How To Disappear Completely

sarah, just happened across covblogs today on my way to the ways of brae in china when i saw your recent post. it was interesting read. i've been enjoying you're writings for the online zine.

you're probably familiar with john cale from the velvet underground. he and lou reid got this ball rolling: the union of avant-classical and rock. thurston moore and lee ranaldo of sonic youth owe it to these guys. some stuff to check out if you haven't: galaxy 500. and of course yo la tengo. also, sonic youth's syr series. definitely check out aphex twin. johny greenwood and radiohead borrowed much of their ideas circa kid a and amnesiac from richard d james, and also boards of canada. johny greenwood also released a film score to a documentary called "bodysong" a couple years back that is supposed to pay big debts to that messiaen's "quarter for the end of time." i'd love to hear your thoughts on these artists and projects.

Vincent, thanks for stumbling through. I respect Howard musical savy so much, it's probably ungodly. Thanks, and I'm on it. :)

Good point! I would, too, love to see the music history textbooks a few generations ahead. Especially since it's the text books that will change last. They will reflect only that which is solid and standard repertoire.

But, perhaps, we won't have to wait for so many generations. The dept I visited last week already seemed very comfortable in blurry the lines between traditional "classical" and other kinds of music either of other cultures or of rock/pop/hiphop/etc.

In Taruskin's big ol' multi-volume music history recently published by Oxford Press, he states that he wonders if his will be the last history of western Art music, meaning, that this blurring is immanent.

On another note. I often have heard what sounds like minimalism/avantgardism when listening to modal/experimental jazz. There's the standard Coltrane, sure (and I remember reading how A love supreme was influential on some of the early Minimalist endeavors), but I've heard a lot of interesting contemporary stuff along this lines, too. Wish i could remember names--back when i had an awesome radio station (wwoz.org).

One quick point (although I generally agree with what you're saying here); I wouldn't say that indie bands tend to write music primarily to be recorded rather than performed. Quite a number of indie bands have built their reputations on their live performances and their recorded works are considered incidental (quick example: Jon Spencer Blues Explosion). I don't think this disproves your point nor did I intend to.

Rob: I almost put that sentence in brackets, but decided to leave it as a generalization. Your comment strengthens my overall point: the difference between indie and avant-garde is becoming a hair-splitting fest.

Jeannette: People at my school are writing theses on Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani. The times, they are a-changing.

After all, don't the terms "indie" and "avant-garde" essentially mean the same thing anyway? ;-)

One comment from personal experience. When I was working on a degree in composition, I took several classes in electronic music, working in electronic labs with other students. There were a huge variety of students there--"classical" electronic composers and those who were writing "indie" techno-music, or music for video games. We all had to learn the same equipment, we became familiar with the same composers (Stockhausen, etc. AND Radiohead) and studios (IRCAM...). The main difference I sensed between the "classical" and the "indie" compositions that we wrote were that the indie kids tended to have more of a steady beat in their music, while the "classical" works tended to be more atmospheric. Anyway, in this little electronic subculture, everything seemed more connected (whatever you label it) than any of it did with "traditional" classical music. Some of the indie kids also smelled funny (lack of showers and presence of other substances, probably).

sarah, i forgot to mention on that earlier post: if you haven't heard keith fullerton whitman--which you probably have if you've hung around lowen long enough--check him out. he's a guy with scholastic knowledge of contemporary avant garde who's making music that seems to be pushing the limits in that realm while remaining palatable enough for lots of "indie" listeners (he's a pitchforkmedia darling). the books are another bunch from this vein that i'd reccommend. of course they're doing something different than kfw, but are producing music with an allegedly strong scholastic background that is making big waves in the "indie" scene. maybe the popularity of their music in the "indie" scene has less to do with it being generally palatable or accessible and more to do with the strong possibility that there are loads of "indie" kids out there with a taste for steve reich and brian eno. either way, "the lemon of pink," "playthroughs," and "multiples" are all albums that i can happily vouch for.

I definitely own both "multiples" and "playthroughs." I used "playthroughs" in a class presentation on Walter Benjamin's theories of art and technology here at my school in Canada. Sometimes I put "multiples" in my CD alarm clock and wake up so slowly to clouds to sound seeping into my brain, that I barely notice I'm awake. Then I roll over and float out of bed. It's nice.

I wonder if Eno is popular because he collaborates with Glass in writing symphonies based on David Bowie themes. The river runs both ways it seems.