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Originally Posted by Black Dirt  i just got my issue yesterday - i read this post before i got it...
not a big fan of his music so take my opinion with a spoon of grains - mebbe a cup
i believe overall with what he says about how he recorded - like the big picture
but i don't think he's as in the dark about it as he comes off
thing thingy, that thingy, doesn't know the names, wasn't aware of his limitations, pushed this button and that button and this or that happened...
i dunno, it smacks of "i'm an idiot savant talking to a hip recording magazine" to me
what would have been more interesting for me would have been if he contextualized the experience a bit more... let the cat out of the bag a bit... like, "when i was recording i did this to try and accomplish this... here is how i did it. now i know from experience that i can accomplish it this way and this is how it is different" or "i did it this way, not knowing how or why, and played it for so and so and they suggested i try it this way and explained this or that to me"
it doesn't matter if that means he is using higher end gear or not - that's not my point. my point is, when he says whatever mic was around that was left plugged in, he just used that, doesn't really indicate how he used it. or how he responded and adapted to (supposedly) unknown variables. the interview doesn't show any growth to me so it's a little hard to relate to it.
don't underestimate the premeditation of some artists - the ability to stay in character even when not performing is very important to some people in my opinion |
Black Dirt, I agree with you somewhat. I like some of SS's music, and I appreciated the Tape Op interview, but I wondered if he was being either a little disingenuous or contrary in some of his "Oh, gee, whuzzat" responses. But I'll give him the benefit of a doubt and assume that because he's able to make his gear work for him as much as he needs to (can get the sound he wants), he doesn't want to get any more technical or analytical about it.
It is
a lot to write songs (music and lyrics), arrange songs, perform them, record them, mix them, market them/interface with media. So yeah, even though I think lots of readers could've benefited if he'd had a little more objective insight into his process, along the lines you're describing, I also find that some artists have so much talent they can just skip to the solutions without having to ever stop and think about it. So they create great stuff but can't necessarily teach anyone else what they know.