LETTER OF THE MONTH
Mar 1, 2008 12:00 PM
MUSIC VS. THE MAN
The year 2007 ended (at least for me) with one of the greatest landmarks in music history, and this is kind of what I read between the lines and throughout the pages of the December 2007 issue of Remix, starting from the Editor's Note (“Innovators vs. the Machine,” p. 10) and the “Dreamweaver” Letter of the Month (p. 14) to the passion that Tony Wilson (“The Pied Piper,” p. 98) had for the music as an art form instead of a gold mine.
Yes it is true, an artist has to find his way for a meal, but it is also true that times and technology are shifting the music industry, and on rare occasions, we are in the presence of events that forever change how the industry works. Cases in point: Napster vs. Metallica; the way independent artists try to distribute their material thorough MySpace; Radiohead's great slap in the face to the music industry with the release of their new album In Rainbows via a rare but creative “name your price” method through their Web page; and one of the best hip-hop albums of 2007, The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! by Saul Williams and produced by Trent Reznor, an album that was distributed on the Williams' Web page for free or, for a higher quality audio format, $5. Both distribution methods gave us a long-forgotten feeling of surprise after hearing them for the first time in a legal and not “leaked” way.
This is possibly the response of musicians to the industry for selling sometimes one fair song with 12 other forgettable songs of a profitable but not innovative artist, or maybe it's the need for real artists to just get their material out there and forget about the middleman, allowing them to regain control of their material and to let you decide what you want to pay or not pay for their art.
Oh yes, these are great landmarks in the world of music, a tap in the back that reminds us of the art form and gives us the inspiration to keep working in the basement, on a bus ride or while sipping coffee at 3 a.m.
Thanks for your great magazine; without it, I would not find a lot of my inspiration, and I also bet a lot of us bedroom musicians would still be trying to splice tape rather than use an MPC2500.
Jorge Ortiz
El Paso, Texas
TOO MUCH LOVE
My main goal in writing is to express how much I love Remix magazine and to ask the editors a question.
First off, I started getting your magazine for free after I placed an order (for an M-Audio Oxygen MIDI controller, Key Rig and Drum & Bass Rig) from novamusik.com. After reading it for a few months, I'm hooked, and I will definitely be renewing my subscription.
I love music to death. And I've been able to make a decent living off of it thus far (I'm a 19-year-old saxophonist). My main point in writing this is to basically say that lately I've been wondering if the music industry is being oversaturated by music. I wanted to get your perspective on this. Can there ever be too much of a good thing (music)?
I think the accessibility of music-making is both a gift and a curse because while it certainly gives us great acts that wouldn't be heard otherwise, it also brings in the not-so-great acts. I don't mean this to sound elitist at all. I could very well be one of the not-so-great acts. I guess it depends on everyone's relative definitions of “good.” But going by my definition, I think there aren't that many good acts nowadays. And I say that as somebody from the younger generation.
When I look at my CD collection, I see mostly music from before 1990 and before I was born in a lot of cases. Now, I'm not on some “hip-hop is dead” or “music is dead” tip because there are certainly people still making good music. But I hate the fact that I don't want to listen to most of the stuff that's on the radio. Most of it is filler that has absolutely no permanence (and to me, little meaning). And sure, there are the Lupe Fiascos, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Immortal Techniques and Alice Smiths of the world that will presumably stand the test of time, but for every one of them, it seems that there are 200 other no-talents who have a hot single and are gone a year later. To me, that is tragic because it suggests that music is a transient thing rather than what I see it as: food for the soul that lasts forever.
I know there has always been bad music, but I keep asking myself if the incarnation of the home studio has led to an abundance of it. What do you all think?
Joseph Edwards
Upper Marlboro, Md.
Hey Joseph — Well, we're opening up a can of worms with this one. Let's just hope that the cream keeps rising to the top! — The Editors
STRAIGHT DOO-DOO
First of all, I would like to say I love your mag, man, straight up and down. I'm writing this letter as a consumer and wannabe producer of music in training. My main genre is hip-hop, with a little taste for the other flavors. It seems to be coming along.
Anyway, I purchased a copy of your November 2007 issue with the RZA on the cover. It was that issue, plus being a fan of Wu-Tang, that made me anticipate the release of 8 Diagrams. So I bought it, with every inkling of being sent back to Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and beyond. But after the hiatus of all the members, solo projects and listening to the damn thing three times, I concluded that 8 Diagrams is more like the cooking of Thelma Evans from Good Times: just horrible!
I know this is just one person's opinion, and that's cool. But for once I would like music to have a fire sale — everything must go! What if there were no soft synths, USB this and that — you know, the stuff that seems to make up today's music production? What if these fly-by-night Best Buy computer-buying producers had to do it the old-fashioned way, with a sampler, a couple of records, some keyboard sounds and a little thing we call creativity? Could they do it? I really doubt it. Yes, it works for some, but come on, have you heard the radio lately? It's straight doo-doo.
With all that equipment RZA had on 8 Diagrams and his knowledge, he still makes a crappy-ass album? That's bad. I might as well just sell my Ensoniq ASR-10 and go get a computer to produce a better album. With all the cookie-cutter, stupid-dance, white sunglasses-wearing, platinum plaque for ringtone sales artists out there — are you serious?
So I'm rededicating myself to becoming a top-notch producer, taking more risks, being more creative and more spontaneous, no matter what roadblocks come my way. I'm going to do it my way — take no prisoners, love me or hate me. When you hear my music, you're going to get 100-percent hot sauce flavor out the gate. Not album sales, video vixens, cubic zirconia chains or rented Rolls-Royce Phantoms; none of that — it's old and tired already! Step your game up!
Charles R. Frank II (aka Dark Knight)
San Antonio, Texas
For sending in this month's winning letter, Jorge Ortiz wins his own KRK Systems VXT4 monitors (MSRP: $399). If you send in the most inspired correspondence next month — or simply the letter we like best — you'll win the Delphi SKYFi3 satellite radio (MSRP: $199.99). All you have to do is send a letter to remixeditorial@remixmag.com. Please include your full mailing address.
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