged in and said "all you obsessive fan
types make me SICK!  i don't care that you're my most loyal
supporters... i make plenty of money off the non-rabid types, so do me
a favor and DON'T buy my records... even being tenuously associated
with psychos like you bothers me."

well, i'd like it.

at least we seem to agree that artists have every right to criticize
their own work.

>drukman, you bozo.  The "bad AM radio" drum sound is the "Funky
>Drummer" riff from James Brown.  Kate Bush is now the last grate
>british artist except for peter gabriel to use it on a track.

geezus, you DARE to argue drum loops with a man who spends countless
hours working with them?  first of all, it doesn't even sound
*remotely* like Funky Drummer - and i am an expert on all permutations
of that loop.  second, we have Del's word on the subject, from the
Future Music article recently posted here:

	The very soft opening lulls you into a false sense of
	security, then you get what sounds like a drum loop, but in
	fact it's all played live.

don't even think of saying that f.d. is layered in there somewhere -
read the words: "all played live."

>sure, she could clean it up, but that would remove its charm.

there's nothing to clean up, except the rotten drum sounds.

in fact, i think kate should go to a real studio and record real
drums, or get someone with better ears to produce them.  the crappy
drum sounds really bug me on a lot of the Red Shoes tracks.  contrast
against the new Duran Duran album - most of the tracks with programmed
drums there are completely convincing (at least, the ones where
they're trying to sound like a real player, rather than a machine.)

wouldn't "and so is love" be so much better without those dorky
simmons toms?  how 1983 can you get!

Jon Drukman                                         jdrukman%dlsun87@oracle.com
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This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence.