I really loved this series, thank you for putting it together. The story of the drum was very cool; it’s so fascinating all the little parts and innovations that went in to making something beautiful. And thank you for the intro to Nick Drake, I think I will have to give him a further listen, I liked the song you shared.
And thank you Jenn for the kind and thoughtful observations throughout. I'm really glad you and some other people enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Oh yes....if you are unfamiliar with Nick Drake you are in for a treat. He only made three albums. I would recommend Five Leaves Left (his debut) to start. Probably my favourite for its consistency, but every Nick Drake devotee has their own preference.
Renewable Lethargy- I particularly love this part: "3) The technology of music compression algorithms and file-sharing and downloading; which was in turn enabled by the explosion of the worldwide web and widely available broadband architecture to consumers." It conveys so much of what's going on right now and explains why things are a certain way in music. Enjoyed this. Hope you're well this week? Cheers, -Thalia
Thank you for the lovely comments! I know I covered a lot of bases with the series, and it is a bit niche - especially for people a couple of decades younger than me who weren't even around for most of what is covered in the first couple of parts :) . But I am glad that readers like yourself found something to enjoy in the overall piece. And it helped me to get a whole load of thoughts and theories finally crystallised and written down.
This has been an excellent series of essays. Great writing and an excellent perspective on the state of modern music and how we got here.
Your story about the drums in the stairwell reminds me of Martin Hannett allegedly insisting on Joy Division’s drum parts being recorded on the studio rooftop. That story may or may not be true, but they definitely developed new and interesting sounds by experimenting and innovating with the equipment available.
Necessity led to creative solutions that aren’t predictable. Strange to think a creative engineer like Hannett might not be valued or even given a chance in today’s environment.
Thanks for the kind comments. Yes, the engineers of the past have been a very unsung part of that creative process, in my view. So much so that it seems that the distinctive sonic characteristics of many artists' output has certainly been in many cases attributed solely to the producer, when it was very much a more collaborative process. Alan Parsons is a great case in point. If you read or watch interviews about the making of The Dark Side of the Moon for example, it is clear that his input was massive in the sonic palette of that record and many other very familiar albums from the era. And I am sure that would apply in the case Martin Hannett. Those albums were massively influential of course.
I really loved this series, thank you for putting it together. The story of the drum was very cool; it’s so fascinating all the little parts and innovations that went in to making something beautiful. And thank you for the intro to Nick Drake, I think I will have to give him a further listen, I liked the song you shared.
And thank you Jenn for the kind and thoughtful observations throughout. I'm really glad you and some other people enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Oh yes....if you are unfamiliar with Nick Drake you are in for a treat. He only made three albums. I would recommend Five Leaves Left (his debut) to start. Probably my favourite for its consistency, but every Nick Drake devotee has their own preference.
Renewable Lethargy- I particularly love this part: "3) The technology of music compression algorithms and file-sharing and downloading; which was in turn enabled by the explosion of the worldwide web and widely available broadband architecture to consumers." It conveys so much of what's going on right now and explains why things are a certain way in music. Enjoyed this. Hope you're well this week? Cheers, -Thalia
Thank you for the lovely comments! I know I covered a lot of bases with the series, and it is a bit niche - especially for people a couple of decades younger than me who weren't even around for most of what is covered in the first couple of parts :) . But I am glad that readers like yourself found something to enjoy in the overall piece. And it helped me to get a whole load of thoughts and theories finally crystallised and written down.
This has been an excellent series of essays. Great writing and an excellent perspective on the state of modern music and how we got here.
Your story about the drums in the stairwell reminds me of Martin Hannett allegedly insisting on Joy Division’s drum parts being recorded on the studio rooftop. That story may or may not be true, but they definitely developed new and interesting sounds by experimenting and innovating with the equipment available.
Necessity led to creative solutions that aren’t predictable. Strange to think a creative engineer like Hannett might not be valued or even given a chance in today’s environment.
Thanks for the kind comments. Yes, the engineers of the past have been a very unsung part of that creative process, in my view. So much so that it seems that the distinctive sonic characteristics of many artists' output has certainly been in many cases attributed solely to the producer, when it was very much a more collaborative process. Alan Parsons is a great case in point. If you read or watch interviews about the making of The Dark Side of the Moon for example, it is clear that his input was massive in the sonic palette of that record and many other very familiar albums from the era. And I am sure that would apply in the case Martin Hannett. Those albums were massively influential of course.