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Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

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Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#71

Post by flyinglizard »

gilleain wrote: post #40
tea_cult_1 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A different opinion about their music is that it all seems rather ostentatious in an aural sense, and leaves a doubt if some of the praise being heaped on it is 'perfomative'.

Uhm. If I understand correctly, you are saying that some people are pretending to like his music because it is over the top and showy rather than actually good or enjoyable? While it is possible these fake enjoyers exist, I'm fairly certain a lot of fans of Mr Twin's work like it in a straightforward sense of most music appreciation. Personally, 'Vordhosbn', 'Windowlicker', 'Rhubarb'... etc are all great tracks. Are…

We need to put his music in the right historical context. In the time his early works were released he was truly different. I don't like his music, but I appreciate it, artistically. I like his art, I guess.

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#73

Post by Lio »

tea_cult_1 wrote: post #26
BLKNSLVR wrote: post #7

The depth of knowledge of Richard James surprises me every time I come across articles about him. No wonder Aphex Twin's music stands out the way it does. He's always a fair way ahead of the curve.

A different opinion about their music is that it all seems rather ostentatious in an aural sense, and leaves a doubt if some of the praise being heaped on it is 'perfomative'.

> their music

Richard and James Aphex; the Aphex twins. :P

> leaves a doubt if some of the praise being heaped on it is 'perfomative'.

This sounds rather like someone that doesn't like art in general complaining about those that do. I've heard many people complain about "modern art" in the same way.

I think it's a valid enough opinion but I still like Aphex Twin's music for the same reasons I like Eno's.

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#74

Post by gilleain »

flyinglizard wrote: post #71
gilleain wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhm. If I understand correctly, you are saying that some people are pretending to like his music because it is over the top and showy rather than actually good or enjoyable? While it is possible these fake enjoyers exist, I'm fairly certain a lot of fans of Mr Twin's work like it in a straightforward sense of most music appreciation. Personally, 'Vordhosbn', 'Windowlicker', 'Rhubarb'... etc are all great tracks. Are…

We need to put his music in the right historical context. In the time his early works were released he was truly different. I don't like his music, but I appreciate it, artistically. I like his art, I guess.

I believe you, but is that not a strange position to take on music? Appreciating it artistically, but not liking listening to it?

Am I right in saying you like the _idea_ behind the music rather than the music itself? That's almost as strange to me as people who do not listen to music at all - it's fine, of course! They are your ears, and you can do what you like with them :)

shrug Different people are different, I suppose.

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#75

Post by gilleain »

topocite wrote: post #69
tea_cult_1 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A different opinion about their music is that it all seems rather ostentatious in an aural sense, and leaves a doubt if some of the praise being heaped on it is 'perfomative'.

People would say the same thing about Glass or Reich. People would say the same thing about Messiaen or Ligeti. People would say the same thing about Schoenberg or Webern. If your expectation of good food is In-N-Out Burger, you might think praise of a three star Michelin restaurant is performative too. I am not even much a fan of Richard but he is absolutely one of the greatest musical geniuses of the past 50 years…

I love 'Avril 14th', I had not connected it before to Satie (who I've only just heard of, my poor musical background knowledge). I see the similarities in the balance of sweetness and dissonance (I suppose).

A friend told me a story about Satie, that they found two pianos in his appartement, one stacked on the other, with unpaid bills tossed on the top. Seems very RDJ-like (or v.v.).

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#76

Post by devin »

lomase wrote: post #53
gilleain wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhm. If I understand correctly, you are saying that some people are pretending to like his music because it is over the top and showy rather than actually good or enjoyable? While it is possible these fake enjoyers exist, I'm fairly certain a lot of fans of Mr Twin's work like it in a straightforward sense of most music appreciation. Personally, 'Vordhosbn', 'Windowlicker', 'Rhubarb'... etc are all great tracks. Are…

Even some AFX fans have the opinion that the stuff on Drukqs is "style over substance".

About as powerful a quote as "Even some Beatles fans think X album is 'style over substance'."

