Drumming in Place
R.I.P.Clyde Stubblefield. In the NYT piece, he was quoted "There was a factory there that puffed out air — pop-BOOM, pop-BOOM — hit the mountains and came back as an echo..." And train tracks — click-clack, click-clack. I listened to all that for six years, playing my drums against it.”
Musicians ears are naturally attuned to ambient rhythms in the environment. City environments are particularly rich in pitched elements such as squeaking brakes, car horns, and at stoplights--a Cagean symphony of car stereos. Ambient sounds in rural environments, such as the sounds of fast trains, are well known to have influenced many rhythms in folk and pop music. I call it "Window Music" because sounds outside sometimes blend in with what you're listening to inside, even if in your headphones.
Recordings are how the genetic (or epigenetic) code of music shapes cultural history, and takes the original hometown experience of the musician along with it. There's a "Chattanooga" in every Stubblefield sample.
Musicians ears are naturally attuned to ambient rhythms in the environment. City environments are particularly rich in pitched elements such as squeaking brakes, car horns, and at stoplights--a Cagean symphony of car stereos. Ambient sounds in rural environments, such as the sounds of fast trains, are well known to have influenced many rhythms in folk and pop music. I call it "Window Music" because sounds outside sometimes blend in with what you're listening to inside, even if in your headphones.
Recordings are how the genetic (or epigenetic) code of music shapes cultural history, and takes the original hometown experience of the musician along with it. There's a "Chattanooga" in every Stubblefield sample.
