Today I asked a question at TheDarkTower.net, querying about how Stephen King keeps all the connections in his books straight. Now, I know there've been a few inconsistencies and slipups over the years, but he does a pretty amazing job. It's really like there's this galaxy?in his brain and he writes to get it out!?Hopefully I'll get some keen insights to this soon.
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One reason why I like Dead Like Me so much is possibly because I used to watch My So-Called Life all the time when that was on — well, before it was cancelled, anyway — and I can see a few similarities. Such as: the introspective narration, the coping with life (life after life in the case of the former, anyway), and good characterization. As good as a group of grim reapers are going to get, anyway.
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I went over to Photek Productions to listen to what was up with Rupert Parkes and friends. My visit was overdue. To say the least, this didn't sound like the Photek I knew! Not to slag him off because I have a profound respect for this ninjar beatz as featured on Modus Operandi circa late-90s and the like, but this sounded fun but… generic? Cookie cutter? Cliched (without the cliches being twisted around like I like)? Are those even words I should be using? Maybe?he wanted a change of direction, more for the dancefloor? Maybe I should ask? Maybe I will. In any case, he has a classy name. 
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I should clarify that my position is not to rudely?criticize other artists for creative decisions I don't understand, because really, I can only speak for myself. It's just not what I would do, even though it may appear like it because *I am full of contradictions. I come from a dark time and place in realspace of being a chinstroking, wine-guzzling (well, not that part), opium-toking (not that part either)?classical music snob and later a technosnob . . . . and while purist elitism has its place, that place would be in a small cage — where Exhibit A: Snobby the Snob can be laughed at while cheap-ass crackers and filthy footwear are thrown in its very specific direction. The world's a big place. That's obvious, but all too often, I forget that. Planet Earth has such a spectrum and rich diversity of artistic creations for many tastes and if you don't like apples, maybe you'll like oranges. Or mangos and kiwis and more esoteric fruits like the PALMAPPLE. But I don't like blueberries, because to me, they taste like soap. But you might. And that's okeydokeykaraoke.
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Being the reformed snob that I am, I realize there is a certain irony in being an anti-snob to snobs and locking down on them. That irony is not lost on me. The good guys have guns too. The attitudes behind techno music creation and consumption do matter to me, and if there's going to be one constant word driving the train like Blaine the Mono, it might as well be: FUN. Sometimes people don't really like a type of music genuinely and earnestly; they only claim to like it because it makes them trendy and makes other people like them. For a short amount of life, anyway. Then that phase passes, and it's onto the next. But if you're not really enjoying yourself, why listen? Why waste it? More people than will fess up to it happen to like the music of, say, Avril Lavigne and/or Britney Spears. I like both, and say it proudly. Am I ashamed to like… music? Doesn't it sound ridiculous? I'd certainly be ashamed if I was an abusive daddy who molested my daughter and beat/raped/killed her mommy, but why should I be ashamed to listen to Top 40 radio? Makes no sense to me.?ABSURD AS A TURD! And alongside that, I have many listening selections which are lesser-known but I enjoy them too, additionally. Buffet time. Mmmmmm.
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Gradius. You remember that video game, Gradius? I'm sure it wasn't the first of its kind, but it's a good example. You start with a basic bona fide spaceship, and as you battle the bad guys — a whole plethora of spacefaring nasties from an evil empire?– you get upgrades. Like:?better laser beams, a shield generator on top, and these curious things called "Options" which are vaguely amorphous spermsacks that duplicate your movements and shots like shadow fighters (Ninja Gaiden is another game featuring such a feature). All of these varied enhancements make your ship more powerfully well-rounded. Likewise, same with music. Until you've listened to more of what's out there, how do you even know? Don't resist your curiosity. Onlineness offers such easy access to tunes, more than a whole orchestra at your fingertips.
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I think there's a sort of imploding psychology holding people back. We, like robots in this culture, are programmed to handshake despite the observations that:
- You really, really don't know where people's hands have been! Ewww.
- Does a handshake even mean anything in this day and age of noncommittment? UNLESS it comes from someone you know and trust enough… to know where his or her hands have been? Double ewww.
