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| Re: Character... [message #56055 is a reply to message #55813 ] |
Sun, 03 April 2005 17:23   |
 jwhynot
Messages: 889
Registered: April 2004
Location: Los Angeles |
Gold Member |
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| Quote: |
perfect equal-tempered pitch
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which in itself is an oxymoron.
So-called "equal temperament" is a compromise. To most members of our species it sounds out of tune.
JW
www.natashaschneider.org
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| Re: Character... [message #56087 is a reply to message #55813 ] |
Sun, 03 April 2005 20:31 |
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wwittman
Messages: 5437
Registered: May 2004
Location: New York |
Platinum Member |
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Because there's simply no advantage to it.
Music is about interaction and about FEELINGS.. feelings aren't perfect, they're sloppy and human and inconvenient and intense.
That's why people love music... because it brings out these feelings.
Because it says things they wish they could say or remember they've said.
Becasue it makes them feel deeply.
Not because it's "perfect".
Especially in these days of computers, it's possible, even easy, to achieve a level of 'perfection' that IS only possible on a machine... it's not human or natural.
It's not striving for your BEST.
It's an artificial, mechanized, digitized perfection.
William Wittman
Producer/Engineer
(Cyndi Lauper, Joan Osborne, The Fixx, The Outfield, Hooters...)
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| Re: Character... [message #56114 is a reply to message #55813 ] |
Sun, 03 April 2005 22:52 |
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Brian Kehew
Messages: 2508
Registered: January 2005
Location: North Hollywood |
Platinum Member |
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Wow - huge differences of perspective we should not lose track of:
Floyd and Steely are considered "big money corporate rock" for a reason; They don't ALLOW the human element that so many love on their favorite records. They allow AN human element, but it's not the loose and wild one that many consider essential for emotional music. HOWEVER - to some, Floyd and Steely Dan would be considered "sloppy" compared to what they know and like... Britney and Philip Glass fans alike.
"Perfection" in audio - I don't know what that is. Is it all frequencies balanced at all times? All volumes matched? Is it all sounds as high fidelity as possible all the time? "Perfection" is more nebulous than "LoFi" (I have a solution below, terminologically...)
I see LoFi as a creative world - like saying "I won't use electric instruments". It is a choice and an aesthetic that is neither poseur nor rebellious. I think "systems" impart character (an amp, a room, a recording chain) and LoFi tends to use combinations of systems to "create a sound" (rarely is it keyboard DI'd into desk).
The more systems you employ, the more you tend to verge from sonic purity. (Did I just stumble on an axiom?? Ouch...) Character may, or may not, come from employing more systems, so maybe it is rather irrelevant of the LoFi or Purity debate (shall we use "Purity" instead of Perfection?)
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| Re: Character... [message #56143 is a reply to message #56114 ] |
Mon, 04 April 2005 01:26 |
maxim
Messages: 5048
Registered: February 2005 |
Platinum Member |
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perhaps, "precision" is a better term
for me "perfect" is venus de milo, mona lisa, 'wish you were here', a girl i saw down the street, the kangaroo-carotte stew i made last week, citizen kane, annie hall, marina tsvetaeva's poems etc etc
i try to to have a "perfect" moment at least once a day (once a week is more like it works out)
it brings me back to this conductor's quote, whose name i don't recall, sadly:
"there are an infinite number of versions of the piece, but there is only one definitive performance on the night"
when you get it "right", it's perfect, and everything clicks into place
you couldn't add or subtract anything to this moment, it's "perfect" as it is
imo, precision takes away from perfection by reducing the emotional impact of "seeing" the human inside the work, which is the reason any of us actually enjoy art, other than for esoteric purposes
machines are precise, but, certainly, not perfect, in any sense of the word
perfection is in the eye of the beholder, unlike precision, which can be measured and reproduced
cheers,
max
sydney, oz
http://www.asylumdreams.com
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| Re: Character... [message #56385 is a reply to message #56206 ] |
Tue, 05 April 2005 01:07 |
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J.J. Blair
Messages: 10046
Registered: May 2004
Location: by the sea & sand |
Diamond Member |
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Van Helden II rocks. "Beautiful Girls"!
temporary webpage
They say the heart of Rock & Roll is still beating, which is amazing if you consider all the blow it's done over the years.
"The Internet enables pompous blowhards to interact with other pompous blowhards in a big circle jerk of pomposity." - Bill Maher
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Recording Engineering & Production: The nuts and bolts of making records better, not just louder and cheaper. Some of the brightest minds from the creative and scientific world of audio discuss the elements of audio production that interest you most.
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