Tiki Music Defined - Tiki Music

E emspace Member Vancouver Joined: Jan 05, 2003 Posts: 879	E emspace Posted posted on Tue, Oct 18, 2011 10:08 AM One final remark on the subject of rock music in general, sort of a preemptive strike if you will. Before anyone throws "rock and roll is idiot noise? What about Zappa?" at me, three things: Eno called it idiot noise. If a genius celeb can do that, why not little ol' me? When you point out the one in a million exception to the rule, you only strengthen my argument. Anyway I knew dozens of kids from jazz college who were as talented and skillful as Zappa when in their early twenties. But there ya go: they played jazz, where that is expected of them. In rock, you can play a one-note drone on a length of gut stretched over a pig's anus and be thought jaw-droppingly brilliant. You should have the forthrightness to admit that you like rock BECAUSE it's stupid. Rock appeals to the suspended-adolescent i.e. stupid part of you. Frankly, you do rock and its entire history a grave disservice when you argue against this. So there in a nutshell is MY problem with rock and its inclusion in Tiki. When you hear Hawaiian music and exotica, you are hearing real chops and real compositional skill and talent and an obvious love of sheer beauty; you are hearing the musical AND CULTURAL aesthetics of a bygone era - the era of Tiki. When you hear punk and all this surf-punk or rockabilly-punk, you are hearing snotty, cynical, adolescent rebellion noise of the late 1970s/early 80s, created and performed with a will to enrage, agitate and irritate. It is every bit as archaic a musical form as exotica, but persists because a lot of people tend to cleave to the music of their adolescence well into adulthood - far past a point when it is seemly IMO, if it means having to watch middle-aged dufuses with bellies and gray hair in the mosh pit. And there it is! Argue all you want; the fact remains that the only argument you have is "I wanted it to change to match my taste, so I made it change", which as an argument just reeks of MEMEMEMEMEMEME!!! But again, as always: do what you gotta do and enjoy. You know, go placidly amid the noise and haste and all that crap. :)

One final remark on the subject of rock music in general, sort of a preemptive strike if you will. Before anyone throws "rock and roll is idiot noise? What about Zappa?" at me, three things:

Eno called it idiot noise. If a genius celeb can do that, why not little ol' me?
When you point out the one in a million exception to the rule, you only strengthen my argument. Anyway I knew dozens of kids from jazz college who were as talented and skillful as Zappa when in their early twenties. But there ya go: they played jazz, where that is expected of them. In rock, you can play a one-note drone on a length of gut stretched over a pig's anus and be thought jaw-droppingly brilliant.
You should have the forthrightness to admit that you like rock BECAUSE it's stupid. Rock appeals to the suspended-adolescent i.e. stupid part of you. Frankly, you do rock and its entire history a grave disservice when you argue against this.

So there in a nutshell is MY problem with rock and its inclusion in Tiki. When you hear Hawaiian music and exotica, you are hearing real chops and real compositional skill and talent and an obvious love of sheer beauty; you are hearing the musical AND CULTURAL aesthetics of a bygone era - the era of Tiki. When you hear punk and all this surf-punk or rockabilly-punk, you are hearing snotty, cynical, adolescent rebellion noise of the late 1970s/early 80s, created and performed with a will to enrage, agitate and irritate. It is every bit as archaic a musical form as exotica, but persists because a lot of people tend to cleave to the music of their adolescence well into adulthood - far past a point when it is seemly IMO, if it means having to watch middle-aged dufuses with bellies and gray hair in the mosh pit.

And there it is! Argue all you want; the fact remains that the only argument you have is "I wanted it to change to match my taste, so I made it change", which as an argument just reeks of MEMEMEMEMEMEME!!! But again, as always: do what you gotta do and enjoy. You know, go placidly amid the noise and haste and all that crap. :)

Post #610567 by emspace on Tue, Oct 18, 2011 10:08 AM