Re: only a A part?

[Mark Sottilaro <sine@zerocrossing.net>]

On Monday, October 14, 2002, at 03:40  AM, ernesto schnack wrote:

>  In fact I think a lot of "new music" has lost its appeal to most 
> people because
> there are no standards in form.  Everytime you listen to a new work you
> have to figure out the form as it goes along, which can take away from
> the enjoyment.

I must say that the first time I heard what is now commonly called 
ambient music (Brian Eno's Music For Airports) I didn't know how to 
listen to it.  My knee-jerk reaction was, "...and the song starts 
when?"  I was looking for structure where it was not, and not looking 
where it was.  However, I did have a lot of Pink Floyd internalized, so 
I wasn't starting from zero.  I was actually almost angry.  I felt like 
I almost had it... like when you try and see the 3d image on those 
posters?  The ones with the repeating patterns?  Like... you're almost 
there, if you can just learn HOW to SEE it... you know it's there... 
and then all of the sudden a light bulb goes on in your head and it's 
amazing to you.  There it is plain as day.  How could you ever have 
missed something so obvious?

As time goes by, a trained artist (knowing what to look for and knowing 
it's there is half the battle) will find learning how to experience new 
art forms much easier.  Most people, don't have the background and will 
tend to miss things over and over... unless they are innondated with 
it, or have it slipped to them sideways.  What I mean by sideways is 
how we now find Indian music common, but we've been primed by people 
like George Harrison and Peter Gabreil.

I've always felt that "avant guard" art's (of which there's really no 
such thing anymore in a pure sense) purpose to culture is to be a "meme 
mutation generator."  The meme's then have to sink or swim just like 
genes do.  Useful ones propagate, non useful ones die out.  Sometimes a 
meme will lie latent for a long time, until culture finds a use for it, 
then it can spring up and become part of popular culture.

I wrote many essays on this topic... I think if you search the web 
under "Mark Sottilaro meme" you'll find them archived on the ars 
electronica site.

Mark Sottilaro