Musicology ̶1̶0̶1̶ 2020: Rip It Up Unwrapped
Rick Tastic having recently given me cause to unearth a post about my influences, in which I mused about non-literary ones … and Lorraine Heth having observed after our first encounter, that I was a ‘shock jock’ … I was minded to dig something else out.
Along with industrial music, Sheep On Drugs and The Prodigy …The KLF were the sound, vibe and ethos of my youth … the epitome of the Rave scene: everything up for grabs, no permission required (let alone requested), punk AF and music that sounded like nothing ever heard before — our parents didn’t understand and did not approve.
So, there you go … enjoy 😀
Right … Part II then.
I’ve been meaning to mention this for a while now.
In fact I might’ve already done so, but, if I did, it was so long ago now that I can’t remember any more.
Actually, I did … kinda, sorta, but not exactly … two years ago, look:
… but only en passant.
However, I was recently sent a link by a friend that reminded me of it and I think I’ll strike whilst the iron’s hot … before I forget (again) and it’s (once again) too late by the time I re-remember.
Furthermore, even if I had directly mentioned it before, I could not, for various reasons have done the topic justice. I’m not suggesting I’m going to do it justice now either — that would be rather conceited of me. But, in fact, I think I will, because it’s not that difficult to: all I have to do is shut up and let it speak for itself.
So, here’s the thing I was sent that reminded me:
… which is pretty cute and I think I’m gonna have to look at getting one.
But, what I really want to mention is Ishkur’s Guide To Electronic Music … which was recently(-ish) updated to version 3.0.
If there is one reason to regret the imminent demise of Adobe’s Flash technology at long last, it’s that … even if you could find a working copy of it … you’d never again be able to look at v2.5 of the site again once you updated your web browser.
V2.5 had a superb … utterly hilarious and wildly accurate … history of music technology that went back, by way of the Fairlight and the Theramin, as far as cavemen banging rocks together (really) that was almost more educational than it was fun to read.
In fact, now I think about it, it’s entirely possible that it influenced my writing style in no small way either: pretty much every entry on a musical instrument was started with “No, this was the start of electronic music” and ended with something along the lines of “No, wait, there was something else before it,” with a link to a new entry on the forerunner … and it really did go back as far as cavemen banging rocks together, if I recall correctly; it wasn’t simply a treatise on the history of electronic music but of music and music technology in the whole — and it made you laugh. It was the Kevin Turvey of musicology and really <ahem ¹> struck a chord as far as I was concerned stylistically.
If there’s one thing about it that is … not a negative as such, but does potentially reduce its usefulness as an educational resource … it’s that, much like Rationalwiki, it’s a bit of a inside joke and relies upon your already knowing the answer to the question in order to benefit from the extra information it supplies — you need to be able to spot not only the complete nonsense (like ‘Buttrock Goa’) but the subtle asides … which you’ll only be in a position to do, if you already know pretty much everything it’s telling you.
In its defence though, it does state that:
“This guide favors authenticity over accuracy, and it aims to entertain before it informs. It is only as accurate as it feels it needs to be.”
So, here you go … a musicological education in the antecedents of much of today’s fare … enjoy …
Right, that’s you lot for now … I’ve got new things to try in the studio, with coathangers, string and pink noise, if I ever want to get things calibrated just right.
If you don’t hear from me by the end of next week, I’ve:
- inadvertently strangled myself with string and/or a microphone cable — tell my family I died doing what I love.
- found the brown note and melted my insides — ditto.
- found the perfect pitch and am sitting in a musical nirvana, beatifically listening to what can only best be described as a giant bass dildo fisting your mom … of which I will never tire and will, therefore (if I haven’t already, by the time you read this) stop eating or drinking, wither away and die in my chair, face down on the keyboard (which was the only way to keep playing the chord after I became too weak to raise my finger and press the key(s) any longer) — they’ll figure it out.
