Vacation
Time!
—————-
By Beppe Colli
June 20, 2010
Time to go on vacation, at last!, summer vacations having never been
for us as indispensable as they are right now.
I have no problem admitting that, during
the last couple of years, things have been pretty hard and rough, here
at Clouds and Clocks, due to a long series of strange circumstances (some
of them being quite funny – provided one watches them from a safe distance,
that is, or after the fact). Last year, I decided to write about some of
them (my personal #1, of course, being the apartment over my head undergoing
extensive – and very noisy – renovation work, for months), even though
I usually think that when it comes to editorial work "private" and "public" spheres
should always be kept separate. Why did I decide to act differently? Because,
since Clouds and Clocks does not rely on any monetary earnings in order
to survive, and since I’ve always considered the role of "megaphone" to
be highly inappropriate for publications of any kind, I wanted to make
it clear that it was "troubles" that were the only source of
this "reduced activity", not tiredness, or doubts about the role
of this webzine; or at least, no tiredness or doubts in any larger quantity
than what’s typical for this kind of endeavor.
As it’s to be expected in moments like this,
one’s expectations for one’s holidays go hand-in-hand with thinking about
the past. Here I have to say that all sides that to me look quite unpleasant
and dark I see more as symptoms of a general, international state of affairs
than as symptoms of troubles that are indigenous to this webzine. For instance,
a certain "aridity of feeling" that makes people see things as
placed inside a "predatory" framework (should readers find the
term a bit on the exaggerated side, we could agree on the expression "soft
predatory" framework), the actual reasons for doing any meaningful
cultural work never coming into question. Walking absent-mindedly, people
just pick the fruits of one’s labour – provided, that is, they find them
interesting – in a way that’s quite reminiscent of the prevailing consumer
behaviour, where the fact of things being offered for free receives its
true meaning from the dimension of commercial advertising.
Meanwhile, very bad news come from the US front. Canceled concerts,
concert tickets being offered on sale with heavy discounts (such as 50%
and up), tickets being given away for free in order to disguise those empty
arena seats, dates and tours about to be rescheduled (or indefinitely postponed).
Only September will give us the full picture, also the real cause for the
present state of affairs, be it the effect of an "economic crisis"
(as it’s recently been reported by the Wall Street Journal), or of a different,
and not entirely "monetary", kind of ennui. But when the list of
names one hears being mentioned include artists such as Christina Aguileira,
Lady Gaga, Sting, The Eagles (and The Dixie Chicks), Lilith Festival, and
even a live institution such as the group Phish, things start looking very
strange indeed. It goes without saying that when it comes to "indie" groups
or artists, traveling by bus, and playing on tiny stages, is the norm.
I’ve always considered the somewhat rosy
scenery of falling sales of recorded music going hand-in-hand with high
sales of concert tickets and t-shirts as something quite dubious, exceptions
to the rule being of course entirely (temporarily) possible. But can this
kind of unpredictability be a precondition for any kind of serious,
"industrial" activity? I really don’t think so. One could believe
this to be only true of an album which needs a large investment in order
to come out "right"; but the same is true of any album featuring
"just" piano and vocals, since the piano has to be properly tuned
and maintained, the same being true of mics, preamplifiers, the mixer, and
the studio. And it’s also true that in a "meager framework" there’s
no point for any musician to "superbly master" an instrument, what
we usually call "good enough" will instead appear as the "perfectly
rational" choice.
Whatever
the reason (I have a few on my mind), I really believe that the great majority
of things being released today are of a very poor quality. I’d like to
stress the fact that, due to a peculiar mix of circumstances, I can listen
to practically any new album that gets to be reviewed by any "most
read" magazine (whatever that means) with ease. Sure, here one could
say that my opinion in entirely "subjective". On the other hand,
it’s entirely possible that one’s ignorance – or inadequate understanding
(listening to does not equal comprehension) – of what came before fully
explains those faulty judgments one so often reads. It’s the same "faulty
competence" one had, back in the day, at the age of seventeen. But
in those days people of such a mediocre understanding did not work for
magazines!
After listening to another mediocre album
currently being hailed as "an undisputed masterpiece" it happens
that one thinks that listening to an old record would be a much better
use of one’s time. "But can one listen to the same old stuff one already
knows so well?", some say. Here it’s time to make an important distinction
of a "pragmatic" nature. Those who, under present conditions,
publish a music magazine or run a music shop have to pretend they live
in the "year zero", i.e., all new release have no real background;
in fact, the expression is "best record(s) of the year", not "best
record(s) of the year, compared to the best record(s) in the whole history
of rock music".
