Re: Why I'm starting to loath news paper music critics

[Ian Petersen <iep@mail.dk>]

Kris,

> Did you read my response?

Yes.

> First of all, who gives a shit if I didn't 
> have an audience and spoons dropping in the mix. It is about the music.

Out of all the infinite possible titles for the CD you chose "Live at the 
Kulture Klatsch". To me, that indicates that the 'liveness' is important. 
So important as to be the defining element of the title. Obviously, the 
music is the important thing on a CD, but it would be naïve to believe it 
exists in a vacuum. As soon as you give a CD a title and a cover then you 
establish a frame of reference for the music - you 'set the scene', so to 
speak. A title such as "Live at ... " has a massive amount of cultural 
baggage that, like it or not, creates expectations in the listener that 
the CD does not apparently deliver on.

> Second, the comment 
> about it not being meditative is way off base...as I have several 
> reviewer comments and even gigs that contradict his statement.

So what? So different people have different conceptions of what 
'meditative' music sounds like. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone 
of any musical maturity that the boundaries of a given musical genre are 
indistinct and essentially subjective. FWIW, 'Meditative' isn't the first 
adjective that springs to my mind either ...

> Third, he clearly thought negatively of the fact that my percussionist 
> used ethinc instruments but we weren't playing ethnic music

That interpretation certainly isn't clear to me. I suppose you mean his 
comment that "despite the use of ethnic instruments, there are no earth 
rhythms". I understand that comment to be about the lack of 
'psuedo-ethnic' musical clichés in your music. In other words - a 
compliment!

When you send a CD - or any creative work - out into 'the wild' you have 
to accept that it will have to fend for itself on its own terms. You 
can't sit down beside every single listener and instruct them on the 
'correct' way to listen to your music. There is always going to be as 
many interpretations (or misinterpretations if you will) of your work as 
there are people who hear your music. Isn't that part of the pleasure of 
making and listening to music: The fantastic range of emotions and 
interpretations a single piece of music can embody in different people?

Again, the review gave me an idea of what sort of music to expect. On 
listening to the actual music I found those expectations to be largely 
fulfilled. That, to me, is a good review! Now that probably makes me a 
cretin and musical ignoramous in your eyes, but perhaps you should 
consider the possibility that your music isn't actually communicating 
what you think it's communicating ...

-- 

  Ian Petersen