i'm going to admit, from the minute i put this on, i knew it would be background music. and pleasantly, it was. i performed various activities while this mp3 played (napped, read some sub-par comics, started to make dinner, pooped), and the entire time i thought...man, this would make great soft-core porn/make-out music (although probably not with an analytical or cynical girl. but then again, who the hell wants to make out with one of those anyway). Manuel obviously had the goal of making 60 minutes of ambient/sexy/easy-listening material, and he did a great job of what he set out to do. THE BAD - i'm not going to remember this guy's name. there is no way i would ever put this album in my subjective top one hundred of the 80s. THE GOOD - i will certainly play this again, while doing homework, making out with my favorite blow-up doll, or entertaining party guests that i dont like enough to want to impress them with my music, but dont hate enough that i would want them to leave.
1 track, 2 chords, 60 minutes. yeah i dug this too. it was hell of minimal -- i can't believe he just alternated 2 chords for an hour -- but there was just enough little variation in the details that i was never truly bored. it's like you said, it's background music, and for gym tunes it worked out amazingly well. if i was sitting there 100% dialed into it, i doubt i would have lasted.
liked when the guitar came in after the half hour mark and it turned into a sort of electro jam track. and the fadeout was really beautiful. would this be considered ambient?
from wp: "[...]important role on the development of late 80's and early 90's house music genre."
i didnt even notice the epic fade-out. probably because the bologna sandwich i had for lunch was making an epic "fade-out" of its own. hm, apparently this guy was in Ash Ra Temple, a german 'krautrock' band of the early 70s. i've heard some of their stuff, its good, and i'm happy to add this to the little krautrock wiki in my brain. and yes, i can definitely see how this could have had a lot of influence on electronic stuff like The Orb. or Mr. Orb. Orbulese. whatever he called himself. BUT - you know who Manuel reminds me of the most? Gustav Mahler. he keeps it minimal, and the entire piece has a great 'flow'.
sgt. puprz, do feel free to rant to your heart's content about mahler or orbs or temples or bologna. (i think i just gave away the plot to the next indiana jones movie)
have you never heard his first album "meet the mahlers"???? its TWELVE HOURS of ONE NOTE. if thats not minimal, honey, i dont know what is. his second album "mahlers for sale", was 5 hours of 5 notes. everyone called it his sell-out album...and for good reason. ps - i'm typing this while wearing a vintage 'mahler wig.' interestingly, it only contains one hair.
to sergeant's comment about never "truly" being bored: i agree completely, but being partially bored with music is never a good thing. after the first 10 minutes it stops being so much of a chore, and has some nice playing around with high notes around 23:00. i think moby must have listened to some of this...his heat soundtrack seems like a skip and hop away.
anyway, i wish i knew more about music to comment on mahler's minimalism, but i'm a dumb punk rocker. the worst play i ever saw was called "that's not how mahler died." i was reviewing off-off-broadway at the time, and i had to fight with my editor to make the published review anywhere near as scathing as i wanted to. he made me fill the suggested word minimum by recounting the events of the play and analyzing them. ultimately, it was two hours of a guy watching a girl watch tv. it sucked. it was a pretentious, agonizing waste of time. if mahler's music is anything like that play, keep it away.
looked up the old review. it ends with the following:
To expect an audience to value a production, one must present it with something to value. To provoke an audience to ask questions, one must present it with a reason to care about the answers. Anything less is insulting to the audience, and by placing its actors onstage with no context and directing them to do absolutely nothing, the play becomes exactly that: insulting. The cast seems capable of taking direction, and the crew is certainly technically adept. But That's Not How Mahler Died presents itself more like a postmodern art installation than a piece of active, engaging theater.
---
man, i said "the cast seems capable of taking direction." that's as good as it got.
i will never forgive you for educating me that the final track in Heat -- the track which encapsulated the entire film, and a monument of mood coalesced into tone -- was by that lemongrass fuckbag moby.
i wouldnt even go that far, sarge...that unkle video was more of a "commercial" for - americana? skateboarding? [cough] racial diversity? also by virtue of having slightly understandable vocals, it presents itself as foreground music.
