RE: technology and the average listener

["fg" <861408@aloe1.ulima.edu.pe>]

>John P. Hill wrote:
>>
>> On Tue, 21 Jul 1998, Mary Jo Watts wrote:
>>
>> > Now what in the world would GG have thought about taking all this
>> > trouble to simulate the concert hall?!!! AB-so-LUTE-ly Ab-SURD.
>>
>> Well, GG didn't care for concert halls too much (or at least, their role
>> in live performance), but he *was* very interested in new technology.
>> His conception of the "interactive listener" foreshadowed what we're
doing
>> now on this list by about 30 yrs. or so.  You *know* that he'd be doing a
>> DVD in 7.1 (or whatever flavor Sony has going today) if he were still
>> recording.
>
>The little Devil's advocate in me meant "technology such as the
>holographic home concert hall."  There are uses of much recent
>technology of course that GG would have found appealing, I agree.  And
>perhaps he *would* be doing a DVD. (Or conducting an orchestra on DVD by
>now.) But there are very real considerations in the extensions of
>technology that GG never considered and was perhaps naive about. (In his
>kit concept of splicing together two performances by two different
>orchestras did he ever take into account the copyright nightmare that
>would be?? Wasn't there some question if the Stokowski recording could
>come off due to contractual obligations?  Would he have cared about the
>amazing expense of his catalogue on CD?) I'm not saying we shouldn't
>dream about the possibilities of technology or that we shouldn't strive
>for the best possible aural experiences-- I'm just simply saying that
>sometimes, *often* even, that ecstatic experience has little to do with
>the actual apparatus of reproduction.  I maintain that _The Solitude
>Trilogy_ is meant to be listened to on a car radio.
>
>Secondly, what in terms of aural experience, will the DVD offer that CDs
>couldn't?  Is it a matter of home surround sound?  I know they offer
>superior storage than CDs (and will thus be preferable to the
>traditional CD-ROM) but what will they mean for the music industry?  I
>haven't read anything on this subject. Would a re-issue of GG's
>catalogue on DVD be worth the price?
>
>>
>> > I'm all for excellent sound systems but how much are they really a part
>> > of the musical experience? I suppose for the expert listener or the
>> > really enthusiastic (and wealthy) amateur, these aural experiences
would
>> > be amazing intellectual experiences but what about me?  Er, I mean what
>> > about people who don't really know much about the inner workings of the
>> > composition but want to have a roll as an active listener?  It seems to
>> > me that technology such as this would simply reify the hierarchy that
GG
>> > talks about of composer->score->performer->listener.  How much of the
>> > ecstasy of musical art in private spaces really has to do with sound
>> > technology?
>>
>> I can only answer that by saying that if you've never tasted a really
good
>> Pasta Carbonara, you might be excused for thinking that Kraft Dinner is
>> really "the bomb".  Of course, they both have their place (and their
price
>> point).
>>
>
>Now that's not entirely fair, John.  There are many really amazing
>experiences and tastes that people have to be trained to appreciate.
>I'm asking if these technologically advanced reproductions are one of
>them.  What will be the obvious benefits to the untrained ear? I'm
>especially interested because Sony has sold the CD to the world as the
>end-all of formats-- the drawbacks of all other reproductive
>technologies were immediately evident to the end-user but not so with
>the CD. There are many times in one's life when Pasta Carbonara is
>appropriate and there are perhaps many more occasions that call for
>Kraft Mac 'N' Cheese.  There are times for headphones and car stereos
>and there are times for...well who has access to the sound systems
>you're talking about?  For an average listener-- one who is not a
>specialist or rich audiophile (there I said it!)-- this technology can
>be not only intimidating and cost prohibitive but it can also loom over
>the experience because of its social significance. Reproductive
>technology has been placed in that hierarchy:
>composer->score->performer->technology->listener rather than being an
>invisible conduit to ecstasy that GG might have hoped for.  In extension
>of this brainstorming-- "Classical" music is not only something that has
>become (in the US) an acquired taste, it also has all kinds of class
>baggage associated with it.  I might also add that the same applies for
>the contemporary concert hall experience.
>
>I'm not an aural Luddite, I'm just trying to expand the concerns of the
>conversation a bit to perhaps look beyond GG's idealized "charity of the
>machine."
>
>-Mary Jo

As a matter of fact all this isn't related neither to macaroni enriched
whatever nor to your Nautilus speaker set.
It's just a matter consciousness, if you have it then you know it's just OK.
And regarding Carbonara ... in Italy there are like three different recipes
for it depending on the region, just like Pommodoro or Putanesca or Alfredo
or Pesto or ...
And by the way: Did you know (statistically) which is the favourite sauce
for truck drivers in Italy?
You guessed it: Carbonara.
Truck drivers in Italy  are (generally) very kind people, helpful and fun.
Flavio