Category: .

is it 3.0 yet?

In a blog post by Albert Wenger entitled A Coming Paradigm Shift in (Online) Music?, he asks what spurs “runs” of new ideas in science, and identifies advances in technology as one contributor. When these advances happen “new observations can be made which in some cases don’t fit with the existing scientific paradigm, ultimately shattering that paradigm and replacing it with a new one. During such periods of transition runs of ideas are likely to occur.“

Albert then looks at current runs of new ideas in the context of changes in the music industry.

First, there is a new technology: Internet distribution. The vast initial activity is in using this technology within the existing business paradigm, in particular selling music (essentially same as selling physical media) or ad-supported (essentially same as radio). Apart from a few successes (notably Apple with iTunes), most online music startups fall in one of two categories: illegal or unprofitable.

Then, however, there are new experiments that may portend a different paradigm. In music, there are at least three services that take quite new approaches. First, there is FreshHotRadio which provides a super simple and streamlined experience for listening to free music sourced from around the web. By free, I mean music with licenses that are sufficiently permissive to let them be included in FreshHotRadio. Then there is the TheSixtyOne, which is based on user submitted music that gives TheSixtyOne the ability to play the music as it sees fit and again without paying a fee. This allows the TheSixtyOne to overlay game dynamics on the listening experience (e.g., you get reputation points for discovering songs). In both of these cases, a fundamental premise of the old paradigm is discarded: that online distribution must be based on a paid license. There is a third experiment that is discarding a different premise: the RjDj app for the iphone. Here the premise that is discarded is that music is a passive listening experience in which a song is the same each time it is played. Instead, when you run the RjDj app you get “scenes” which play differently each time based on your interaction with them via external sounds, touching and moving the phone.

So let’s characterize a music 3.0 app as one which is neither easy to sue nor hopelessly unprofitable. Calling it “music 3.0” distinguishes it from the the music 2.0 generation that occurred during the web 2.0 phase, with major music 2.0 apps being Last.fm, Webjay, imeem, Project Playlist, Hype Machine, and maybe Myspace.

Is this really a distinct generation? Are we are really on a new round? Is it fair to say that the new generation is building on the last one, so that (e.g.) RjDj is a successor to (e.g.) Hype Machine?

Steve Gravell blows top on one-stop-shop music sites

mokele.co.uk | Blog – I do not need a single destination for my music consumption needs.:

Once a site pushes to become the be all and end all of destinations for music related content consumption and makes that point obvious to me, I’m trusting their site less and less and less and less and less. Even if they’re an aggregator. I don’t go to NME.com, I get linked there because they generally post music news that’s the most important. How do I get there? From being linked on Gigulate.com. How did I get to there? I follow @gigulate on Twitter.com. It’s not one service. It’s a natural progression of channels and my interest.

Right on, brother.

When it comes to music and the internet, people lose their heads and go back to Compuserve-generation thinking.

If some one source of music, like Rhapsody or the iTunes Music Store, is in a situation where they realistically need to provide every bit of music the user might ask for, that’s Compuserve. If you can get one song here and another there, then put them together in a single playlist, that’s the internet.

Len Lynch and Dick Cheney on fusion

I didn’t think it was possible, but Len Lynch posted this comment in defense of fusion that actually pulls it off.

LOL. I think it’s interesting and funny that Jeff Beck (and Zappa) get kudos for fusion. Especially, when Lucas pans Return to Forever.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t disagree that “Wired” isn’t amazing. It’s been a while since I listened to it well, but one of the best things about this album is what Jan Hammer brings to it. Rocked-up jazz, Hammer knows how. I’m not taking *anything* away from Beck on this either. The two of them really make that album something special. The “jazz” part of the fusion is about the interaction. The “fusion” part, if anyone has that figured out, I’d like to hear it. I also really love Becks playing on “Blow by Blow” as well, but I see that album as a bit more experimental. Experimental in the way that Hendrix was inventing jazzier funk, wanting pop and soul to go new places… It’s the entry ramp toward a full-on embrace of electric jazz on “Wired”.

Jan Hammer is also very much key to the albums mentioned for the Mahavishnu Orchestra (MO). I like their “Inner Mounting Flame” album a lot. Mock away if you must, They’ve learned a lot about recording jazz violin since then ;) So now that you’ve guys have got me thinking about it, I need to rediscover Jan Hammer and those he has worked with… Thanks for that!

Since we’re on MO, don’t forget Billy Cobham’s “Spectrum”, Tommy Bolin brings it.

I don’t dislike Return to Forever, “Romantic Warrior” sticks for me, but I wanted to like it. The appeal of “chops porn” is specialized (and it says something about those of us that like aspects of it). I also have a soft spot for Clarke’s “School Days”. Color these guilty pleasures, but isn’t all jazz fusion a bit like that? Then there’s prog-rock, now there’s another post ripe for eye-rolling and “yeah, but”-ing.

OK, if you’re going to mock, you better back it up, be specific now, if it’s emotional, use good metaphors, etc…

I love early Pat Methany, but I have a hard time thinking of this as jazz fusion.

The Flecktones are amazing and possibly the only living jazz fusion group that has embraced “chops porn” and not let it devour them whole.

We have to mention Joni Mitchell’s embracing of fusion… And there’s that Jaco again contributing to her seduction. I love Jaco’s technique and approach. But “Hissing of Summer Lawns” is what started her down the jazzy path and is still my favorite since she branched out. Her “Miles of Asiles” live album is also great with Tom Scott’s LA Express (Robin Ford!) painting sound moods. So if we need a collective reason for dissin’ fusion, we can point to the seduction of Joni… Peace Joni!

Of course I don’t know anything anyway. So what’s your issue with fusion? I love that pop musicians embraced more jazz, and a few actually won. I love that jazz musicians embraced more pop and when they used restraint, we all won.

Len asks what my beef is, and he’s right. I do owe more than snooty posturing. So, to explain my position, I will paraphrase Dick Cheney’s comments on torturing terrorists. The following is what the former vice president of the united states would have said in defense of torturing jazz fusion artists, if it had been they who attacked us on September 11.

When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to [jazz rock fusion artist] than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to [people with ears], then I worry…. These are evil people. And we’re not going to win this fight by turning the other cheek.

If it hadn’t been for what we did—with respect to the…enhanced interrogation techniques for [jazz rock fusion artists]…—then we would have been attacked again. Those policies we put in place, in my opinion, were absolutely crucial to getting us through the last seven-plus years without a major-casualty [chops porn version of “Birdland”] on the US….

Now I’m really interested in Jan Hammer, BTW. I’m going to go track down more of his stuff. And not just to imprison it.

the jazz fusion challenge

Go ahead and name jazz fusion that you like, I dare you.

Here’s Victor Stone‘s list:

“Wired”

“Blow by Blow”

“Headhunters”

grand-daddy “Bitches Brew”

jaco pastorius

return to forever

all hold up pretty decent for me. pieces like “spain” and “birdland” have more than survived.

having said that, the dazzling stuff got annoying quick.

Warning: I am NOT promising that I will not mock you. For example, if you still think that Return To Forever is ok.

For myself, I’ll definitely buy in on the Jeff Beck. The Headhunters, ok, fair enough. Bitches Brew is IMO really not that great, but I realize that this may just be me. Jaco Pastorius whatever — see also Randy Rhodes. Birdland… I can’t even discuss it.

OTOH I still dig Steve Vai’s playing. Not that he’s fusion, just that he’s low concept + high execution.