Thursday, March 20, 2003
I recently read a review that suggested Portishead's second album wasn't as good because they manufactured their own samples. I started a rant and left it unfinished, feeling like, What good would it do to send it to the editor? I'd look oh so much the nerd. So I'm entering it here, and finishing the thought:
Recontextualization is NOT always the prime thrill of samplers--in much
music the samples are cut so fine as to disguise the source. The source
is irrelvant. By creating those interesting sounds themselves, Portishead
was simply stepping up their level of creativity and getting around the
downside of the sampler's art: theft.
Think of collage: you might see an image of something common like a
housefly or medieval angel. It doesn't matter where the image came
from. The effect is created from the sudden changes in texture and style.
The Peak-a-boo game of using snippets of pop hits is only one of the
effects of sampling. It can be clever and fun; it can also be tedious. But
it's not the only use of sampling--let's not limit the possibilities!
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
Have you heard of the Super Madrigal Brothers? Apparently on their album Shakestation they perform medieval songs in an Atari/Nintendo style. Sounds funny. (For a few minutes, anyway.)
