BT

[acid1]

The problem is that enjoying music just isn't enough anymore, ZoeB. WATMM these days is far more about image then feeling. Its the definition of following your brain vs your heart.

 

Aphex twin can put out the shittiest tracks ever after a ragga jungle monstrousity and people will worship it like he's the god of poo, reguardless of how many heart wrenching psycho-acoustic ballads BT might put out, in whatever surround sound configuration you like, with 3D music videos, and 110 piece orchestras. If it doesn't fit the WATMM visionary of sitting around in a incomplete skyscraper, listening to Com Truise, and making fun of Skrillex, you are simply not a member of us. Even if Skrillex and BT do the exact same thing and love the same music, they are not one of us, we decide that.

 

The best thing to do in situations like these is to check your ego in at the door when you log into WATMM and assume your persona. Swallow your pride, and put on the WATMM act. Of course Aphex is the best artist this century. Of course Autectre is making better music now then their analog days. Of course Squarepusher still is the daddy. We are not aging hipsters, we are refined critics and we know everything sucks, we've been trying to tell ourselves and eachother that for years. Just up the post count a bit, tell a few people to read the rules, and put squarepushers' circle vacuum tracks back on. They are ahead of their time, and so are we.

[kcinsu]

Zoe: I don't like the music. It has no staying power for me. When I heard both of his latest albums for the first time, I said "holy shit" because they are extremely well produced, and he is tapping into a sound that I enjoy. That said, it just feels unispired. I don't feel like it takes me anywhere special. It is saccharin sweet at times, and I'm not big on that either. Second listens where lackluster, and there weren't many more after that, because I was never truly engaged compositionally.

 

So artistically, his music doesn't do much for me. So then I focus on the production, (because it is very well produced) and then I can't help but think about all of the people he hires, so I find it hard to get all that excited about him as a producer either, because it truly is a team of people doing all of that stuff... If it was him alone, in his bedroom doing 6000+ vocal edits by hand, I'd say, my hats off to you sir. But I know he has interns doing this stuff, creating custom software etc for him. And I don't doubt that he has an overall artistic vision that propels this, but like I said before, I just don't like his music much.

 

It also bugs me, that he markets himself as this amazing producer, but doesn't talk much about his team (from what I've read at least), and that rubs me the wrong way. There is a general implication that a solo electronic music producer, does all of their own music. At least in the realm of music that I grew up listening to. Think of all the electronic music artists that work alone. And then when you have someone that markets themselves as an individual (it is his initials after all) you kind of have an idea that this is a solo artist doing this. Now, yes, it's nice to look at art without factoring in anything else besides just the art, but I'm not the one putting his face on every album cover, and doing interviews claiming to have invented stutter rhythms (he calls them logarithmic triplets) and generally living the LA hollywood lifestyle. I didn't go in search of photos of BT to criticize: he plasters his image on most of his releases! Kind of hard to avoid, no? So to criticize people for factoring in how he presents himself, is kind of odd. Music very often is part of a package that symbolizes a lifestyle. It's inherent in every genre. There are cultures based around music, and so to say we have to listen to his work objectively, without factoring in the image he markets himself with, etc, is a bit idealistic to say the least, if not totally missing the point.

 

When I hear BT, I think of hollywood glamor. I think of dudes in white suits, with their hair purposefully spiked, going to parties on ibiza, making music that is very hollywood in itself... flashy and well produced, but lacking soul. None of those things speak to me musically, or culturally. I don't live that lifestyle.

 

The only reason I'm ranting about this, is because I find it kind of odd that you come here asking for peoples thoughts on an artist you like, and then proceed to find ways to invalidate their opinions, when they offer up opinions that are contrary to yours. You can't just say "I see your point of view. Thanks"

 

I really don't care if you or anyone else loves him, and thinks he is amazing. I do think people would be less impressed if they knew he was actually a corporation, and sometimes I point that out, because I often see to him refereed to as the epitome of the modern musician. That is false. How many modern electronic music makers have teams and high end studios? Not many. He is successful, he is obviously dedicated, and he does have good visions (I do believe he genuinely loves what he does etc) but in the end, I don't like the music, and I don't like the marketing, and I don't like the behind the scenes. But you know, you did ask...

