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I think it's much more vibrant than 'Music for Airports', and Flynt had zero interest in getting a record deal. Ultimately, I agree, it's a matter of taste. On Sun, Sep 21, 2014 at 9:52 AM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > This is a less sophisticated but perhaps more sonically interesting > version of what Brian Eno was doing with records like "Music for Airports." > I guess it's a semi-interesting soundscape, for a few minutes. I guess if > noise is music, then it's music. I maintain that it's not commercially > viable, which is why this guy never had a real record deal. I also maintain > there was much more interesting and viable music being made in the same > era. On the other hand, it's just music, so to each their own. I guess it's > a good thing people who are drawn to such things can readily enjoy it via > YouTube today. > > -- Tom Fine > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Bishop" <[log in to unmask]> > To: <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2014 9:31 AM > Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Records Ruin the Landscape > > > > If that guitar and humming was the only thing Flynt had ever done, I think >> you're right that he would have a deserved obscurity. But that's not his >> most loved work, which would probably be the Celestial Power tape: >> >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8uMib5NM8U >> >> Despite any flaws of recording, this piece has amazing resonance when >> played from a good stereo in a large room instead of from utube on a >> computer. >> >> His odd "back porch hillbilly blues" makes sense in the light of his other >> work. Distortion and blurring of the guitar sound isn't a mistake, it's >> the >> background he wanted for the droning, chanting vocals. The 'hillbilly >> blues' tag is a joke, a purposefully misleading title. He's not trying to >> work in any genre, so comparison to commercially viable recordings is >> missing the point. That piece may be more concept than music, but I find >> other music he made to be very beautiful as music, not only as concept. >> >> >> >> On Sun, Sep 21, 2014 at 7:56 AM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]> >> wrote: >> >> Let's be clear, this is the "artiste" discussed in the essay: >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC6VjHYjXEM >>> >>> If 15 minutes of the same 3 chords with often out of tune humming along >>> is >>> your thing, then have at it. Many people play acoustic guitar into a >>> portable home recorder. Very few of those recordings are worth hearing. >>> Almost none of them are worth canonized as "undiscovered gold." >>> >>> I understand the frustration with modern commercialized popular music, >>> but >>> the modern impulse (often by younger writers with little historical >>> perspective, writers "born digital" and raised on digital pop music glop) >>> to "discover" performers from what is glorified as a "wonderful past," >>> many >>> of whom don't really deserve to be canonized, is annoying. It seems to be >>> an academic, navel-gazing pursuit. And, it smacks of ignorance, of not >>> listening to enough commercially-released music from the same time >>> periods. >>> That sort of listening will often reveal that there were many excellent >>> examples in the selected genre, musicians who could actually play and >>> thus >>> make commercially viable recordings. >>> >>> -- Tom Fine >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "WS" <[log in to unmask]> >>> To: <[log in to unmask]> >>> Sent: Friday, September 19, 2014 6:35 PM >>> Subject: [ARSCLIST] Records Ruin the Landscape >>> >>> >>> >>> The link below is an excerpt (published in WIRE magazine) from David >>> >>>> Grubb's >>>> upcoming book called "Records Ruin The Landscape". >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> I thought it might be of interest to some ARSCLIST members, as it >>>> explores >>>> the implications of recorded material from an earlier era that only >>>> finds >>>> an >>>> audience much later than it was created. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> http://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/book-extracts/read_ >>>> extract-from-david-gr >>>> ubbs_records-ruin-the-landscape >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >> >>