I don't usually criticise music I don't like, just put it down to taste but it pains me to hear this guy mentioned in the same vain as Squarepusher...
The Flashbulb
Moderator: Aesthetics
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Flyingpurplepeopleeater
- Eagle Minded
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- Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2006 2:36 am
I got to say I agree with two lives, I listened to Flashbulb when this thread first came out and thought it was pretty awful. The guy is obviously into what he's doing and a fair bit of work has been done but that's about all I can say for it.
I don't usually criticise music I don't like, just put it down to taste but it pains me to hear this guy mentioned in the same vain as Squarepusher...
I don't usually criticise music I don't like, just put it down to taste but it pains me to hear this guy mentioned in the same vain as Squarepusher...
In response to infinite e, I just want to set something straight.
I totally see what you're saying and believe me there is no snobbery or fascism involved, even if it came accross like that.
Listening IS a skill, just like reading or 'getting jokes'. I know this from pure experience. When I was a kid I listened to a lot of metal, after a huge gap of not touching it, I came back to it and realised that I heard more - far more, I could appreciate so many more aspects to it, the lyrics, the production, the subtleties and nuances in musicianship, the choice of snare, the mic placement, the points at which a singer's voice might crack in a beautiful way... I just totally appreciated it on a higher level because I could hear more - I could hear more because I became more practiced at it, not in an academic or sterile way, just a more matured experienced and natural way - outside of intellect.
I don't believe there is a hierarchy in humanity, and therefore none in music. I also love some dance music and really lofi simple primeval stuff, it's all a rendition of the soul and that itself is divine. I sometimes rate it the highest.
"A leaf of grass is no less than the journeywork of the stars".
But going back to the point of listening being a skill. Hearing is a sense, and music is a sensual trigger, a stimulus which can not be summed up into words so easily.
Taste and smell are also senses and an individual can really learn to explore their senses through engaging in them more. I think of all the senses, smell and taste are the most neglected, well at least in my culture.
A cliche example would be wine tasting - there are so many depths and subtleties in wine that it is enough to keep people talking and writing about it for millenia, the problem is when snobbery comes into it and then a false 'hierarchy' - I love wine and I love stimulating the senses, but I'm not snobbish enough to claim that I can't enjoy a £3 bottle of wine.
Since I've been enjoying Single Malt whisky, I realise that there are hidden depths to a splash of liquid - just like music, unfortuantely because it isn't a cheap hobby, it gets associated with upper classes and some people of lower classes become disassociated and defensive about the area, but I am certainly not upper class in the slightest, I also have very little money, but I have learned a lot from spending an hour or two just sipping an aged whisky and trying to appreciate the multitudes of flavour.
Believe me, outside all of my strategising and intellctualising, I'm in my element around a campfire with a bottle of plonk and laughing at inane chit chat with my beloved friends. This is the highlight of my life, I'm glad that my highlight is primitive one, it makes it feel more honest and pure.
I totally see what you're saying and believe me there is no snobbery or fascism involved, even if it came accross like that.
Listening IS a skill, just like reading or 'getting jokes'. I know this from pure experience. When I was a kid I listened to a lot of metal, after a huge gap of not touching it, I came back to it and realised that I heard more - far more, I could appreciate so many more aspects to it, the lyrics, the production, the subtleties and nuances in musicianship, the choice of snare, the mic placement, the points at which a singer's voice might crack in a beautiful way... I just totally appreciated it on a higher level because I could hear more - I could hear more because I became more practiced at it, not in an academic or sterile way, just a more matured experienced and natural way - outside of intellect.
I don't believe there is a hierarchy in humanity, and therefore none in music. I also love some dance music and really lofi simple primeval stuff, it's all a rendition of the soul and that itself is divine. I sometimes rate it the highest.
"A leaf of grass is no less than the journeywork of the stars".
But going back to the point of listening being a skill. Hearing is a sense, and music is a sensual trigger, a stimulus which can not be summed up into words so easily.
Taste and smell are also senses and an individual can really learn to explore their senses through engaging in them more. I think of all the senses, smell and taste are the most neglected, well at least in my culture.
