Re: [ARSCLIST] A Holiday vision

[Bob Olhsson <olh@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

-----Original Message-----
>From Steven C. Barr: "...However, this past decade brought the popularity of
"rap" and
"hip-hop" to the fore; this, rather than specific melodies, uses/d
spoken "lyrics" as the main feature of a recorded song, not a
specific set of notes as a song's "tune" or "melody!" .."

Hip-hop is a legitimate form of performance entertainment however many
rappers will tell you that it isn't what they would consider music
themselves in any traditional sense. Music at its core has always been a
mnemonic device, something that makes it easy for us to learn something and
then participate in the performance by breathing, singing and/or dancing
along. A great musician takes over the collective energy of a room altering
the consciousness of everybody present.

I think recordings mostly remind us of this experience. I'm not sure they
really "work" outside the context of live performance. Without that context,
all that remains is fashion. In fact I'd attribute a lot of rap's popularity
to the fact that most kids have experienced live DJs and rappers while they
haven't experienced much other musical entertainment they could consider
their own.

I recently learned that a lot of the most successful rap records have
actually been performed live in the studio. Meanwhile we have "rock" records
that are being hacked together from  samples instead of from eyeball to
eyeball experience connecting with and entertaining an audience.

Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery, Nashville TN
Mastering, Audio for Picture, Mix Evaluation and Quality Control
Over 40 years making people sound better than they ever imagined!
615.385.8051 http://www.hyperback.com