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         |  dog_belch
             from Netherlands, The on 2004-05-05 10:10 [#01174171] Points: 15098 Status: Addict | Followup to plaidzebra: #01174169 | Show recordbag
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 | Fine, i have taken a pen and amended the following definitions in my dictionary, under the word Artist I have
 put "Anyone who decides to call themselves as such", Art I
 have defined as "Anything at all, it doesn't have to be
 special or unique, just as long as you like it". I erased
 Amateur and Professional as they are worthless terms with no
 meaning, from now on everyone is simply "Special".
 
 
 
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         |  plaidzebra
             from so long, xlt on 2004-05-05 10:14 [#01174175] Points: 5678 Status: Lurker
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 | ok, db, good luck with your program of all consuming self righteousness...
 
 
 
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         |  Ceri JC
             from Jefferson City (United States) on 2004-05-05 10:17 [#01174177] Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to dog_belch: #01174171 | Show recordbag
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 | I do think it's the rather popular view (that enjoyed a recent revival in the 90s) that everyone is "special" and
 "unique" that is to blame for a lot of very mediocre
 painters, poets and musicians all taking themselves far too
 seriously. If you tell your kids they're great and special
 and everything they do is fantastic, of course they'll have
 an over-inflated sense of self worth and this will reflect
 in their opinions of anything they create. It's also
 probably the reason why some people get so shitty at
 criticism, even when it is worded politely (I'm sure you've
 seen the, "It's meant to be like that", "You just don't get
 it", "That's not a mistake, it's intentional" responses to
 quite reasonable criticism).
 
 
 
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         |  kochlear
             from aud-stim.com on 2004-05-05 10:18 [#01174180] Points: 2311 Status: Addict
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 | my "mp3 label" contains "musicians" who put out "releases". does my terminology meet the high standards of dog_belch?  i
 sure hope it does.  i made the site for him!
 
 
 
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         |  dog_belch
             from Netherlands, The on 2004-05-05 10:22 [#01174184] Points: 15098 Status: Addict | Show recordbag
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 | 'Zebra, look i know i've gone on about this a bit too much... I agree with you on certain points, my only concern
 is things get devalued to a point where they become
 meaningless. I am probably wrong, but unless someone was
 working in a professional capacity as an artist, or devoted
 a very significant part of their time and energies in that
 field, regardless of ability, then they shouldn't call
 themselves an artist. The only exception is someone who is
 ball-numbingly talented, who is then, to my mind a natural
 artist.
 
 I don't wish to tell people what they can and can't call
 themselves, call yourself what you like. I am just telling
 you, without CAPS, what a detrimental effect that has on me,
 someone calling themself an artist. Probably because I am a
 failed one.
 
 
 
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         |  Raz0rBlade_uk
             on 2004-05-05 10:23 [#01174185] Points: 12540 Status: Addict | Show recordbag
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 | Well I make my music currently for fun and possibly in the future I will take a more professional approach. For now the
 only fun I get out of it is having others listen to my
 tracks.
 
 
 
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         |  dog_belch
             from Netherlands, The on 2004-05-05 10:27 [#01174193] Points: 15098 Status: Addict | Show recordbag
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 | Ceri JC said exactly all what I wanted to say in a far shorter post than my rambling, incoherent bollocks.
 
 
 
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         |  sneakattack
             on 2004-05-05 10:28 [#01174194] Points: 6049 Status: Lurker | Followup to dog_belch: #01174184
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 | dog_belch, unfortunately basically all people are pretentious in a huge variety of ways.  Notice that 90% of
 human dilemmas can be boiled down to people taking
 themselves too seriously (wars fit this ticket especially
 well).  Conflict can be a good way to synthesize opposing
 views, but more judgement should usually be practiced
 beforehand determining whether there is a point.  There are
 arrogant and humble people in all walks of life, stupid
 people in all, etc etc.
 
 
 
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         |  dog_belch
             from Netherlands, The on 2004-05-05 10:33 [#01174198] Points: 15098 Status: Addict | Followup to sneakattack: #01174194 | Show recordbag
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 | I can't tell if you're agreeing with me, or calling me a cunt in a very round about way. Either way it has taught me
 to lighten up and hey, people are people so, you know, go
 with the flow. And for that I salute you, a lesson to us
 all.
 
