Minimalism

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I like Terry Riley and Philip Glass a great deal - particularly the former's "In C" and "A Rainbow in Curved Air", and the latter's "Glassworks". Are you aware that several American bands such as the Velvet Underground, the Seeds and the Monks, plus all the best groups from the German post-psychedelic rock scene practically used minimalism as their mantra?

Can, early Kraftwerk, Neu!, Cluster, Harmonia (both of whom recorded with Brian Eno) all used extremely simple riffs based around one or two chords at the most as the basis for their improvisations.

A particularly good example of minimalist rock music is Tony Conrad and Faust's "Outside the Dream Syndicate". The Dream Syndicate was a flexible collective of musicians led by LaMonte Young, and they included both John Cale (later to gain notoriety both with the Velvet Underground and as a solo artist). Two tracks (or three on the CD re-issue), both in the key of D, both featuring Conrad's droning viola stretching out a single note for 20 minutes at a time, sympathetically and unintrusively backed by Faust's rhythm section.

What gets me about that album is just how damned catchy it is, despite the complete lack of conventional song structure or melody. Neu! were also extremely good at that dichotomy.

Even now, there are still bands operating according to the "two-chords-is-rock'n'roll-three-chords-is-jazz" ethos. It's worth checking out late 80s bands Spacemen 3 and Loop if you haven't already, plus the more recent likes of Wooden Shjips and the Necks.

Last edited by Locustman on 08 Sep 2009, 11:20 am, edited 2 times in total.

You mean we are not allowed to say that bad music is bad?

ruveyn

What I am saying is that an Aspie with a strong special interest towards the music of Philip Glass might take your comments about their favorite piece of music being "boring" and "vapid" and extend it inwards. You should not say that a person's taste in music is "boring" and "vapid" no more than you should insult a person as being "boring" and "vapid" (even if they happen to be so.) Insulting a person's favorite piece of music (especially in terms of an Aspie "Special Interest") boarders on Lashon Hara.

If you don't like Minimalist music, then move on to a different thread. Many people post about their favorite music, be it Niggunim (which actually overlaps Minimalism considerably), Techno, Punk, Metal, or whatever. Let's try to avoid being insulting - that's all I'm saying.

Ohhh no how dare he insult someone's taste in music! An Aspie's special interest too? Doesn't this monster understand that an Aspie is entitled to be free of butthurt?

Seriously though, if you're so sensitive that your feelings depend on someone else's approval of your taste in music, then that's no one's fault but your own. That goes for calling a person "boring and vapid" too.

Anyways, the piece he posted is straight up repetitive, boring, and mechanical. And why did I view this thread? Cuz I've never heard of minimalism, so I wanted to check it out. Obviously not my thing...

That was very interesting and I think I'll look into it some more, but it had a very disturbing effect on me nevertheless. I have always preferred music with at least two separate - whatever-they're-called-in-real - layers, because I feel amazing when hearing/playing that for an indescribable reason.

Actually it is preferable if our speech not be insulting to anyone - Aspie or not. Why bother to insult?



And minimalism won't be everyone's thing. It was my thing for many years, and I still listen to it on occasion. But I've moved on to many other styles. Move along if you don't like what was posted here.

Last edited by Nephesh on 08 Sep 2009, 12:00 am, edited 1 time in total.

Reminds me about what I said about opera. "Well, if people want to listen to crap, it's their opinion."

Like the music of Philip Glass very much. This composition is less minimalistic but it's still repetitive.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7ZPWiUXYPg[/youtube]

It's just as easy to say " I don't like it". That would be the "truth". It amazes me when people think their opinion constitutes ultimate reality. I'm not saying you do FP but I've known many.

I didn't like it.

Being a musician myself, I kept thinking that I could easily create something very similar with a MIDI sequencer, yet I have no particular talent for this style of music. Would it be as good as Glass, or does he have some clever recognisable pattern to his choice of notes that would give the game away to his admirers?

I don't know if this one is minimalism or not - certainly repetitive. But I can enjoy it. Possibly because it's less abstract.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3F2RsOPJ8c[/youtube][/quote]

I don't like ragtime but I respect it musically. It's entirely subjective, reminds me of a creepy relative. Some music I like better in small doses but I don't think an honest effort by anyone should be casually dismissed. I'd never make it as a critic.

I would agree that much of Philip Glass could be performed using a sequencer alone. However, I think most of his compositions like the one in the first msg, were written back in the 1960's and 70's prior to the availability of such equipment. The fact that his ensemble performs these compositions live at high speed and stays in sync with one another without using sequencers certainly shows a certain degree of talent. But don't dismiss all of the compositions that Philip Glass has written as being just like the one the original poster presented. He is still writing and has broadened his horizons, he has written operas, movie soundtracks and other things.



Klaus Schulze' Timewind! Yes, I have that album and dozens more by Schulze. (His "Ultimate Edition" is 50 CD's all by itself!) He is certainly one of the most prolific electronic music artists that I am aware of. My favorite piece by him is probably "Ludwig II Von Beyern" from his 10th album (X). Though I enjoyed his "Time Actor" which he performed with Arthur Brown under the Richard Wahnfried moniker.

I suppose Schulze could be construed as a Minimalist in some of his compositions, though certainly not all. Much of his work would be over in the "Ambient" and "New Age" classifications. Though some of his work falls into one Rock category or another. Where would you classify his work with the "Cosmic Jokers"? (The greatest super-group that never was.)

Ah, now if Glass' work is performed manually, that's impressive work by the musicians involved. I don't know if the originally posted YouTube clip is manual or sequenced.....I'd have thought it was sequenced.....if it had been manually done, with such a repetitive and fast-tempo piece, the tiniest human timing deviations would be very audible. The sound in the clip "feels" like it's been sequenced. But I could be wrong.

It's quite ironic because with most genres it's the near-perfect accuracy of sequencers that producers try to get away from by using "humanizing" algorighms or by recording the output of manually-played electronic instruments such as V-drums and MIDI keyboards. It seems that (for those genres) people prefer a bit of timing error in the delivery. Not that it's true of every genre of course. For me, one of the great things about music is that as fast as somebody comes up with a rule, somebody else drives a bus through it and comes up with a more interesting result.

While I'm not sure about the originally posted video, I have seen the Philip Glass Ensemble perform this live. Here, watch his fingers fly!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl0BSh7RXPc[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0SgFg7OstI[/youtube]

Yes that was a bit more enjoyable. And quite clever how they managed to sound like a sequencer.

This was like auditory sensory overload for me. I couldnt listen to it even though I wanted to really hear what it was like but i simply had no choose but to turn it off after about 4 bars.