Unrefined "Musician" Gains a Global Audience 325
Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "An unskilled musician performed a catchy pop instrumental for more than one million YouTube users even though he can't play a lick of drums or piano. The 22-year-old Norwegian's tool was stop-motion video, WSJ.com reports. From the article: 'To make "Amateur," Mr. Gjertsen recorded each analog beat and note one by one on video. He transferred the sounds from each video clip into audio files, which he could rearrange with the Fruity Loops sound-editing program — the same software he's used to create his all-digital music in the past. After organizing the sound files into the right order, Mr. Gjertsen reconstructed the pattern with the original video files. In the final product, he insists, nothing about his performance was digitally enhanced. "You have the original sounds from the video," he says.'"
"Unskilled"? (Score:5, Interesting)
I'd wager most modern music is made just like that, and involves a lot of people who would meet this definition of "unskilled" musician.
Back in the day, we had .mod files (Score:2, Interesting)
Nice to see what the little man in the synthesizer actually looks like, though.
Lasse Gjertsen is a genius (Score:5, Interesting)
It's obvious from some of the comments that posters haven't seen his work. He's one of the most creative artists I've seen on YouTube. From the pointless and bizarre Den Lille Valpen [youtube.com], to the simple humor of US [youtube.com], to the amazing production values on Jeg går en Tur [youtube.com]. And the guy is only 22.
Personally, I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.
cLive ;-)
ps - oh, and the "Your mother is a" Slutt joke is quite funny too...
Re:"Unskilled"? (Score:3, Interesting)
-an actual musician.
Project idea: MIDI video samples (Score:3, Interesting)
If nothing else, it'd be a cool thing to have on display at parties.
Comment removed (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:"Unskilled"? (Score:5, Interesting)
Translation:
"As a clueless amateur who has managed to lay my hands on a few instruments, I now prepare to deliver my infallible wisdom. First of all, he's not actually playing those instruments. He just recorded video clips and rearranged them. So you see, he didn't actually have to play the notes in order or at any particular time. Real instrumentalists *do* have to play notes in sequence. Ergo, he is a terrible musician.
Even though I'm a musician in the loftiest, most pure sense of the word, I am not rich and famous. I now mention a current band to show that I am 'with it'. I also hate them for their success. I've never been part of a real recording session, but I know just how it works, and quite frankly, this guy does not meet my own personal standards of musicianship.
So while this guy may be skilled at making music, he is not a skilled musician. This is so obvious that I can't be bothered to explain my logic."
Starting from the top:
Thank you for you explanation of the nuances of playing an instrument. Because we all missed the part where he didn't actually play them. The way he just plunked a few notes then assembled them into a piece was kind of like the point, you know? At the beginning he showed us that.
Now your knowledge of modern music is somewhat lacking, both in the areas everyone should know (current groups) and in the areas you propose to explain (recording). Certainly the amount of editing any particular group needs varies, but speaking as someone with actual knowledge of the field, modern music is very heavily edited, and has been for a number of years. When he says that modern music is made "just like that" he's right on the money. A sample is generally longer than his, but there is a phenomenal amount of cut'n'paste work in every single song you hear on the radio (unless you're listening to oldies or acoustic music).
Nice attempt to make yourself look moderate here. "The man is skilled. Skilled at sampling and editing." These sound like words that would leave George Bush's mouth, by the way. You've managed to develop a strange definition of "musician" which doesn't seem to line up with whether a person makes music. I suggest syncing with reality at your earliest convenience!
Re:Pompous much? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Pompous much? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:No, actually, it's not. (Score:2, Interesting)
Music is meant to be participated in. Good music is a half dozen cool folks with their instruments sitting down and hammering out something that's never been heard before, and you're one of them, and you're composing as you go, and interacting with everyone around you while you do it.
The idea that listening to professional music is somehow superior to participating in music, that's a big con, and if you never spent a little of your life learning to play something or other together with other people in a jam, you got seriously ripped off.
Beyond that, recorded music is nothing compared to being in the presence of musicians who are masters of their craft and having fun with each other and the dancing crowd.
Modern music is isolating. Even the dancing is isolating.
Just reject the whole big pile of steaming shit and start making music with friends instead, that's what I have to say on the subject.
Re:No, actually, it's not. (Score:3, Interesting)
My Imitation Pompous (Score:3, Interesting)
You've reminded me of a story.
About a dozen years ago, I went to New York with my then-girlfriend. We decided to go to the Met.
At the time I had long fuzzy hair, was only halfway bald, and wore fairly eccentric collegey clothes. A denim jacket, ripped jeans, loud shirts, etc. In short, I looked moderately freaky.
So we go to the met. Oh yeah, did I mention we had been drinking?
I decide to have a little fun with my girlfriend. As I would approach a work of art, I would make a comment as a joke. Something an art-type would be likely to say. And I was mildly drunk, so I was probably a bit louder than I normally would have been.
"It's artistic without being artsy."
"I like what he's saying with his green palette."
"It says a lot by saying a little, don't you think?"
The punchline? Since I was drunkish/loud, other people could hear me. And since I looked like a freak and was making these possibly insightful comments, they were agreeing with me, sometimes furiously. "Oh yes, I see it too!" Rather than possibly snub some super-insightful art weirdo, they decided the safest course was to agree with me.
A drunken electrical engineer on holiday.
Re:No, actually, it's not. (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm dissing the entire recorded music market. The idea that you go on tour for years in shitty venues for peanuts trying to advertise your recordings as a product.
Recordings are the fucking advertisement, not the real value. Listening to an album is a poor substitute for the dynamic of creation or live appreciation of the dynamic of creation, and anyone who gets exposed to both bloody well knows it.
This big protectionist racket is propped up by a presumption that there is merit in continuing to run this big engine that elevates and polishes a few acts, then enforces distance between the audience and the performer.
They're fucking teaching kids in schools that if we don't keep spending our money on CDs, no one will make music anymore. WTF?!?
I think if we want more music, we'd get a fuck of a lot more if we stopped selling the masses crap gear and keeping the good stuff for the pros. Good stuff is expensive because it's more expensive to make, but it's also more expensive because good stuff doesn't get economies of scale, just the cruddy stuff that the uninformed and poor are willing to accept.
At the end of the day, it's a big culture that enshrines the few and has the masses encouraged to appreciate rather than participate, and it pisses me off.
I spend money supporting musicians. But not by buying CDs or sitting in stadiums. I give my money to the guys who are going to grin and make eye contact when I and a bunch of others are rocking out in front of them, jam out some new stuff no one has ever heard before, adapt their set to the feedback coming from the audience, then come smoke a doob between sets. Because having those people continue to go out among us and interact with us in that way is where the value resides.
In truth, having them get rich and fat selling pale copies of that experience, forced by contract to play only precomposed work in stadiums where there are so many people kept so far away that no one actually connects, I don't think that holds any value at all. I'd go so far as to say once that happens, you've deprived the entire world of actually getting the real value inherent in those artists existance.
I'm all ranted out. I'm going to go play. Thanks for the kudos, I respect that you're out there making it happen.