[joseph]

Zoe got what she wanted, a couple of WATMMers sorta agreed with her, move along pls.

 

If anyone really thinks that Skrillex and BT aren't loved by WATMM for purely social/image reasons, well, I shouldn't have to say much more

[oscillik]

As far as the vocals go, yes, the lyrics seem a bit trite and direct, but at least he's put in the effort to actually write lyrics. For a lot of music fans, they're a necessity.

 

Music 'fans' that need vocals, are not music fans. they're 'customers' of 'product' that is to be 'marketed' to them.

 

Sorry, had to say something there...I get sick and tired of people claiming that the music I listen to isn't music because "where are the words?"

[Guest capitan mission]

Zoe got what she wanted, a couple of WATMMers sorta agreed with her, move along pls.

 

If anyone really thinks that Skrillex and BT aren't loved by WATMM for purely social/image reasons, well, I shouldn't have to say much more

 

that.

If an artist that i like becomes popular im very happy, not the opposite

I remember when the white stripes edited "Seven Nation Army", i was into the band and played these song before it gets famous. The the song became one of the greatest hits of the decade and people chanted it in the world cup final, i was veryyy happy.

[Goiter Sanchez]

The problem is that enjoying music just isn't enough anymore, ZoeB. WATMM these days is far more about image then feeling. Its the definition of following your brain vs your heart.

 

Aphex twin can put out the shittiest tracks ever after a ragga jungle monstrousity and people will worship it like he's the god of poo, reguardless of how many heart wrenching psycho-acoustic ballads BT might put out, in whatever surround sound configuration you like, with 3D music videos, and 110 piece orchestras. If it doesn't fit the WATMM visionary of sitting around in a incomplete skyscraper, listening to Com Truise, and making fun of Skrillex, you are simply not a member of us. Even if Skrillex and BT do the exact same thing and love the same music, they are not one of us, we decide that.

 

The best thing to do in situations like these is to check your ego in at the door when you log into WATMM and assume your persona. Swallow your pride, and put on the WATMM act. Of course Aphex is the best artist this century. Of course Autectre is making better music now then their analog days. Of course Squarepusher still is the daddy. We are not aging hipsters, we are refined critics and we know everything sucks, we've been trying to tell ourselves and eachother that for years. Just up the post count a bit, tell a few people to read the rules, and put squarepushers' circle vacuum tracks back on. They are ahead of their time, and so are we.

Zoe: I don't like the music. It has no staying power for me. When I heard both of his latest albums for the first time, I said "holy shit" because they are extremely well produced, and he is tapping into a sound that I enjoy. That said, it just feels unispired. I don't feel like it takes me anywhere special. It is saccharin sweet at times, and I'm not big on that either. Second listens where lackluster, and there weren't many more after that, because I was never truly engaged compositionally.

 

So artistically, his music doesn't do much for me. So then I focus on the production, (because it is very well produced) and then I can't help but think about all of the people he hires, so I find it hard to get all that excited about him as a producer either, because it truly is a team of people doing all of that stuff... If it was him alone, in his bedroom doing 6000+ vocal edits by hand, I'd say, my hats off to you sir. But I know he has interns doing this stuff, creating custom software etc for him. And I don't doubt that he has an overall artistic vision that propels this, but like I said before, I just don't like his music much.

 

It also bugs me, that he markets himself as this amazing producer, but doesn't talk much about his team (from what I've read at least), and that rubs me the wrong way. There is a general implication that a solo electronic music producer, does all of their own music. At least in the realm of music that I grew up listening to. Think of all the electronic music artists that work alone. And then when you have someone that markets themselves as an individual (it is his initials after all) you kind of have an idea that this is a solo artist doing this. Now, yes, it's nice to look at art without factoring in anything else besides just the art, but I'm not the one putting his face on every album cover, and doing interviews claiming to have invented stutter rhythms (he calls them logarithmic triplets) and generally living the LA hollywood lifestyle. I didn't go in search of photos of BT to criticize: he plasters his image on most of his releases! Kind of hard to avoid, no? So to criticize people for factoring in how he presents himself, is kind of odd. Music very often is part of a package that symbolizes a lifestyle. It's inherent in every genre. There are cultures based around music, and so to say we have to listen to his work objectively, without factoring in the image he markets himself with, etc, is a bit idealistic to say the least, if not totally missing the point.

