The DAW is dead

Discuss anything related to audio or music production.
Angstrom
Posts: 14921
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2004 2:22 pm
Contact:

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by Angstrom » Tue Jul 12, 2016 10:39 am

Machinesworking wrote:what isn't played out? that's the bigger question.
I can't truthfully say I've heard anything groundbreaking or truly new in years.
Mostly once new innovations in hardware happen some new music comes out, after that it's just sub genres of the same old. Then imo what matters is whether the song itself is good, not the genre etc.
These are very interesting points. Specifically to my own music and the way I've always worked, because novelty is subjective. The pleasure of discovering something new is about the listener's subjective experience of it as "new". That's a problem for me.

My whole life I've wanted to do something slightly different than whatever other people were doing. I think that has been a mistake. I mean, I enjoyed the act of creation, the part where I make something innovative. That is the satisfying thing for me, as the creator. That unfortunate path leads into the sound-artist-experimental-jazz woods, where nobody goes. That is a problem, a big problem!

I was thinking about the phrase "the comedian's comedian". It is usually applied to a person who has struck an idiosyncratic path which doesnt appeal to audiences as much as it does with comedians. They are sick of "hacky" setup-punchline formulas, they strike out into weird territory, often "unfunny' . Other comedians love them because other comedians understand the weariness and disdain of tropes which has led to this point.
It's a comedian making art for other comedians. Most comedians LOVE "The Day the laughter Died" by Dice Clay. An album of him bombing hard, on purpose.

Meanwhile, comedy audiences actually LIKE cheesy crowdwork. Audiences love a good setup & punchline with a well established premise, etc. It only needs to be very slightly different to be "innovative" comedy. The comedian's comedian is not to their taste. They want things which make them laugh. Jokes. Stuff which they can relate to.

The same is true for techno, and music in general.
If it's new and exciting to the audience, that's good enough for the audience. And they decide value.

It's a topic I think about a lot. The tendency to make music "for yourself" becomes a big problem as time goes on. The idea of pandering to the audience with ideas I first discovered in 1992 seems very unappealing . My personality type is of investigating, discovering the new, novelty, inventing and creating. I make music for me! It's a big problem because of who "me" is. Me is an old guy now. Me has heard a fucking hell of a lot of techno.

Consequently I cannot make techno anymore.
The world keeps turning.

Forge.
Posts: 5828
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2009 2:16 pm
Location: Earth
Contact:

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by Forge. » Tue Jul 12, 2016 11:58 am

Ha :lol: < I've missed that emoticon

Sometimes I read your posts and feel like they should finish with "Just like that!" and a fez emoticon.

Sounds like your scene is "show biz", and techno was only ever a bit player.
Angstom wrote:That unfortunate path leads into the sound-artist-experimental-jazz woods, where nobody goes. That is a problem, a big problem!
Implicit in this problem is the importance of "where nobody goes".

Angstrom
Posts: 14921
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2004 2:22 pm
Contact:

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by Angstrom » Tue Jul 12, 2016 12:12 pm

hmm, perhaps I didn't explain myself well enough then.
The bit I like is the making part. And the bit of the making I like is the invention part.
that doesn't really result in "enjoyable for the audience" which is what is the important part.

Forge.
Posts: 5828
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2009 2:16 pm
Location: Earth
Contact:

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by Forge. » Tue Jul 12, 2016 1:13 pm

Ha, no you just wrote too much — take that from a pro.

I missed most of your post due to... attention economy and all that, but second time I read that point about it being about making the music, and I think it is the same thing... the big "Why" we bother doing it at all. My guess is that it mostly stems back to testosterone prior to procreation.

H20nly
Posts: 16057
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 9:15 pm
Location: The Wild West

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by H20nly » Tue Jul 12, 2016 6:17 pm

i make music because... my dick.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnzYG0ZkrXg

beats me
Posts: 23319
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:39 pm

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by beats me » Tue Jul 12, 2016 6:27 pm

I’m just going to shoehorn this into this discussion. Do kids either seek out or appreciate musicianship these days? All the top music is either EDM electronica, pop electronica, or hip hop electronica. It all screams MADE BY A COMPUTER. We have 2 or 3 local terrestrial radio stations that play nothing but that. All other stations fall under “classic….” or talk radio. :?

I went to a local bar the other night and it was dumb. All the music being played on the on-demand jukebox was hyper super saw EDM anthems. At a bar that has "Blues" in the name I might add. :x

Tarekith
Posts: 19065
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2005 11:46 pm
Location: Ableton Forum Administrator
Contact:

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by Tarekith » Tue Jul 12, 2016 7:09 pm

I think musicianship has been replaced by producership, which isn't always a bad thing. Historically it was musicians doing something different that stood out to people. Maybe we've hit the point where on our own with acoustic instruments being super damn good at it just isn't impressive anymore. Take someone with 70% those skills but some crazy good sound design on top, and you catch people's attention though.
Tarekith
Ableton Forum Administrator
https://tarekith.com

lowshelf
Posts: 483
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2011 7:35 pm
Location: UK

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by lowshelf » Tue Jul 12, 2016 9:36 pm

beats me wrote:At a bar that has "Blues" in the name I might add. :x
:twisted:

Image

Forge.
Posts: 5828
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2009 2:16 pm
Location: Earth
Contact:

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by Forge. » Wed Jul 13, 2016 8:31 am

lol

H20nly
Posts: 16057
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 9:15 pm
Location: The Wild West

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by H20nly » Wed Jul 13, 2016 7:25 pm

:lol:

doghouse
Posts: 1450
Joined: Fri Aug 29, 2008 5:30 pm

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by doghouse » Wed Jul 13, 2016 7:42 pm

What is this thread about? :roll:

H20nly
Posts: 16057
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 9:15 pm
Location: The Wild West

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by H20nly » Wed Jul 13, 2016 7:44 pm

various uses of spreadsheets.

Forge.
Posts: 5828
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2009 2:16 pm
Location: Earth
Contact:

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by Forge. » Wed Jul 13, 2016 9:36 pm

this thread is a spread sheet.

steko
Posts: 3411
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2009 8:29 pm

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by steko » Wed Jul 13, 2016 10:10 pm

Image
Rahad Jackson wrote:My Awesome Mix Tape #6

mickmike
Posts: 192
Joined: Thu Jul 15, 2010 8:02 pm

Re: The DAW is dead

Post by mickmike » Fri Jul 15, 2016 7:37 am

Yes Angstrom, their is millions of ' techno ' tunes made everyday. Most of which are just toss. Painting by numbers music. Point and click. Edm ?, don't make me laugh. Hardly even music, just a very bad formula. This goes back to my initial thread. The formula is followed on the DAW. So thereby the DAW is dead, and so is techno that is made upon it. However.....original techno was experimental, organic, didn't follow the formula of today, or ruled by the DAW. A paradox for sure, that something so great has become so shit. But you have to cut through all the bloated, fatty, shit blubber to get to the heart

Post Reply