A cliche example would be wine tasting - there are so many depths and subtleties in wine that it is enough to keep people talking and writing about it for millenia, the problem is when snobbery comes into it and then a false 'hierarchy' - I love wine and I love stimulating the senses, but I'm not snobbish enough to claim that I can't enjoy a £3 bottle of wine.
Since I've been enjoying Single Malt whisky, I realise that there are hidden depths to a splash of liquid - just like music, unfortuantely because it isn't a cheap hobby, it gets associated with upper classes and some people of lower classes become disassociated and defensive about the area, but I am certainly not upper class in the slightest, I also have very little money, but I have learned a lot from spending an hour or two just sipping an aged whisky and trying to appreciate the multitudes of flavour.
Believe me, outside all of my strategising and intellctualising, I'm in my element around a campfire with a bottle of plonk and laughing at inane chit chat with my beloved friends. This is the highlight of my life, I'm glad that my highlight is primitive one, it makes it feel more honest and pure.
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hexagon son
- Happy Cycler
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- Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 1:17 pm
- Location: Calgary, Alberta
how about diversity of musical tastes? i like bjork and utada hikaru. both are female singers and probably have little or nothing in common. and chances are you hate utada. however, i will respect your statements as they seem well thought out and not the work of a troll. but i do like the flashbulb.
"It's been a long time..."
wwbjd wrote:Wow, nice first post
People looking for music that sounds like BoC get directed to probably 99% of music that doesn't even sound remotely like BoC. Same for other artists.
"I want more music that sounds like AE!" "Hey, check out Burial". Etc.. etc.. It's always drove me mad.
I have the bad habit of doing that sometimes, but then I usually note "its different, but I think you'll like it"
I think thats a good way of getting to know different artists... If someone likes BoC, why not redirect them to Lemon Jelly, even though its NOTHING alike.
Throw away your smartphone.
No reason not to. But if making a comparison between the two as being similar, then redirecting them to Lemon Jelly, that's where I think it's wrong. Then, you're setting expectations.Cupz wrote:If someone likes BoC, why not redirect them to Lemon Jelly, even though its NOTHING alike.
/me wanders off to check out Lemon Jelly prepared to smash things
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boardsofdublin
- Dayvan Cowboy
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- Location: Dublin
i see your point aswell Two Lives. 
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boardsofdublin
- Dayvan Cowboy
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100 fancy dallors even!-
Aesthetics
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Welcome and what a great first post!
I personally love the nonchalant touch of The Flashbulb and the wide range of music he tries to cover. I have to admit that his technique could be better in places but I put up with that. I quite understand how irritating it can be for someone who analyse music like you most likely do. I think that one shouldn't be completely bound up into that. I mean.. sometimes something touches you without being able to tell why... there might be a reason but I just don't want to analize it all of the time.
Good music doesn't necessarily have to match a certain technical guideline, does it?two lives wrote:It's difficult to respect technical criticisms made about good music when this is somehow a template of achievement for a current artist.
I personally love the nonchalant touch of The Flashbulb and the wide range of music he tries to cover. I have to admit that his technique could be better in places but I put up with that. I quite understand how irritating it can be for someone who analyse music like you most likely do. I think that one shouldn't be completely bound up into that. I mean.. sometimes something touches you without being able to tell why... there might be a reason but I just don't want to analize it all of the time.
Life is a Frequency
and if you DO find out...you'll only be disapointed that its not something supernaturalAesthetics wrote:I mean.. sometimes something touches you without being able to tell why... there might be a reason but I just don't want to analize it all of the time.
..or is it?
*scary string stabs play*Throw away your smartphone.
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thedisavowed
- Happy Cycler
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Ok, let's not say Clark and Flashbulb are similar, let's say they share a common genealogy.
Obviously anyone who has spent time with various electronic artists knows and call tell you that there is, for instance, a hugh aesthetic difference between Ae and BoC. And there is. But to say that the two are totally, completely, in NO WAY related to each other just won't fly. They are from the same family of music, and no doubt have mutually influenced each other.
