General Music Chat

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I did sample my voice to do a song once, right into that same keyboard. I needed a roomful of ppl singing, & there was only me, so I sampled myself about 15-20 times & made a party out of myself, then played it back on the keyboard. Interesting, but a lot of work, but I was using a frikken 4-track, so what's a muso to do? Still, like "Heads Up," it was MY work, MY voice, & NOT a stock sample of other ppl;'s voices.

I think that's an okay thing to do, frankly, & it uses the tools available in a creative, personal way. The ppl that use other ppl's samples, however, are not creating or playing or composing anything, but stacking up stuff that's pre-written for them.

Yes, midi is a qualified useful tool for the musician, but in the wrong hands, it's used wrongly, & when the result is claimed to be unique, it's a lie.

Um....Mike? Did you know that Weird Al actually has ppl PLAYING the songs on his recordings?

that really doesn't change much for me... may require some musicianship but it requires zero creativity to copy





"A player's performance of any given piece in a live setting shows his versatility, his own creative juices, "

how does copying someone = creativity?
is the printing press creative when it distorts the image it reproduces?
after all it's that printing press's own interpretation of the material...
The def of the word creative requires that something be created... which in my mind requires that it not have existed before.

IMO you have a pretty high standard for what you call art and a pretty low standard for what you call creative, but for what it's worth... I don't care for andy warhol all that much either.

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Okay, Mike, you hafta give Weird Al his due, here. His schtick is making the comedy bit sound as much like the original as possible. When he does his own material, however, it's all his own. For the cover stuff, the new words are the thing. Since he's the onliest guy doing that sorta thing, I figure he's a unique artist in the comedy realm.

Nah, I have a pretty high standard for creativity, too, cuz I'm just an elitist asshole, but watchagonnado?

When I was talking about the Hendrix thing, I was referring to the artistic interpretation that live performance calls for. It doesn't apply to what Al Yankovick's doing - apples & oranges, there. Weird Al is creative when he writes funny lyrics, NOT when he's doing the carbon copy stuff musically, I'll grant you, but as an original composer, he stands with just about anyone. You just never get to hear that from him much unless you look for it.

I"m glad that we can at least agree on the Warhol stuff...LOL!

Okay, Mike, you hafta give Weird Al his due, here. His schtick is making the comedy bit sound as much like the original as possible. When he does his own material, however, it's all his own. For the cover stuff, the new words are the thing. Since he's the onliest guy doing that sorta thing, I figure he's a unique artist in the comedy realm.

Nah, I have a pretty high standard for creativity, too, cuz I'm just an elitist asshole, but watchagonnado?

When I was talking about the Hendrix thing, I was referring to the artistic interpretation that live performance calls for. It doesn't apply to what Al Yankovick's doing - apples & oranges, there. Weird Al is creative when he writes funny lyrics, NOT when he's doing the carbon copy stuff musically, I'll grant you, but as an original composer, he stands with just about anyone. You just never get to hear that from him much unless you look for it.

I"m glad that we can at least agree on the Warhol stuff...LOL!

dont' get me wrong... I like weird al. I saw the like a surgeon tour when I was about 14. my only point was that if you consider him art you have no choice but to consider that 'take me home' song art for the sm reasons...

I enjoyed our debate. thanks for being part of it.

Yeah, I liked it, too. It's funny how the lines seem to blur in this area, unless you're a purist that only listens to original stuff the 1st time it's ever performed live.

(I also happen to like "Take Take Me Home," but I like just about anything that Peter Gabriel's involved with, for some reason...)

I don't really mind the sampled sounds, but I'd much prefer to see them played. Looping also is cool with me, in a live setting. But when it comes to using stock sampled measures, I can't help myself - I just go off on it, even though I've goofed around on it, myself, looking for some sort of inspiration to write.

ya know " in a jack benny voice" you singers and guitar players really have no room to talk about midi, its us drummers that have to worry.... those darn midi drum machines

Q. How many drummers does it take to change a light bulb?
A. None! They have a machine to do it.

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