Who cares? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to crank up Vordhobsn and write some code.

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#77

Post by mprev »

lomase wrote: post #53
gilleain wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhm. If I understand correctly, you are saying that some people are pretending to like his music because it is over the top and showy rather than actually good or enjoyable? While it is possible these fake enjoyers exist, I'm fairly certain a lot of fans of Mr Twin's work like it in a straightforward sense of most music appreciation. Personally, 'Vordhosbn', 'Windowlicker', 'Rhubarb'... etc are all great tracks. Are…

Even some AFX fans have the opinion that the stuff on Drukqs is "style over substance".

To be fair, he was kinda forced to release it following a leak, wasn't he?

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#78

Post by luqtas »

poisonarena wrote: post #52
maccard wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I often wonder what its like to been born in 2010 and never experiencing this. It’s always amusing to see these cycles continue. If his music is indeed as good as you claim it will still be listened to - just as so much of the best music of the last 75 years is. People have been lamenting the loss of the thing they felt was their transformative experince, and each generation keeps finding a new generation defining…

Thats actually not what I meant. I meant the experience of owning music on cd's/records/tapes. This cant really be experienced anymore since every song ever released can be immediately streamed. Sure you can buy vinyl or cd's at shows but it isnt the same because back then it was radio or buy/own the stuff And my other point was how lots of electronic musicians seemed so distant and mysterious because they weren't li…

your generation never experienced putting your hands, as a kid, into a thin block of metal that can play all the movies and music and books ever produced (or most)

i installed a pirated copy of Windows XP through floppy disks and i had a CD walkman. i was still a teen when i got a ipod touch 2gen. the latter was much more magical to me. sometimes i stare at my android phone with the screen locked thinking how impressive the tech is. termux x11 can go a long way. i don't wear rose tinted glasses even though my childhood was a freaking blast

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#79

Post by spacechild1 »

bigyabai wrote: post #49
shimman wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are you putting "value" above human decency? Maybe you shouldn't be considered to generate any "value" if you put misery on others, how can any "value" make up for the direct suffering? There are plenty people just the same, with the same capabilities without the quality of being a tarpit of suck.

A lot of James' discography is predicated on making other people suffer. The album art is offputting, the track listings are usually cluttered and useless, his music videos are scary and confusing, random tracks are designed to torture you (eg. Ventolin ), and half of his music is released under unrelated aliases. If you're not familiar with Aphex Twin, it's hard to understand that this hatred does nothing to inhibit…

What? Just because an artist makes artworks that some people find challenging does not mean that they hate their audience or want to make them suffer.

Also, what you personally find offputting, other people may enjoy. For example, I don't find 'Ventolin' particularly challenging to listen to.

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#80

Post by spacechild1 »

spacechild1 wrote: post #13
BLKNSLVR wrote: post #7

The depth of knowledge of Richard James surprises me every time I come across articles about him. No wonder Aphex Twin's music stands out the way it does. He's always a fair way ahead of the curve.

He is indeed a very technical and nerdy person. For example, he was an early adopter of the SuperCollider audio programming language. Fun trivia: he was trolling the SuperCollider mailing list under the alias "eric hard jams" which is an anagram of Richard [D.] James. Some of his messages were truely horrendous and he got kicked out eventually. He is quite a character...

I should clarify that it hasn't been 100% confirmed that "eric_hard_jams" was really him, but many people on the list thought so, including James McCartney himself:

  Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 22:20:06 -0600
  From: James McCartney 
  Subject: Re: [ OT ]very low signal to noise ratio .
  
  on 1/17/01 9:18 PM, eric_hard_jams at eric_hard_jams@btinternet.com wrote:
  
  > 
  >> ok boss. i'm really sorry. back to normal now. much better.
  >> my apologies.
  >> 
  > ass licker.
  > 

  shut the F up already, richard.
https://www.audiosynth.com/files/sc-users-archive/v01.n226

JMC and RDJ know each personally and hung out together. Here's a picture of the two together: https://www.reddit.com/r/aphextwin/comments/6oheli/screen_ra...

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