 

When I hear BT, I think of hollywood glamor. I think of dudes in white suits, with their hair purposefully spiked, going to parties on ibiza, making music that is very hollywood in itself... flashy and well produced, but lacking soul. None of those things speak to me musically, or culturally. I don't live that lifestyle.

 

The only reason I'm ranting about this, is because I find it kind of odd that you come here asking for peoples thoughts on an artist you like, and then proceed to find ways to invalidate their opinions, when they offer up opinions that are contrary to yours. You can't just say "I see your point of view. Thanks"

 

I really don't care if you or anyone else loves him, and thinks he is amazing. I do think people would be less impressed if they knew he was actually a corporation, and sometimes I point that out, because I often see to him refereed to as the epitome of the modern musician. That is false. How many modern electronic music makers have teams and high end studios? Not many. He is successful, he is obviously dedicated, and he does have good visions (I do believe he genuinely loves what he does etc) but in the end, I don't like the music, and I don't like the marketing, and I don't like the behind the scenes. But you know, you did ask...

 

Great points!

[ganus]

excellent post kcinsu. I totally agree with all of that.

 

 

Music 'fans' that need vocals, are not music fans. they're 'customers' of 'product' that is to be 'marketed' to them.

 

Sorry, had to say something there...I get sick and tired of people claiming that the music I listen to isn't music because "where are the words?"

bit of a dick way to put it, but I agree with this as well.

 

also on a related note, while I do like lyrics & singing in general in some music, I fucking hate it when it's completely sliced up. it is just distracting, and does not add anything musically. people get this idea that IDM/glitch is all about stutter edits. it's not. those who have actually listened to autechre (not just gantz graf) and other glitchy idm type of stuff know that.

[Hoodie]

this binary universe is great, you guys are too fucking jaded. i'd say that the album is on the level of telefon tel aviv.

 

admittedly, i don't like much of his other music (alright, flaming june is a guilty pleasure). i think most of us can agree that this album is a total anomaly. i feel like, suddenly, there was a bright flash of light in his mind and, as it faded, he had a vision of the album he had to make. for a couple of years, that vision inspired him and it drove him to make some idm shit that was totally out of left-field for a guy that had previously wrote music for boy bands and collaborated with tiesto. then, one morning, after the release of this binary universe, he woke up with a raging migraine and it was all just gone... so he went back to making trance.

 

also, i saw him perform the album live and it was sweet :3

[Hoodie]

It also bugs me, that he markets himself as this amazing producer, but doesn't talk much about his team (from what I've read at least), and that rubs me the wrong way.

 

well, when i saw him live, he was not the only one on stage. he had a bunch of people doing live instruments and he was really gracious about it (he made sure the audience gave them a lot of love and he introduced them and all that). he didn't seem like a dick, compared to shitty djs like tiesto that love crowd worship. i actually had no idea that he was such a big name in trance because i hadn't listened to his music before and he really didn't present himself that way.

[psn]

Never heard of him.

[noise]

Never heard of him.

me neither (until now)

this is total knob cheese music

fucking gross

[chenGOD]

So if I get the general consensus right, pretty much no one else here likes his music, because:

1. The artist cares "too much" about his image
   
2. It doesn't have enough "soul"
   
3. It lacks direction
   
4. The vocals are bad
   
5. It's a team effort, without credit given where it's due
   

 

As I'm a fan of music, not musicians, I don't care about the first point. (But hey, I guess at least you're objectifying men and women equally?)

 

I'm curious about the second point, though. Is this a lack of emotion, or originality, or sincerity, that you're perceiving..?

 

The lack of direction is also intriguing. I view it as a plus point, his music takes you all over the place, like a wild ride, and it never feels contrived in changing direction, merely interesting.

 

As far as the vocals go, yes, the lyrics seem a bit trite and direct, but at least he's put in the effort to actually write lyrics. For a lot of music fans, they're a necessity.

 

The team effort thing's interesting. Is it the lack of credit you object to, or a group of people co-operating in order to make music together? I've heard the same criticism raised against Hans Zimmer, and in both cases, I think the music itself is often great, regardless of how it was made or by who. Yes, people should be given proper credit, but can anyone cite a source regarding Zimmercorp or Transeaucorp? I guess I shouldn't even bother asking what people here think of Xenomania...

