doing just enough, but never too much
LA Weekly's Jay Babcock links the insta-release of the new White Stripes single to The Who's insta-defense of Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, when they were picked up on drug charges in 1967. He sees "Blue Orchid" as the spark of a possible revolution in musical immediacy.
If instant music became more widespread - if more musicians exploited digital technology to decrease the time between music's creation and distribution - it could signal a positive shift in the pop-culture loop: Musicians could make direct commentary on what's going on day-to-day in the world, as griots, troubadours, and bards did for most of human history pre-phonograph. Instant music also means less hype - and a far less mediated interaction between musician and audience.
FYI: According to "Blue Orchid," what's going on in the world is that you got a reaction, didn't you, when you took a white orchid and turned it blue. And you don't act your age. (No disrespect, Jack. I'll always love you.)
3 comments:
Mr. Black has described the new record, partly, as an exploration of "the ideal of truth." The blue orchid is the unachievable ideal of orchid breeders. Scientists believe it can not be acheieved without serious genetic engineering to speed up the mutations. So, of course, scientists and certain breeders are trying to do exactly that. Why? Because they can.
Jack doesn't like this ("how dare you") as it goes against his ideal of truth: "you're given a flower/but I guess there's no pleasing you." He's also his own work and describing why he makes music the way he does. The word "reaction" and the song itself recalls Count Five, an "ideal" among garage rock enthusiasts. Perhaps he is talking directly to other contemporary bands (who he fears may be abusing this ideal with technology?), critics and his recording label ("You're given a flower / but I guess there's no pleasing you") by saying that although they think he's "just teasing you", he's deadly serious about the artistic direction he wants to take.
Just my thoughts ...
Getting back to the 1st paragraph, of course, there's no "immediacy" to this particular song. I mean it doesn't reflect, say current politics of the day (although it reflects politics of our time) as perhaps Mr. Babcock would envision. Though when you think about it a song that's somewhat about the evils of technology pushing the envelope of technology is somewhat ironic.
Of course, I was going for the joke, but your comment adds a lot of depth to the post. You should check out the Babcock article, as the immediacy referred to the recording and distribution rather than the content.
Except I should have called him Mr. White. Not Mr. Black.
I expanded on my comments on another blog - vinylmine.blogspot.com (this is different from my music blog)
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