I don't like to handshake. Really, I don't. I could say "it's nothing personal" but that's a lie. It IS personal! It's part of my person and if I'm going to handshake, I'd *strongly prefer* that it means something and isn't a token gesture. And furthermore, you'd better have clean hands. Not just for my health, but for yours. Aren't you concerned about where my hands have been, petting cats and all that? It goes both ways. As such, I like to bow like the Japanese or wai like the Thai. Getting down and boogying is fine, and I guess slamming asses might be too since (most people's) assspheres?are cleaner than is popularly thought.
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Please don't get me started on "Hi, how are you today?" I'll leave that one for another time. Back to the flesh-and-blood automatons we are: I'm convinced we have to strive to break our programming, and show more honesty and passion in what we truely believe in and what we want to show our enthusement/enthusiasm for. It will always be a struggle in life, and this is NOT to say we shouldn't have restraint — as we should when it comes to retail therapy?– but what comes positively and naturally to us, we should express, including goodwill as channelled through the arts such as… techno music. TECHNOlogically-based music is made on machines, but those machines are made by humans. And it will continue to be this way for some time, despite the increasing levels of automation employed.
I'll leave that one for another time. Back to the flesh-and-blood automatons we are: I'm convinced we have to strive to break our programming, and show more honesty and passion in what we truely believe in and what we want to show our enthusement/enthusiasm for. It will always be a struggle in life, and this is NOT to say we shouldn't have restraint — as we should when it comes to retail therapy?– but what comes positively and naturally to us, we should express, including goodwill as channelled through the arts such as… techno music. TECHNOlogically-based music is made on machines, but those machines are made by humans. And it will continue to be this way for some time, despite the increasing levels of automation employed.?
If you're a listener, listen to what you want, and don't let the PPP (Pissy Peer Pressure) get to you. Express yourself as only you can and… just be you, just be fun!
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If you play a role in the electronic music creation process too, there are some things I'd like to share with you. We'll call this section:
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TECHNO MUSIC TIPPAGE
- DON'T be afraid of melody. You won't always need?a catchy tune, but that's no reason to fear what is the musical equivalent of a warm, snuggly security blanket. Or maybe an oak tree, because oak trees are strong and a well-crafted melody is powerful.
- DON'T be afraid of rhythm and harmony either, however you choose to define that. Keep your ears open, because drums — such as toms — can be tuned tonally, and you can create chords out of them if you do creative processes to them such as lengthening them farrr past a natural lifespan, and ah behold the wonders of timestretching.
- FOUR-ON-A-FLOOR IS YOUR FRIEND. It's been here since the dawn. It will be here past midnight too, snacking. Some say "it's boring", but your heartbeat is boring too and it keeps you alive. Damnit, if you ever get concerned, in the middle of the track, try this: shuffle the kicks and snares a little. For example, move the second kickdrum of a bar an 8th note forward. Maybe tease and introduce it in with a delayed fx line or a flanged cymbal. Voila, you've got yourself a breaksy little section which takes only a few minutes to prepare. A little spice to the meal. Tasty. And yummy food is fun.
- DON'T overdo special effects. Obviously, there are exceptions to this that prove the rule, but think of it this way: how many times have you seen a movie in recent times and complained it was "too CG" and that there were "wayyy too many special effects"? There you go. Icing goes on top of the cake. Icing is not the whole cake. And if icing IS your whole cake, God have mercy on your arteries.
- DON'T be afraid of hitting that dreaded Preset Button. There's some more imploding psychology at work for you. Of course you wanna avoid prefab sounds, right? But here's my slanted perspective: if everyone else is too scared, don't you want to be the brave one? If those sounds never get used, the original sound designer's work will go to waste. Plus, you can tweak them to your taste, and if it doesn't work out, bake a cake from scratch. Just have fun with it and don't let any grand stigma cloud you. Which brings me to…
- THE OBVIOUS IDEAS ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED.?Hello, Mr.-Philip-Glass-repeating-two-notes-over-and-over? Hyperbolic, but you see how he made his career. Here's another one for you: punk music. What could be more?obvious than primal three-chord pounding bucking against the establishment, and other raw delights? Snare rolls still have plenty of life in them, so don't ya let anyone else talk ya out of them. Mr. Wong here places a C-bill on the next point, which would be…
- TAKE THOSE CLICHED, UNLOVED IDEAS AND ADOPT THEM LIKE PETS –?IN FACT, CATCH THEM LIKE POKEMON! Give them a warm bath and lots of tender love, and a nice cot to sleep in. Cliches never die. They may turn into strays that are hated (much to their frustration — if someone kept beating you with?a stick and never explained why, wouldn't you hate the world?), hence all the need for more love. Push words like "cheesy" and "trite" out of your head for a sec, and realize that if the wheel was meant to be reinvented, it would have been done so by now. Not so. Think gradual adaptation. People give and take back to Planet Earth. Are trees a cliche? There are so many of them that look the same! What's a forest? If you're looking at the forest from a bird's-eye view, you're seeing the Forest. AND the Trees.?You know about my analogy of music: it's one big tree, with main branches and sub-branches and sub-sub-branches. But all of them are part of one big tree. You can try to saw a branch off, but a sage human being realizes that while pruning is necessary, grafting might be a keen idea too. A conservationist mentality goes a long way towards sonic wildlife survival. Breed two cliches together (don't worry, you won't have to do the Bob Barker on them) and their child will be fresh, new — and LOVED. And you are responsible for this love.