Even the greatest and boldest of albums, such as Aphex's Selected Ambient Works Volume 2, still didn't come out of thin air. The influence of Brian Eno on that record is unmistakeable.
So when someone transists from Ae to Burial, or BoC to Lemon Jelly (although that one is a stretch), I think they recognize that there is a common mood and aesthetic there at times, even if they may only really be 2nd cousins twice removed in the final analysis.
So I don't stress too much when I listen to something and find myself saying, this record wouldn't exist were it not for BoC/Aphex/Ae etc. Most all records would not exist without someone, I think that the Flashbulb may just be a little more transparent than people like sometimes. And that's ok.
People just respond so differently to music.
Obviously anyone who has spent time with various electronic artists knows and call tell you that there is, for instance, a hugh aesthetic difference between Ae and BoC. And there is. But to say that the two are totally, completely, in NO WAY related to each other just won't fly. They are from the same family of music, and no doubt have mutually influenced each other.
Even the greatest and boldest of albums, such as Aphex's Selected Ambient Works Volume 2, still didn't come out of thin air. The influence of Brian Eno on that record is unmistakeable.
So when someone transists from Ae to Burial, or BoC to Lemon Jelly (although that one is a stretch), I think they recognize that there is a common mood and aesthetic there at times, even if they may only really be 2nd cousins twice removed in the final analysis.
So I don't stress too much when I listen to something and find myself saying, this record wouldn't exist were it not for BoC/Aphex/Ae etc. Most all records would not exist without someone, I think that the Flashbulb may just be a little more transparent than people like sometimes. And that's ok.
People just respond so differently to music.
You're missing my point. I was ranting on earlier about how music can not be intellectualised and how it stands beyond analysis. One of my arguments posted earlier was against people dumbing music down by following it up with limp technical jargon - the "It's difficult to respect technical criticisms made about good music when this is somehow a template of achievement for a current artist" thing you quoted was a retaliation to people thinking they can analyse music and therefore justify whether it is good or bad rather than just claim a general disapproval. So the aforementioned comment: "for someone who analyse music like you most likely do" was really misdirected. It's quite important that debates on forums are put forward and received clearly without misleading each other.Aesthetics wrote:Welcome and what a great first post!
Good music doesn't necessarily have to match a certain technical guideline, does it?two lives wrote:It's difficult to respect technical criticisms made about good music when this is somehow a template of achievement for a current artist.
I personally love the nonchalant touch of The Flashbulb and the wide range of music he tries to cover. I have to admit that his technique could be better in places but I put up with that. I quite understand how irritating it can be for someone who analyse music like you most likely do. I think that one shouldn't be completely bound up into that. I mean.. sometimes something touches you without being able to tell why... there might be a reason but I just don't want to analize it all of the time.
I FEEL music more than I analyse music - I'm a self taught musician, I have been since I could stand up - some of the responses I've had here seem to be people missing my point and unloading all sorts of misguided presumptions on top of what I've said, almost putting words in my mouth - it's quite defensive behaviour. On the other hand, it may be my fault for not possessing the ability to articulate myself well enough... a very frustrating barrier is language.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I don't judge music by its technical specifications, the manual dexterity of the musician etc etc... I think thoughtfulness and artistic splendour transcend any 'show-offy' elements of music.
Please don't presume that I'm this intellectual snob who only admires complex music and cleverness - the opposite is true.
For example, I think early daft punk and other french house artists made wonderfully beautiful music, and that's a simple and as minimal as it gets. But their efforts are worthy of a lot of merit, IMHO.
"Chances are..." what, so have you devised some mathematical model to work out the probability of me liking something? Based on what? The little strips of words that I have delivered on this forum?hexagon son wrote:how about diversity of musical tastes? i like bjork and utada hikaru. both are female singers and probably have little or nothing in common. and chances are you hate utada. however, i will respect your statements as they seem well thought out and not the work of a troll. but i do like the flashbulb.
It's not good to make presumptions about someone you don't know, I'm very open minded when it comes to music, how can it be at all possible that you could know what I will or won't like?