 

I guess I don't make a distinction anymore between manufactured music and artistic music. If it sounds good, it is good. If it's popular, good for the artist. Making music that people want to hear in order to subsidise making artistic music sounds like a pretty good strategy to me, and who says the two have to be mutually exclusive anyway?

 

Err no, I don't like his music because it's boring, contrived shite.

To the person who compared that track to Draft 7.30 - why the fuck am I supposed to be impressed because he used some granular synthesis on a track that has straightforward melodies, boring harmonic progressions and fuck all for rhythmic complexity?

 

The fact that ZoeB didn't know that Rewind had a video doesn't say everything, but it says a lot. Did you know that Luke Vibert did a remix of it?

Honestly - I'm not trying to sound elitist, because I know that I am sounding like it, but anyone who's listened to the music that features on this esoteric fucking forum has known about the Rewind video for a long time. I suppose next you'll tell me that you're surprised that Jarvis Cocker directed a video for Aphex.

 

Anyways - BT. 17 year long snare roll.

[Friendly Foil]

1. Create "I like x thread".

2. Act defensive when people don't like x as much as you do.

3. Get angry.

[cear]

didn't he try to patent sample retriggering or something?

hilarious.

[Goiter Sanchez]

BT is known for using a production technique he calls the stutter edit. This technique consists of taking a small fragment (or fragments) of sound and then repeating it rhythmically. BT was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for his song "Somnambulist (Simply Being Loved)". This song was recognized as using the largest number of vocal edits in a song (6,178 edits).

 

THis reminds me of when the Moby track 'Thousand' was in the Guinness Book of World Records for having 'the highest BPM in recorded music'... When it just sounds like just cranked the BPM knob a few times over an otherwise uneventful techno track...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA60u0sYZrY

 

Ah well; I suppose he could've feasibly been the first one to do it.

[sweepstakes]

OK I am sorry to resurrect this thread but I just wanted to say I find it incredibly obnoxious and arrogant when people assume if you don't like something that's popular, that it's only because it's popular. It couldn't possibly be because it's a stinking piece of shit and the person making the assumption just has bad taste. Had to get that off my chest. Done now.

[dr lopez]

http://lostinsnareroll.ytmnd.com//

lol this is the best

[Guest yikes]

this track holds up but adam freeland was involved with it

 

[chassis]

As far as the vocals go, yes, the lyrics seem a bit trite and direct, but at least he's put in the effort to actually write lyrics. For a lot of music fans, they're a necessity.

 

Music 'fans' that need vocals, are not music fans. they're 'customers' of 'product' that is to be 'marketed' to them.

 

Sorry, had to say something there...I get sick and tired of people claiming that the music I listen to isn't music because "where are the words?"

 

Unfair statement, but I can see the intent which is probably right.

[Beholdapalehorse]

I like BT.

[Beholdapalehorse]

BT is known for using a production technique he calls the stutter edit. This technique consists of taking a small fragment (or fragments) of sound and then repeating it rhythmically. BT was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for his song "Somnambulist (Simply Being Loved)". This song was recognized as using the largest number of vocal edits in a song (6,178 edits).

 

THis reminds me of when the Moby track 'Thousand' was in the Guinness Book of World Records for having 'the highest BPM in recorded music'... When it just sounds like just cranked the BPM knob a few times over an otherwise uneventful techno track...

 

 

 

Ah well; I suppose he could've feasibly been the first one to do it.

fukin lol

[sweepstakes]

I like BT.

It's OK, nobody's perfect.

[Ivan Ooze]

[ZoeB]

I realise that people who claim instrumental music isn't real music are wrong, and have hurt the feelings of some people here. Saying that all vocal music isn't real music is its mirror image though. Think of instrumental music as like books, and vocal music as like films. While it's easier to watch a film than read a book, and that's the way most people usually prefer to learn stories, it's conversely easier to write a book than to make a film, so I have a lot of respect for filmmakers.

 

Anyway, to anyone who doesn't like vocal music, that's cool. It's just people who are dismissing it out of hand, or judging artists by their haircut, that I'm questioning.

[Ivan Ooze]

prrrot rules