 
 
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         |  sneakattack
             on 2004-05-05 10:49 [#01174207] Points: 6049 Status: Lurker | Followup to dog_belch: #01174198
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 | Actually I always like your posts, and I hate how everyone in the world thinks they're so great, so I definitely agree
 with you; sorry if it seemed I was being a cunt or lecturing
 you.. [continued in private email]
 
 
 
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         |  plaidzebra
             from so long, xlt on 2004-05-05 10:49 [#01174208] Points: 5678 Status: Lurker
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 | i believe meaning is something we make, not something that "is."  so i can't be concerned about meaning losing
 "value."
 
 you seem to want everyone to agree on what is mediocre, and
 what is not.  you seem to want quality to be an objective
 feature of reality, to be determined, apparently, by
 consensus, and you seem to want to believe that the only
 alternative to this perspective is to declare all works and
 ideas equally valid.
 
 i suppose western civilization will be wrestling with this
 for some time...
 
 i'm at work, however, and can't spend any more time on this
 discussion.  it's been interesting and provocative, though.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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         |  J Swift
             from United Kingdom on 2004-05-05 10:55 [#01174216] Points: 650 Status: Regular | Followup to Skink: #01174161
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 | Ubiquity 
 Freerange
 
 They're both really respected labels, just in a slightly
 different scene - Got excellent advice and feedback from
 both though, especially Freerange..
 
 Dance music will always be easier to break into than
 listening music! And it's easier to "produce" consistantly
 too - And as soon as you've got a name for yourself you can
 go and do whatever you want and people will listen.
 
 The only thing with more dance oriented scenes is that you
 need to have a very good understanding of the music, past
 and present - You really need to know every aspect of the
 scene intimately to stand a chance... It's probably much
 more important than your own musical or engineering ability.
 
 
 
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         |  Ceri JC
             from Jefferson City (United States) on 2004-05-05 10:59 [#01174221] Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to J Swift: #01174216 | Show recordbag
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 | "The only thing with more dance oriented scenes is that you 
 need to have a very good understanding of the music, past
 and present - You really need to know every aspect of the
 scene intimately to stand a chance... It's probably much
 more important than your own musical or engineering
 ability."
 
 What kind of things do you mean? Things like how/why dance
 music became popular, common samples (just like dnb has the
 amen break), making tracks that are easily beat mixable etc?
 
 
 
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         |  dog_belch
             from Netherlands, The on 2004-05-05 10:59 [#01174222] Points: 15098 Status: Addict | Followup to plaidzebra: #01174208 | Show recordbag
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 | I am glad you have gone, i can be rude to you behind your back. I think in some ways you're right, and in others NO NO
 NO YOU FUCKING HIPPY! Of course there's mediocre and good,
 what are you, a Communist? Since you like assuming what I
 think, i assume you think 9-11 is a valid work of art,
 Smojphace gets better the more you listen to it, and 12 year
 old DJ Dave's "wanking about with a 606" comitted to a 200th
 generation C-90 cassette is an "album".
 
 
 
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         |  J Swift
             from United Kingdom on 2004-05-05 11:15 [#01174249] Points: 650 Status: Regular | Followup to Ceri JC: #01174221
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 | Well it's much easier for people who come from a DJ'ing background on the whole, even though they may not be any
 more musically talented.
 
 The actual putting together of the tunes and getting the
 right sounds isn't much of an issue, because either you'll
 be in a studio with an engineer, or you'll just sample off
 other people! At least until you've gained some experience
 and gear and things.
 
 So it all comes down to how well you understand what
 direction the music's moving in - And the only way to do
 that well is to be an absolute geek about the whole thing!
 
 When I started out I was mainly mastering for dance music
 producers, and without a doubt, every singe one had such a
 vast knowledge of the whole electronic spectrum - You could
 talk Aphex Twin, early acid tracks, obscure jungle records,
 Detroit, everything!
 
 I think when you've been into the music for long enough you
 get a kind of sixth sense about where it's headed.
 
