Donald Satz wrote:

>If I remember correctly, Kevin Sutton originated this thread with a
>condemnation of the type of music that Oliveros produces.  I usually agree
>with Kevin's views, but not this time.  You can't listen to the music of
>folks like Oliveros and expect to hear traditional harmony, melody, and
>development.  One's ears must be ready for an entirely different musical
>experience dependent on flow, random selection, blocks of sound, etc.  Of
>course, this 'new' music is not initially familiar to us, but generations
>in the future may well find it a common style easy to understand.

I take Don's point, but, I was not condeming non-"traditional" music,
rather, I was condeming non-music.  I am sorry, but listening to one's
heartbeat and sending out good vibrations is NOT a musical expression.
It may be a spiritual one, and it may be a good thing for mankind, but it
AIN'T music.  Further, the random zipping and unzipping of a gig bag isn't
either.  If a composer can use extra-musical elements to create music (not
let the performers just make up anything on the spot) then I am all for it.
One of my favorite examples of this would be Alvin Curran's "Songs and
Views from the Magnetic Garden." He incorporates wind chimes and the hum of
high voltage powerlines to create a specific voice in the piece.  Bravo to
him.

I doubt that any future generation can take any reasonable definition
of a musical composition and plug in case zipping and plunger scraping
at random intervals and conclude that it's music.

>I am *not* a fan of Oliveros, but I applaud her creativity and search for
>new means of musical enrichment.  Kevin, most others, and even I do not
>purchase more than a minimal amount of 'new' music.  However, I maintain
>that those who do enjoy it have as much right as the rest of us to be able
>to obtain the music they prefer.  It's a big world with a wide variety of
>musical tastes that need to be satisfied.

No one said that they couldn't enjoy it.  But really now, what's to
enjoy about it? Can one really "enjoy" someone zipping their case open
and closed a bunch of times? Sorry, but that's noise.  I have no objection
to the avant garde.  Stockhausen's "Stimmung" and Swayne's "Cry" as well
as the above mentioned Curran piece are all faves of mine, but let's get
real here.  These aren't new age pieces of schlock.  They took some time
and thought and work on the part of the composer.  The examples in the
review I quoted earlier couldn't possibly have.

Kevin