Sinister: I'm thin I'm cool I'm a piece of wire

[Emanuel Brown]

On Thu, 21 Jan 1999 09:57:16   Corpora Arenacea wrote:

>Someday someone will explain the lure of "lo-fi" as well.

Well, let's see. The "lure of lo-fi" as you put it lies in the combination of Do-It-Yourself ethics, artistic expressive freedom, and probably most important, inheirent low cost. Although for some, it's probably just a hipster prop device.

I have been doing quite a bit of work on a four-track recorder lately, one of those cassette jobs that has four inputs and a mini mixing deck on it. With this unassuming little apparatus, I record anything and everything that strikes my fancy. From street noise below to my neighbor's frenzied early morning sex above, I have a plethora of funny and unusual sounds that I will then incorporate into my "serious" musical attempts. Not quite like William Burrough's cut-ups. This can be alot of fun or a flaming disaster, still there's a certain satisfaction in attempting to create something new or at least personal. And I think that's what certain indie rockers went for when they released some of the most disjointed, unpolished music ever produced and somehow it seemed more honest 'cause it was all fucked up. Unfortunately, this didn't last too long and soon you had all these jackasses running around trying to be the nerxt Daniel Johnston.

The point is, its a process, that's all. Take it or leave it. You are your own boss and you can really do some cool stuff if you can geek out a little bit and figure out new techniques. The work itself is often its own reward, with a certain degree of instant gratification involved. For instance, I've been recording a series of songs lately. I have some musical genius friends in Chapel Hill, NC and so I'll send them a cassette with my stuff on it and they'll add to it, remix it, or whatever they like and send it back. In this way we can continue to share ideas and influences on the cheap over long distances.

I hope that helps. My father used to do something similar back in the late 60's with an 8-track reel-to-reel. Wow! I'd love one of those. As for the geek look, I can't go for it. I detest plaid and I don't need glasses. Besides, I've spent a large part of my life cultivating a certain distance between myself and the beautiful people. They make my skin crawl.

Oh, if you want a great example of lo-fi done right, check out Portastatic, Mac McCaughan of Superchunk/Merge Records fame at his Brian Eno best. The first album, 'I hope your heart is not brittle' is absolutely beautiful with a dark sadness that i never knew was in the man. PS: Magnetic Fields? I love Stephin Merrit's music too. He's one weird little guy, have you ever talked to him?

emanuel
x o x o


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