 If you imagine someone producing techno or drum & bass music
 who doesn't understand the scene well enough, either it'll
 sound instantly dated and cliched, or it'll just sound like
 whatever they were influenced by at the time, which, by the
 time the tune is released, will probably be over a year old
 anyway!
 
 But the big advantage is that every town and city on the
 planet has a few hundred thousand people going to clubs and
 raves and things, so all the music gets massive exposure
 compaired to the home listening market.
 
 
 
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         |  Rambling Madman
             from the future (United Kingdom) on 2004-05-05 12:15 [#01174351] Points: 1492 Status: Regular | Followup to dog_belch: #01173904
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 | you say people are too quick to call themselves artists, but what you are saying is just as bad, you are at the opposite
 extreme. How you can sit there & decide whether people are
 artists or not is beyond me.
 
 Also how can you say peoples albums are of a sub standard
 quality & are no better than demos when (correct me if I'm
 wrong) SAW 85-92 by Aphex Twin ("a real artist")  is an
 album consisting of RDJ's early work/demos etc. Would you
 say those tracks were well produced? I think not. It's the
 vibe that is so amazing on those tracks & I think the lo
 quality sound only adds to how amazing that album is,
 therefore a "professional" sounding track is not always
 best.
 
 
 
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         |  plaidzebra
             from so long, xlt on 2004-05-05 12:21 [#01174355] Points: 5678 Status: Lurker
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 | ha ha, now i'm glad i stopped back in after lunch. 
 let me know when you've got your systematic quality
 detection machine set up, db, i've got some music about
 which i'm not really sure how i should feel.
 
 i just hope you have the good sense to know what is good
 when you see it...  what if you wake up one morning to
 discover that for years you have embraced the mediocre?
 
 hippy?  communist?
 
 so you believe that hippies and communists embody the
 indefensible, the unutterably wrong.  you say i must agree
 with you, or disagree with you.  i say, i neither agree nor
 disagree.
 
 i imagine that you determine the validity of an idea by
 shouting insults at it until it conforms to your
 expectations or leaves.
 
 no matter what anyone says, dog belch, i still value you as
 a unique and valid individual.
 
 *emoticon of a hippy with a handful of flowers and dog
 belch's favorite incense*
 
 
 
 
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         |  dog_belch
             from Netherlands, The on 2004-05-05 12:45 [#01174374] Points: 15098 Status: Addict | Followup to Rambling Madman: #01174351 | Show recordbag
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 | I am not saying, as you well know, that I decide who is an artist. I am saying I shouldn't call myself an artist, nor
 should anyone say they are "an artist" unless they fulfill
 my above stated, yes rather rigorous, criteria. I am sorry
 if that upsets you. The fact you moan about it means you are
 not one, not today. Maybe in the future, and I sincerely
 hope you will be.
 
 I see what you are saying about SAW but at the same time, we
 are talking about Aphex, a world recognised genius. Yes a
 collection of his demos are worthy of being an album, but
 not just any collection of demos. This is an
 exception.Those tracks, poorly produced, mastered of
 a Boots C-15 cassette whatever, sound complete, sound
 finished. They defined a musical legacy still echoing today.
 Releasing an "album" of unfinished demo track mp3s will not
 make you AFX, sorry.
 
 
 
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         |  dog_belch
             from Netherlands, The on 2004-05-05 12:54 [#01174389] Points: 15098 Status: Addict | Followup to plaidzebra: #01174355 | Show recordbag
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 | I am not going to argue with you. I never said you had to agree with me, i was trying to tell you what my point was as
 you have got it wrong. By the way, i let me Systematic
 Quality Detection Machine loose on an open port of yours,
 and it was digitally sick in 36 million colours.
 
 
 
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         |  Rambling Madman
             from the future (United Kingdom) on 2004-05-05 14:44 [#01174542] Points: 1492 Status: Regular | Followup to dog_belch: #01174374
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 | hmmm..... rightyo man. I'm not arsed really, we all think differently about stuff, you & I obviously see things
 slightly differently & I've never tried to tell you I am a
 genius or whatever it is that you keep ranting on about
 altho I do make music full time (when I'm not sleeping or
 chatting shit on the net that is) & have been doing for a
 few years (& will continue to as long as I am able) music is
 what I live for & what inspires me most in life (well....
 lets not forget nature), music is the last thing I have to
 moan about. I see there is more to your issue with music
 than meets the eye & I think you should try to be a bit more
 relaxed instead of getting frustrated & negative about other
 peoples creativity.
 
