Date: Wed, 14 Feb 1996 13:13:40 +1030 From: Grant.Schwarz@DSTO.DEFENCE.GOV.AU Subject: A Postmodern HNIA The following article was found at CTHEORY and may be of interest. CTHEORY is an international, electronic review of books on theory, technology and culture -- What is the state of musical postmodernism today? In North America the trend toward self-conscious eclecticism in popular and art music has been increasing exponentially. John Zorn's "Naked City" band pioneered the art of genre dislocation, American-style, on their self-titled first CD. Zorn's group ran through a series of outrageously fast-paced slices from American musical culture (punk, jazz, film music, country, show tunes, minimalism), all presented in a splice-and-dice formal montage that left the listener dazed and confused. An anti-unification, heterogenization process was underway, one which attempted to undermine the self-styled legitimacy of the so- called American avant-garde, and at the same time disrupted the complacency of the American jazz and pop communities. The trend toward musical extremism (extreme tempos, extreme noise, extreme quiet) and musical heterogeneity (formal irrationality, stylistic incongruity) pointed to a profound break with the structural unity of the modernist era. In Europe, on the other hand, the line between art and popular culture has always been more clearly defined. The state of modernism always looming near, both culturally and aesthetically, the music of European composers has remained fairly monolithic, even when dallying with postmodern consciousness. Witness the Neo-Romantic movement, which is now taking Europe by hurricane: Gorecki; Taverner; Arvo Part. The concerns here uniformly emphasize style homogenization, formal coherence, and aesthetic elegance. At their best the European postmoderns achieve a type of ecstatic musical time travel (Part - "Stabat Mater", Gorecki - "Symphony No. 3"). At their worst they indulge in a series of vulgar cliches presented in a American-style pastiche (Taverner - "The Darkening Veil"). In contemporary European pop culture (i.e. basically British pop culture) the essential concern has been similar to that of the above- mentioned Neo-Romantic statement. This has been generally true of both prog rock (Pink Floyd et al), and to a certain extent post-punk (U2 et al). In the past few years however a healthy pluralism has been tentatively brewing in English musical culture. A new wave of British composers/musicians has been working steadily to break down the artificial boundaries between art culture and popular music. Working with unusual ensembles that draw from a variety of traditions (the Michael Nyman band for instance mixes instrumentation and styles from pre-classical Western music, jazz and American minimalism), these artists are attempting to forge a genuine postmodernism from a British perspective. One of the most intriguing offerings in this aesthetic realm is Mouth By Mouth, the third recording produced by "his name is alive," an ensemble comprising a weird variation on the power trio (guitar/samples, cello, and drums). Not surprisingly (considering their English roots), the sound world of "his name is alive" is more arty and less ironic than the deeply American Zorn. The curious thing about Mouth By Mouth is its "almost normal" quality: straight pop tunes which feel a little wrong. A dropped beat here and there (on "Baby Fish Mouth"), drastic changes in tempo at unusual moments (throughout the CD), mutations of the verse-chorus pop song format ("Sort Of"), insertions of erroneously placed samples (Balinese gamelan in the middle of a pseudo-heavy metal song), all lead the listener into a drugged state of consciousness (the listening experience is comparable to jet lag). To complete the surreal picture the female vocalist sings in a breathy Julie Cruise voice, "do you know the smell of your own face?... will you eat the world?... gone to a place that's rotten... feast on what's in the way." The ordering of pieces on Mouth By Mouth also contributes to an overall sense of dislocation and heterogeneity. However, whereas Zorn radically mixes genre within single pieces, "his name is alive" has the tendency to move from one style to another on a more macro level. The result makes the CD feel like one long piece rather than a collection of short pop songs. Not unlike a concept album in delivery, but with the distanced cold gaze of British post-punk, Mouth By Mouth ranges through affectations of just about everything imaginable, with the band stopping at points to sing lovely little ditties such as "Lord, Make Me A Channel Of Your Piece" with such expression that you almost think they are serious. A subtle sense of affective progression leads us to the next point, moving us through emotional ranges almost unnoticed. A slight orchestrational change here and there, a background sample slowly moved to the foreground and suddenly the emotional context has completely altered within an apparently static musical background. These techniques of musical/emotional progression and large-scale heterogeneity give "his name is alive" a theoretical depth which sets them apart from the musical naivety of most of the British post-punk scene. With Mouth By Mouth they have also managed to articulate a statement for European postmodernism which points in a radically different direction from that of the European Post-Romantics. Moving away from both classical formal models and the pop song format, they are consciously working in a state of ecstatic musical confusion, in a space where the boundaries are simultaneously uncertain and exhilarating. On Mouth By Mouth "his name is alive" have carved out a unique musical niche, presenting the listener with some distinctive new insights into the possibilities of European genre eclecticism. Their theoretical incisiveness combined with with their instrumental and technological fluidity, makes Mouth By Mouth one of those rare popular releases which actually endure multiple listenings. Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 22:27:58 PST From: "Martin A. HOYT" (MAHOYT@UCI.EDU) Subject: Re: A Postmodern HNIA The author of this essay intends to use HNIA as an example of a "British composer/musican" which is breaking down "artificial boundaries between art culture and popular music". He/she/they even contrast HNIA to the "deeply American Zorn". I guess the fact that the music was created by an American slightly undermines the arguement the author is trying to make about "European genre eclecticism". Oh boy, I had a good laugh over this one. Who is this guy's editor? Martin mahoyt@uci.edu Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 06:47:59 -0500 From: arbogast (larry@INTERLOG.COM) Subject: HNIA (you know, that band from England) Wow. A whole in-depth analysis based on an incorrect assumption. Maybe Warren Demouthbreather and co. should become British citizens, just so all of this makes sense. I can see how being signed to a UK label can lead to this sort of misunderstanding, but at the same time, building a critique based on that misunderstanding (even though the author points out, ironically, how different they are from British and European post-punk postmodernists)...it's a howler like the New York Times article that referred to "Irish singer Morrissey and Australian singer Kate Bush". Larry, who has heard "Born Slippy" and wishes he hadn't