I'm going to go out on a limb here and presume that you like Bibio.two lives wrote:It's not good to make presumptions about someone you don't know, I'm very open minded when it comes to music, how can it be at all possible that you could know what I will or won't like?
And that you will also like "The Dead Texan". Hmmm.. not making any comparisons!
I probably have the greatest affinity with bibio as an artist, and boc of course, and I just checked out the dead texan - I can see a comparison there but certainly not as powerful as bibio. However I haven't heard much so I won't make judgements.
Thanks for the recommendation.
On the subject, are there any other things that are worth checking out? Any style, any genre... Preferably stuff on boomkat or other websites with previews.
Thanks for the recommendation.
On the subject, are there any other things that are worth checking out? Any style, any genre... Preferably stuff on boomkat or other websites with previews.
hey two lives (or anyone for that matter) i have a recommendation.... i'm really digging this guy Samiyam (hes a friend of flying lotus, who i also think is awsome) www.myspace.com/samiyambeats - - make sure to listen to 'rough copy' and 'wrap up' - its ducking instrumental hip hop gone insane.. i cant get enough of this stuff, the LA dilla/madlib sound.. people are getting really creative with it at the moment and its inspiring me greatly..
the gentelmen losers stuff was really nice also
the gentelmen losers stuff was really nice also
lone.bandcamp.com
Yo lone, cheers for that recommendation, checked out the samiyam myspace - sounds tasty.
I'm totally into that sound, J Dilla's donuts is one of the most inspiring albums I've heard in the last year.
I'm also a fan of your stuff. You gots the duck and swing down like a motherfucker.
I've never been that much of a follower of genres per se but I've often latched on to a handful of artists who do offshoot stuff... like the mid to late 90's warp crew (when it was at its peak IMO).
I consider Dilla, madlib, doom, lotus all to be part of that handful of people who are doing something new and refreshing with hip hop and where it's literally about music, not gucci, remy martin, mercedes, swimming pools, bikinis etc...
I think there's some exciting underground stuff happening in the UK in that vein, like Lone, letherette, AV stuff, lukid to name a few - it's like the british ducking sound. Myspace is the place to find new talent... in a world where a+r folk and label folk have got their noses stuck in NME and MTV2 trying to keep up with what's hip rather than actually take risks with new talent, signing to a label isn't made so easy - even though there's shit loads of them. Too many labels are scared of originality so that's why we've got more indie boys in skin tight jeans revamping roxy music and the jam... those kids get some serious budgets to buy the gear they want, while folks with talent are knocking out far more enlightening stuff in a bedroom with a computer and samplers etc.
That new hip hop sound should be called compressor-hop or duck-hop or something hehe. If you suddenly see a genre divider in a record shop saying 'duck-hop' I want the credit for it hehe.
I'm totally into that sound, J Dilla's donuts is one of the most inspiring albums I've heard in the last year.
I'm also a fan of your stuff. You gots the duck and swing down like a motherfucker.
I've never been that much of a follower of genres per se but I've often latched on to a handful of artists who do offshoot stuff... like the mid to late 90's warp crew (when it was at its peak IMO).
I consider Dilla, madlib, doom, lotus all to be part of that handful of people who are doing something new and refreshing with hip hop and where it's literally about music, not gucci, remy martin, mercedes, swimming pools, bikinis etc...
I think there's some exciting underground stuff happening in the UK in that vein, like Lone, letherette, AV stuff, lukid to name a few - it's like the british ducking sound. Myspace is the place to find new talent... in a world where a+r folk and label folk have got their noses stuck in NME and MTV2 trying to keep up with what's hip rather than actually take risks with new talent, signing to a label isn't made so easy - even though there's shit loads of them. Too many labels are scared of originality so that's why we've got more indie boys in skin tight jeans revamping roxy music and the jam... those kids get some serious budgets to buy the gear they want, while folks with talent are knocking out far more enlightening stuff in a bedroom with a computer and samplers etc.
That new hip hop sound should be called compressor-hop or duck-hop or something hehe. If you suddenly see a genre divider in a record shop saying 'duck-hop' I want the credit for it hehe.