@Schnit: good call on those high notes around 23:00, i enjoyed them too but forgot to make mention of them. too busy thinking about the perfect hardboiled egg
pitchfork's top 100 of the 70's + top 100 of the 80's, considered, scrutinized, explored, assailed, defended, appreciated and deprecated, fussed over, held up high, kicked to the curb and held back up again. education by fire and a middle finger to disdain. tea, anyone?
i'm going to admit, from the minute i put this on, i knew it would be background music. and pleasantly, it was. i performed various activities while this mp3 played (napped, read some sub-par comics, started to make dinner, pooped), and the entire time i thought...man, this would make great soft-core porn/make-out music (although probably not with an analytical or cynical girl. but then again, who the hell wants to make out with one of those anyway). Manuel obviously had the goal of making 60 minutes of ambient/sexy/easy-listening material, and he did a great job of what he set out to do. THE BAD - i'm not going to remember this guy's name. there is no way i would ever put this album in my subjective top one hundred of the 80s. THE GOOD - i will certainly play this again, while doing homework, making out with my favorite blow-up doll, or entertaining party guests that i dont like enough to want to impress them with my music, but dont hate enough that i would want them to leave.
ReplyDelete1 track, 2 chords, 60 minutes. yeah i dug this too. it was hell of minimal -- i can't believe he just alternated 2 chords for an hour -- but there was just enough little variation in the details that i was never truly bored. it's like you said, it's background music, and for gym tunes it worked out amazingly well. if i was sitting there 100% dialed into it, i doubt i would have lasted.
ReplyDeleteliked when the guitar came in after the half hour mark and it turned into a sort of electro jam track. and the fadeout was really beautiful. would this be considered ambient?
from wp: "[...]important role on the development of late 80's and early 90's house music genre."
i didnt even notice the epic fade-out. probably because the bologna sandwich i had for lunch was making an epic "fade-out" of its own.
ReplyDeletehm, apparently this guy was in Ash Ra Temple, a german 'krautrock' band of the early 70s. i've heard some of their stuff, its good, and i'm happy to add this to the little krautrock wiki in my brain.
and yes, i can definitely see how this could have had a lot of influence on electronic stuff like The Orb. or Mr. Orb. Orbulese. whatever he called himself.
BUT - you know who Manuel reminds me of the most? Gustav Mahler. he keeps it minimal, and the entire piece has a great 'flow'.
sgt. puprz, do feel free to rant to your heart's content about mahler or orbs or temples or bologna. (i think i just gave away the plot to the next indiana jones movie)
saying mahler is "minimal" is either profoundly insane, or insanely profound. but it better goddamn well be one of them
ReplyDeletehave you never heard his first album "meet the mahlers"???? its TWELVE HOURS of ONE NOTE. if thats not minimal, honey, i dont know what is. his second album "mahlers for sale", was 5 hours of 5 notes. everyone called it his sell-out album...and for good reason.
ReplyDeleteps - i'm typing this while wearing a vintage 'mahler wig.' interestingly, it only contains one hair.
to sergeant's comment about never "truly" being bored: i agree completely, but being partially bored with music is never a good thing. after the first 10 minutes it stops being so much of a chore, and has some nice playing around with high notes around 23:00. i think moby must have listened to some of this...his heat soundtrack seems like a skip and hop away.
ReplyDeleteanyway, i wish i knew more about music to comment on mahler's minimalism, but i'm a dumb punk rocker. the worst play i ever saw was called "that's not how mahler died." i was reviewing off-off-broadway at the time, and i had to fight with my editor to make the published review anywhere near as scathing as i wanted to. he made me fill the suggested word minimum by recounting the events of the play and analyzing them. ultimately, it was two hours of a guy watching a girl watch tv. it sucked. it was a pretentious, agonizing waste of time. if mahler's music is anything like that play, keep it away.
laf.
ReplyDeletelooked up the old review. it ends with the following:
To expect an audience to value a production, one must present it with something to value. To provoke an audience to ask questions, one must present it with a reason to care about the answers. Anything less is insulting to the audience, and by placing its actors onstage with no context and directing them to do absolutely nothing, the play becomes exactly that: insulting. The cast seems capable of taking direction, and the crew is certainly technically adept. But That's Not How Mahler Died presents itself more like a postmodern art installation than a piece of active, engaging theater.
---
man, i said "the cast seems capable of taking direction." that's as good as it got.
i will never forgive you for educating me that the final track in Heat -- the track which encapsulated the entire film, and a monument of mood coalesced into tone -- was by that lemongrass fuckbag moby.
ReplyDeletemanuel makes music for dov to poop to. unkle makes similarly-themed music for british kids to drop acid to. which is better? YOU decide:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh5gC-ziH2w&feature=fvw
that UNKLE track is, largely and theoretically, the major key equivalent of E2-E4. good boy. sit UBU sit.
ReplyDeletei wouldnt even go that far, sarge...that unkle video was more of a "commercial" for - americana? skateboarding? [cough] racial diversity? also by virtue of having slightly understandable vocals, it presents itself as foreground music.
ReplyDelete@NWB: lol one hair
ReplyDelete@Schnit: good call on those high notes around 23:00, i enjoyed them too but forgot to make mention of them. too busy thinking about the perfect hardboiled egg