Envelope Filter, October 2008

Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM

RULES ARE FOR FOOLS

I recently read the article on Tricky in the September issue (“Goldfinger,” p. 32), and I came away feeling musically refreshed. What caught my attention most was his nonchalant attitude toward “musical correctness.” I am one of those “music college” guys, and I do know my theory backward and forward, but most of my best music has not come from being analytically flawless; rather, it came from what felt right in the moment. Not to say that music theory isn't valuable — volumes could be written about the relevance and benefits of a solid theory foundation — but compositionally, theory should be regarded more as a set of tools, not a set of rules. History is full of great rule breakers: Beethoven dismissed aspects of traditional form, Wagner ignored previously established ideas about dissonance, Mahler reinvented the structure of the orchestra, Debussy often used “incorrect” parallel motion, and Schoenberg invented his own set of rules. These guys wrote the way they did to express what they had to say, and if making great music means you're not always “musically correct,” I'd say that Tricky keeps himself in pretty good company. And it's a good reminder to people like me that sometimes we need to get our heads out of the books and just write some music.
James Hoffman
Van Nuys, Calif.

DAMN YOU, REMIX

With the mailbox as my witness, every time I receive a new issue of Remix, I head straight to Shop.Talk. I never really thought about why until recently when I realized you guys ditched it. Shop.Talk was like reality TV for vinyl-music lovers who could peek into the lives of their DJ peers engaging in something mysterious and poetic — record selection.

It was the one thing we all have in common as producers, DJs, musicians, engineers, fans, collectors and selectors — diggin' in those bins. It encouraged people to get out to the record store and construct the first line of defense against the virtual world of nothingness. Shop.Talk encouraged others to keep an open mind about other genres of music and even introduced readers to classics that they may not have been aware of. I was particularly disappointed to see it missing because of the immense positive talk overheard at this year's Detroit Electronic Music Festival regarding the return of vinyl. An MP3 top-10 list just won't feel the same. Well, I guess I'll have something to add to the “back-in-my-day” stories.
Yonurican
Chicago, Ill.

UM…ER…

Although I loathe rap (audio pornography in my opinion, which explains its vulgarity and popularity), I read select articles from your mag as I try to stay plugged into the whole music experience. I could care less about DJs and their turntables, or seeing pictures of people shopping for LPs, but that's just me. I like many of the articles, especially the ones I learn something from, like the recent article on the Kuti family (“Torch Bearer,” p. 20, August 2008), or some way to use a plug-in that I never considered, etc. I am a musician (45 years old — ouch!) and I find it frightfully sad that it's becoming more and more difficult for my younger friends to procure a gig, let alone one that pays, while DJs make a fortune playing tracklists from their iPods. I mean, if you're a musician, what could be sadder?

But enough about me. The real reason for the e-mail is this: Why does every rap dude look completely pissed off in almost every picture? Is this some sort of necessary posturing to be accepted? Rappers always look like they want to slit your throat. Why? Don't they realize how unbelievably lucky they are that the cultural dumbing down of our society has allowed (most of) them to make millions tapping on an MPC while reciting sixth-grade-level, grammatically incorrect nursery rhymes which are often nothing more than vulgar, misogynist odes to anarchy? Do you guys ever ask them to smile for the camera? Or does that charming look help you sell more magazines?
Anonymous
Via e-mail

IT'S JOHNSON, IF YOU'RE NASTY

In the August feature on Busta Rhymes (“Art of Appreciation,” p. 24), we incorrectly listed Busta's engineer as Rande Jackson. However, his name is Rande Johnson. We regret the error. — The Editors

LETTER OF THE MONTH

ENGINEERS GET NO BOOTY

I write to you today on behalf of the soundman — that seldom-lauded secret magician so critical yet invisible at all live musical events. For hours, a professional sound engineer will ride the faders, monitor amplifier levels and compressor settings and adjust live effects. At the end of the day, all we leave with is the silent pride in our work, the personal satisfaction that without our agile fingers and majestic ears, everything would fall apart. And yet despite our integral role in the musical experience, we encounter a major deficiency: Sound engineers get no booty.

I engineer live sound for a small underground club in Brooklyn, and I love it. I have always loved engineering and mixing either in a live setting or in the studio. I've seen good bands and bad bands. I have added critical reverb to a vocalist in a stripped-down, experimental two-piece drum and tuba set and saved her show. Even the worst bands have groupies. But what about the sound engineers?

It does not help our plight when most soundmen bear resemblance to Rick Rubin or Bigfoot. Don't get me wrong, Rick is a genius, but Bigfoot is smart enough to stay out of sight. And face it, most dudes behind a board at a club who share a similar beard and metal T-shirt aesthetic aren't helping matters. The same goes for the ladies out there holding it down. Aside from the famously fly head mastering engineers at New York City's The Lodge, most of you ladies are lookin' like Rick Rubin, too.

I dunno. Maybe I'm no gem either. But this is a call to all music lovers and concertgoers out there. Sound engineering is often a thankless and frustrating job. So next time you're having the time of your life rocking out with your favorite band and find yourself completely overwhelmed by how amazing everything sounds, take a walk over to the sound booth and give that dashing young engineer some props — and your phone number.
brokeMC
Brooklyn, N.Y.

For sending in this month's winning letter, brokeMC wins the ultrasmall, USB Pro Tools LE editing and mixing system for Pro Tools, the Digidesign Mbox 2 Micro (MSRP: $279). If you send in the most inspired/love-filled/hate-filled/hilarious/insane correspondence next month, you'll win the KeyToSound Production Pack (MSRP: $179). All you have to do is send a letter to remixeditorial@remixmag.com. Please include your full mailing address. And for more chances to win prizes, visit http://remixmag.com/contest for the latest contests.

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