But let’s enter the "pragmatic" dimension,
where one has an afternoon at one’s disposal to do what one most pleases:
is really one’s choice only limited to the "undisputed masterpiece" of
the moment, and an old record? This is the actual palette at my disposal
today. Reading that dialogue about gardens and gardening between Claudio
Abbado and Renzo Piano. Reading (for the second time) La veduta corta,
the fine book by Padoa-Schioppa on the US economic crisis. Watching (for
the second time) Wendy & Lucy. Watching the new DVD-V version of 200
Motels by Frank Zappa. Doing a Web search for material about Japanese architects
Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa/SANAA (winners of this year’s Pritzker Prize).
Reading (for the second time) Conditio Humana by Ulrich Beck. Having a
look at the new issue of The Economist. Reading (for the second time) Il
lavoro non è una merce – Contro la flessibilità by Luciano Gallino (also
his other book, Con i soldi degli altri). All those "objects" are
the fuits of a very strict process of selection whose "pragmatic" score
based on past performances makes it a lot more reliable when compared to
the faulty "filter" which suggested that I listen to another
"undisputed masterpiece".
I was
recently asked a difficult question. After a long, detailed discussion
about the pros and cons of original vinyl versions, CD re-releases, new
vinyl re-releases, and so on, this is what I was asked: "But let’s
suppose a young guy, not at all au-courant about this stuff, comes inside
the shop. What should he do? What should he buy"? A very complex topic
indeed, which reminded me of a different question asked, about twenty years
ago.
The magazine in question being US monthly
Keyboard, the person asked being Jim Aikin (maybe Dominic Milano?). The
question asked: "Everybody tells me that I have to ‘stay current’,
but nobody ever explains what ‘staying current’ means". After a few
suggestions of a practical nature, the answer went (I’m quoting from memory): "’staying
current’ means knowing what ‘staying current’ means".
Should I explain this to a "boy" who
knows nothing about that stuff (I’m assuming we are not talking about listening
to music in the car, or in the shower), choosing the album After The Gold
Rush by Neil Young as our example, here are the (true, as at the moment
of this writing) alternatives at our disposal:
a) Current CD version, €9.90
b) Original UK Reprise vinyl album release
from 1971, second pressing, N-M, £16
c) 2009 vinyl re-release, 140 gr. €24
d) 2009 vinyl re-release, 180 gr. €34
But what does it all mean? Here’s what was
suggested in a Web conversation, the topic at hand being differences in "general" between
old CD editions and remastered CD editions:
a) It’s case-by-case
b) You have to proceed on a case-by-case
basis
c) Once I thought case-by-case (…), but
now I know what sound I like and where to find it, for CD re-releases this
being true about 10%, which makes them the exception to the rule, and not
case-by-case
d) Case by case; when it comes to the Beatles
(…), the mono box from 2009 sounded OK, but it does not have the magic
an original, well-manufactured, well-kept vinyl album has
Which means, one has to listen very carefully
to many different editions of "the same thing" many, many times.
It’s easy!
So,
as it was easy to predict, we are inside the "hedonistic" framework
once again. In a nutshell, subjects have chosen those activities that pertain
to the body and the way it’s perceived (hence, the ever-growing diffusion
of cosmetic surgery, the fading of any clear-cut barriers between make-up
and "small surgical practices" such as botox fillings and the
like, the growing number of things that are "added" to the body,
such as (hair) extensions, the fact of considering many parts of the body
as being similar to clothes, to be eventually discarded), and those which
are easily considered in a "summational" way (for instance, the
concept of travel being made equal to taking one body from one place to
another) as their main priorities. The obvious corollary is to own as many "personal
gadgets" as possible, in their most up-to-date version, which work
as
"extensions" for one’s body, also as means of
"interconnection".
On the contrary, such qualities as literacy,
being able to concentrate for long stretches of time, being able to get
complex logical links, abstract reasoning, long attention spans, are in
retreat, as it’s apparent when people have more and more trouble even when
being asked to verbally describe a movie they’ve just seen.
Looking backwards, it’s easy to see that
it was the degree of concentration on the part of many fans of "classic" rock
(also, of course, their great love for music) that made it easy for them
to overcome the obvious technical limitations of those primitive devices
(also some faulty pressings) at their disposal, while today this use of
one’s time would appear as akin to being in prison, and extremely bizarre.
One only has to ask, to see that sweating at the gym and jogging under
the sun on whatever straight street the city has to offer are perceived
as being "zero fatigue" activities.
© Beppe Colli 2010
CloudsandClocks.net | June 20, 2010
