The artist is a juke box.
billy budd wrote:
I have been silent on this list, simply reading. I am a film maker who got turned on to Glenn Gould by "32 Short Films". Though I only have a passing relationship with musical performance I will occasionally find inspiration in the things I read here. Be that as it may, I don't understand how intelligent people such as the ones on this list could get trapped into some the most inane dialogue I have had the misfortune to witness. I think it has something to do with the medium. Computers make people stupid. They lower expectations.Can we get off the humming thing. This is not a worthwhile debate. It's just dumb. If you want to go rape history with digital alteration feel free, but just know that you are contributing to a culture where sacred things are being eliminated because they can be, because that's the way we like it. We no longer see the importance of artistic choice. The choice is ours. The artist is a juke box for us. If we don't like it, we change it. This is wrong.
Surely it is true that Glenn Gould was a product of his generation. He was fascinated by the recording studio. Maybe if he had lived longer he would have ventured into the digital realm. I feel certain that if he did he would have done it with taste. But to use his desire for exploration as a rationalization for altering his works after he is dead is sick (see the "technology with a vengeance" bit from earlier today) The man is dead! Is nothing sacred?
Use your brains people! We are all being lobotomized by bad taste and a culture that is increasingly global and culture-free.
Angelfire for your free web-based e-mail. http://www.angelfire.com
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