Minimalism

Hello,

I hate minimalism.

How do you feel about it?

Well, I really like it actually. I haven't listened to too much of it really, but I really like John Adam's stuff.

Hello,

Hate is a strong word for an art.

How do you feel about taking from it what you think is worthwhile, such as a rhythmic complexity that's at the very least interesting, and discard what you don't think is worthwhile, like its harmonic stasis?

I wouldn't go around saying you hate entire musical styles. I used to "hate" all music from the classical period, until I actually took the time to listen to a wider variety. I discovered that not all of it is crap.

Minimalism is pretty varied. In general, I like Adams more than Glass, Reich, or Young (although I really haven't heard much Reich).

[youtube=6aAwsMAksmE]Arvo P

I hate minimalism.

Well, I don't really hate it (at least not in the same way I hate pop music), but I just dislike it immensely. Although I must say I'm sort of intrigued by the uncompromising nature of early hardcore minimalism (e.g., Four Organs by Steve Reich or Music in Twelve Parts by Philip Glass and of course Lamonte Young's early stuff, which was actually influenced by Webernian serialism). Too bad that over the years, minimalism has developed in the direction of utterly uninteresting and conventional earcandy, despite its early potential of becoming an aesthetic that's actually interesting...

Philip Glass keeps producing the same excruciatingly simplistic, boring and mindnumbing garbage he's been churning out since Satyagraha, thereby turning his whole life into a piece of minimalism - not only does his music have minimal substance, as a composer he shows minimal progress and artistic development as well, repeating himself over and over again and not just in his music.

Reich's music suffers the same fate as Glass', albeit to a lesser degree. Like Glass, Reich reached his creative peak in the 1970s when he wrote Music for 18 musicians and sadly enough, he's never written anything as good and inspired since then. Some of his later pieces are pretty decent, though (Different Trains for instance), but not quite on the same level as 18. So on the whole, Reich hasn't showed much artistic development since the 1980s either.

And then there's John Adams, a clever craftsman, but nothing more than that. He knows how to steal from other composers and combine it all into one effective showpiece and that alone impresses some people, but not me. I think Adams' music is highly derivative, unoriginal, bombastic and not groundbreaking at all.

Hello,

I hate minimalism.

How do you feel about it?

LOL...you hate it?

I think minimalism is pretty nice. I've grown to like it more anyway I used to not care much for it though.

RJ: That's some mindblowing stuff.

...This guy is insane...

I find phasing really interesting because there are often more sounds heard than seem to actually be played.

Sorry everyone.

I tend to do things on impulse like that.

I was in a bad mood.

I suppose hate is a strong word, although I think that the minimalism that I have heard is quite cheesy.

Do you like my picture? :w00t:

I like Yann Tiersen's work a lot (or at least the Amelie pieces). Would he be considered a minimalist?

I don't like it, but not as much as rap... oh jesus don't get me started on that crap.

Some minimalism is so stupid though. Like there's this piece called 4 minutes 33 seconds or something. There's this guy who sits by a piano for previously mentioned alloted time, not doing anything, ANYTHING, no noise. And people call that music?? It's not, it's turd.

*awaits coming shitstorm*

I recommend you search the forums for discussions pertaining to 4 33, or read up a little on it - try and understand its meaning and purpose. I'm not saying you have to approve, jsut understand before bashing :)

Welcome to the forum btw :D

PS: (John Cage =/= minimalism, or at least he's not generally associated with composers like Steve Reich, Philip Glass, John Adams who characterise the genre, though his work may have minimalistic elements)

Mark is very much right. Cage did actually intend a meaning for 4'33", and he did not just "write" it for shock value or anything like that. It's very ironically postmodernist - try looking up the significance behind it. I don't like it, I don't consider it to be "musical", but I don't think it's right to bash it without being aware of what its significance actually is. (Oh, and by the way, complete silence is not necessary. Background noise is actually very much a part of the composition, and part of what Cage wanted people the focus on.)

And...as Mark said, that isn't minimalism.

I don't like it, but not as much as rap... oh jesus don't get me started on that crap.

Some minimalism is so stupid though. Like there's this piece called 4 minutes 33 seconds or something. There's this guy who sits by a piano for previously mentioned alloted time, not doing anything, ANYTHING, no noise. And people call that music?? It's not, it's turd.

Lol..do you like being raped brutally? Some people here rape people who say suff about 4'33'' or the rite..or in my case Mahler. So watch out ..and welcome to the forums.

Ok, i'm gonna look it up, I guess there's more to it than meets the eye then?

EDIT: right, looked it up in wikipedia, something about it being impossible to have total silence in the environment, and it is all about listening to sounds in the environment around the performer than the performer him/her self actually playing. Still don't like it though.

Mark is very much right. Cage did actually intend a meaning for 4'33", and he did not just "write" it for shock value or anything like that. It's very ironically postmodernist - try looking up the significance behind it. I don't like it, I don't consider it to be "musical", but I don't think it's right to bash it without being aware of what its significance actually is. (Oh, and by the way, complete silence is not necessary. Background noise is actually very much a part of the composition, and part of what Cage wanted people the focus on.)

And...as Mark said, that isn't minimalism.

See, I take a much more punk view of Cage. Shock value was definitely a factor in Cage's music. Maybe not shock value, but ridiculous extremism; which is sort of expected since he was taught by Schoenberg, who's a pretty textbook expressionist.

Don't forget its indeterminate length. And I'd argue that it's the second most minimalist work, next to the Beatles' (or is it just Lennon's?) 60 seconds of silence, simply since there is no sound or action at all. His interest in gamelan's also pretty minimalistic. His work in random words, recorded poetry, and his collaboration with Sun Ra all could be considered minimalist.

Which is to say that genres are a bad way to think about music. It helps a bit, it orients you to a specific listening of a record. But it isn't sufficient.

I don't think Cage being shortly taught by Sch

I don't like it, but not as much as rap... oh jesus don't get me started on that crap.

Some minimalism is so stupid though. Like there's this piece called 4 minutes 33 seconds or something. There's this guy who sits by a piano for previously mentioned alloted time, not doing anything, ANYTHING, no noise. And people call that music?? It's not, it's turd.

You won't last very long on these forums with that kind of attitude. Try to troll a little less, mkay? kthxbai!

Man there's this guy called Beethoven, I think, and he wrote some sonatas for piano! What the gently caress, you mean people actually PLAY the piano using their FINGERS? People call this music???? It's not, it's turd!

(BTW, "it's not, it's turd!" is so hilarious I may be using it more in the future, thx.)

4'33" is actually probably my favorite piece by Cage...

Aren't I entitled to my opinion? You can like 4"33" for all I care, I just don't like it.

Some minimalism is pretty smart and sophisticated though.

Aren't I entitled to my opinion? You can like 4"33" for all I care, I just don't like it.

Some minimalism is pretty smart and sophisticated though.

You can think whatever you want. Just try to use a little more tact and respect in the future because otherwise you can come off as a belligerent, close-minded, donkey.

Yeah, sorry...

my remarks were a bit shallow. I can assure you my posts are hardly ever like that. :D

Yeah, sorry...

my remarks were a bit shallow. I can assure you my posts are hardly ever like that. :D

Aru? :blink:

A sincere apology over the interwebs?! Can it be?!

Well, apology accepted. You didn't offend me personally but there are plenty of people on this forum that would be offended by such remarks. It's sort of my goal to warn all the n00bs how things work around here. ;)