- Related to the above, puleeze don't ever make a proclaimation like "The 303s/808s/909s?sound is?DEAD". Hey, even if your grandparents are dead, they live on in you in a way. Even if you aren't biologically related and are adopted, hopefully your parents have shown you love and ideals and moral teachings and other such goodies that also live on in you. Circle of life… Lion King time baby!
- DO?YOU LIKE TECHNO, TRANCE, OR HOUSE MORE? I'm sorry, that question just boggles my mind. I'm smart, but not smart enough to answer something like that. Why not combine all three? Tech-trancey house? I hear it's a wonderful dish, and your guests will love it. Serve it with an opening appetizer of ambient breaks, and everyone's taste buds will absolutely WATER.
- Speaking of water, Bruce Lee once had this to say: "Empty your mind.?Be formless, shapeless.?Like water.?You put water into a cup it becomes the cup.?Put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot.? Now water can flow or creep or drip or crash. Be water my friend." I've applied this philosophy to my music, and if you're comfortable with it, I encourage you to give it a try too. Obviously, there are contradictions in the words and it sounds like a paradox. The joy isn't?entirely in finally solving the puzzle, let me tell ya that — THE PROCESS MATTERS. I ain't?ever?seen?no happy?human without a brain, and yet modernspeak makes such a?big difference between "thinking" and "feeling", medically inaccurate figures of speech as they may be. Evolve. If you can take where you're coming them from and really assemble?it in a way that reflects where you are going right now and where you want to go in the not-so-distant future, it will do wonders for your?confidence to express yourself. There are enough?rigid clones out there playing the lame game. For the love of Kraftwerk,?DON'T be one of them.?
- EVER?NOTICE HOW WONDERFUL JUXTAPOSITION, HYBRIDIZATION, MISHMASHING, ETC.?ARE??I don't wanna throw out a word like… say, folktronica, but there you go. The melding of old and new, low-tech and high-tech. I sometimes wonder why some peeps made such a fuss over Bob Dylan playing an electric guitar. Or why such a deal was made out of sampled electric guitar in earlier techno tracks — something which is so commonplace today that you could do?a triple-take and treat it like a neck exercise as opposed to being surprised. Don't let the imploding, exploding psychology get to you. Sometimes, you won't be able to describe your most brilliant?Frankenstein?ideas until AFTER you've executed them (made them come alive — not killed them!) and combined them in your lab. That's a-OK. A Momma doesn't know how her baby really turns out until?many years later, even if she knows the child's Father.
- DO try to hold your laughter when it?comes to candy ravers and costumed clubbers. Drug overdoses aside, they're having lots of fun, and their passionate support?for the DJs and producers is unequalled.
- DO it your way!!!
*deep breath* I gotta say it again: DO it your way!!!?And?always remember,?PLUR(R) to the giants who have come before us so that your path is eased, your vision of the future clearer. There will always be new, lofty tasks for humans interested and involved in techno?music (as in the umbrella, not "Detroit or Cologne?techno" specifically)?to take on, and new styles and substyles — branches of that great, fabled Electronic Dance Music tree — that will?explode progressively?like?so many?majestic, magnificent cloudbursts………… that tree is hovering above us all, filled with bountiful promises we can't even begin to fathom.
If we're lucky, some of us may get to kiss it.
And kissing's just Level 1-1 of this video game.