 Peace, love & all that good stuff..................... oh, &
 when I said "nature" that included women obviously, women
 are the most beautifull things on earth..........
 
 
 
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         |  dog_belch
             from Netherlands, The on 2004-05-05 14:54 [#01174572] Points: 15098 Status: Addict | Followup to Rambling Madman: #01174542 | Show recordbag
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 | Dude, you're right. And the thing is, i seemed to have hijacked your thread, so you should have the last say. I
 will just say i am not being negative on anyone's
 creativity, I love (some) people's music here, i just have
 issue with people calling themselves artists and
 saying they've released an album when in fact they've posted
 some MP3 tracks on a website. But they're just words after
 all, and who needs words when you have music, laughter and
 love?
 
 
 
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         |  Drunken Mastah
             from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2004-05-06 02:31 [#01175227] Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag
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 | Dog: you seem very obsessed with the VALUE of words.. how do you measure the value of a word? The connection between
 words and the thing they referr to are arbitrary at first.
 Then, when the words already HAVE their meaning, they aren't
 defined to more than what we use them for. If someone calls
 themselves an artist, it is a fact that they ARE an artist
 because the word artist doesn't really mean anything without
 referring to something. So.. if no-one could call themselves
 artist, the word artist would be obsolete, and not a word at
 all.. soon, all the people YOU woul call artists would be
 dead, and you wouldn't have any more use for the word. Where
 is the value in that?
 
 I think, if you are interested in semantics, you should read
 something by Ferdinand De Saussure.
 
 
 
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         |  dog_belch
             from Netherlands, The on 2004-05-06 03:36 [#01175278] Points: 15098 Status: Addict | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #01175227 | Show recordbag
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 | Ok, so when your "album" is for sale for "five" pounds I will send you "two", ok?
 
 
 
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         |  Drunken Mastah
             from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2004-05-06 03:36 [#01175279] Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to dog_belch: #01175278 | Show recordbag
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 | yes. 
 
 
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         |  nacmat
             on 2004-05-06 06:08 [#01175413] Points: 31275 Status: Lurker
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 | interesting thread 
 some peple here I consider them artists already
 
 I dream to be one someday (as an architect)
 
 
 
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         |  nacmat
             on 2004-05-06 06:09 [#01175414] Points: 31275 Status: Lurker | Followup to dog_belch: #01175278
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 | dog_: 
 do you know electromuse?
 are you from chile really?
 
 
 
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         |  dog_belch
             from Netherlands, The on 2004-05-06 06:13 [#01175424] Points: 15098 Status: Addict | Followup to nacmat: #01175414 | Show recordbag
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 | nac: Yes,you see it's fine for you to consider people as artists, my only (by now very boring point) was that I felt
 it unbecoming that some people referred to themselves
 as artists. But that doesn't matter anymore, just my absurd
 prejudice.
 
 I do know Electromuse. I am from Inglaterra but I do now
 live in Chile, unfortunately the other end of the country
 from Electromuse.
 
 
 
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         |  Drunken Mastah
             from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2004-05-06 06:16 [#01175427] Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to dog_belch: #01175424 | Show recordbag
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 | how about calling oneself a panda? 
 
 
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         |  nacmat
             on 2004-05-06 06:20 [#01175433] Points: 31275 Status: Lurker | Followup to dog_belch: #01175424
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 | anyway... I said I consider as artists SOME but not all 
 thanks to all for giving me this interesting reading in this
 boring working day
 
 
 
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         |  dog_belch
             from Netherlands, The on 2004-05-06 06:20 [#01175436] Points: 15098 Status: Addict | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #01175427 | Show recordbag
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 | ......i'll have to think about it. 
 
 
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         |  Drunken Mastah
             from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2004-05-06 06:22 [#01175437] Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to dog_belch: #01175436 | Show recordbag
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 | how about Thad.. does he have boobs? 
 
 
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