Have Daft Punk 'Sold Out' or 'Cashed In'?

icedsushi · Post by **icedsushi** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 6:12 pm

Sold out...cashed in, what's the difference? Both choices A and B are about the $. This thread is beat. It's becoming a boring topic.

Here's a more interesting debate. Maybe the OP can draw up a poll?:

Vote. Which genre is coolest (and least associated with pop music)?

1.) underground EDM
2.) deep regressive meepyfloop
3.) tarnce

the ar · Post by **the ar** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:12 pm

llama_taboot wrote:Bangalter is talented no doubt about it, but like many have said, Daft Punk has always been borderline pop and definitely always as commercial as possible - even musically, hell, half of Daft Punk's songs are just a ripped out 70s break, add a little compression, throw on some vocoded vocals, presto.

Don't get me wrong, he is very good at making that specific Daft Punk sound (just because something is technically not that interesting doesn't mean anyone can do it - he has an awesome ear/feel for it), but Daft Punk isn't capable of "selling out" because Daft Punk was never edgy or underground -- Bangalter didn't suddenly chang his sound or do something different - DP has always been about fun, groovy bubblegum pop techno

Just to be precise, Daft Punk is ALSO Guy Manuel de Homem Cristo.
Not ONLY Bangalter.
And my first reply is STILL the BEST one of the thread.
Damn, I LOVE emphasizing with capital letters.

ohiowa · Post by **ohiowa** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:01 pm

simply put, daft punk is equal to kanye west in my eyes/ears. a good video does not a great band make. neither does annoying music...with certain exceptions.

el sangrios · Post by **el sangrios** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:32 pm

cashed in..

although people dissing DP should check out this video of an early live PA, before 'Homework'

It rocks, and a damn sight more interesting than hiding behind a laptop

http://www.fazed.org/video/view/?id=329

icedsushi · Post by **icedsushi** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:39 pm

He's still all hunched over something which you never get to see. Below the edge of the screen, he could be wanking on a mixer, synth, turntable, or his penis for all we know. Might as well be "rocking" a laptop, it could be that too...

Eh...I think sometimes, what's the difference really.

ChiDJ · Post by **ChiDJ** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:49 pm

and yet another pissing contest runs out of piss.

Let's get some beer!

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:57 pm

(I lifted DCross' credit card, this round's on Ableton.)

glub glub Daft Punk sucks glub glub

pulsoc · Post by **pulsoc** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 9:05 pm

More like "Sold out, cashed in, or drains nuts?"!!!!!!

God I am an angry man

dhilsabeck · Post by **dhilsabeck** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 9:29 pm

smartass303 wrote:They became Pop with their first Album.
I don't understand the fuzz everybody makes because something is not *underground*...
Justice isn't underground either, that doesn't make their music older or un-original or uncool.
Pop is just another Label we tend to put on everything, the fact that there is much more money involved makes ppl (bedroom *producer*) jealous all the time.

try to be that original,

303

Agreed. I love "pop" music. Not everything of course, but Michael Jackson? Prince? Even DP. Big budgets can kick out some good jams regardless of anyone's ethical qualms. And being "underground" is not synonymous with being cool.

And you "I liked their older stuff..." people: The Rolling Stones, Metallica, Phish, MMW, DP, Jay Z. Every genre has "sellouts" that alienate some faction of their original fan base. It's such a cliche. All the members of these groups are living large and don't EVER have to worry again about trading their hours for paying the bills. EVERY single industry has little annoying people that will try to devalue what you do and it's usually because of their own insecurity. As a fan, if you can't live with the direction your beloved band is going, stop complaining and listen to something else.

Plus, music's totally subjective so it's pointless to determine whether its an issue of integrity. The fact still remains that these guys are doing it as their OCCUPATION. And both DP and Kanye have franchises so they can do pretty much whatever they want and they'll still make plenty of cash. I mean, Kanye is pretty unabashed about using music as a vehicle for getting rich (!). They're expanding the fan base and getting people to the shows and keeping the franchises alive. Imagine how many new DP fans there will be because of this recent collab.

The REALITY of it all is that if you want to make music fulltime is that you will have to create strategies that will be profitable for your craft so you can wake up late, drink coffee, make music, eat, make more music, nap, eat, drink more coffee, make more music, sleep.

If that's what the sellouts do, I'm with the sellouts. All the purists can go whine about the good old days and integrity and their crappy jobs. I'd rather sleep in and make music all day.

rbmonosylabik · Post by **rbmonosylabik** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 9:18 pm

Bump

Just saw them live yesterday. I like their music a lot, and seeing such a great live show was really inspiring. I'd be lying if I said I don't want to get there sometime.

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 9:31 pm

I went out and bought one of their albums after this thread came out and digging their stuff on the radio for years. I have to say it's some of the most over compressed music in my collection. it's amazing the mileage they get out of a loop or two and a filter sweep, song after song. I'm really disappointed.

audio.android · Post by **audio.android** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:02 pm

You guys are getting too much into the technicalities of it all. It's all about the feel. Who cares that it's over-compressed? Who cares that they just repeat a 3-second sample for their entire song? They get the point across: Dance and be happy! And they do a much better job at communicating that emotion than most every other EDM group out there. That's why they are so popular.

About the Kanye song, read this interveiw:

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/f ... -daft-punk

If you read closely, DP had a request from Will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas to use one of their samples. They declined it. It's not just about money. They liked Kanye's song, so they cleared the sample.

rbmonosylabik · Post by **rbmonosylabik** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:07 pm

audio.android wrote:You guys are getting too much into the technicalities of it all. It's all about the feel. Who cares that it's over-compressed? Who cares that they just repeat a 3-second sample for their entire song? They get the point across: Dance and be happy! And they do a much better job at communicating that emotion than most every other EDM group out there. That's why they are so popular.

+1

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:13 pm

audio.android wrote:You guys are getting too much into the technicalities of it all. It's all about the feel. Who cares that it's over-compressed? Who cares that they just repeat a 3-second sample for their entire song? They get the point across: Dance and be happy! And they do a much better job at communicating that emotion than most every other EDM group out there. That's why they are so popular.

b-b-b-but that's how I FEEL about it, I'm not feeling them. when I dance I NEED variation, something interesting to move to, not the same thing over and over again.

compression kills dynamics, dynamics are emotion. I put the CD on and it's feels like I'm being beat over the head in very tight lock step thump thump thump thump. I even WANTED to like that album, when I'd hear Around The World in the car, I'd crank it and put the windows down.

we all make music and I'm sure we all dissect music as we listen. part of me says it's GREAT that they get mileage out of a loop, good lesson to be had, the other part of me says they're professionals with talent and toys that could do more.

just my opinion. I've been trying to get into the album more and more but sadly yesterday it was taken from the CD player in the car.

overuse of compression is a major complaint of music today and generally considered bad form in the production community.

great band, cool tunes, just not a personal favorite.

audio.android · Post by **audio.android** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 12:00 am

Which album were you listening to? Because I'm not really a fan of Human After All. But Discovery, on the other hand, is like sweet sweet love.

I do agree that overcompression is stupid, and that it is a serious problem in modern music. But to me that doesn't really apply to Daft Punk... because that's the sound they are going for. The actual PUMPING in the music. It gets your body moving. It It's the brickwalled Alt-Rock tracks that really annoys me.

At any rate, for a great article about the history of overcompression in the music industry, check this out:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/aug07/5429