[microsound] Exit Through the Gift Shop

Tue Feb 15 18:55:03 EST 2011

the british free party scene in the late 80's/1990's is perhaps similar to banksy's visual 'temporary autonomous zone', although it lacks the direct political commentary of some of banksy's work. although having said that, there is a bit of a backlash here in the uk re banksy's TAZ since it now seems more like marketing for sales of his work. which some people view as ironic given his political stance (perhaps doubly so since the film pokes fun at ignorant people out to grab some 'street art' from monsier brainwash or whatever he's called in the film - does this mirror the airhead celebs who buy banksy's work for big bucks?) . 

maybe all those critical people are just cynical though. 

some bands (like the libertines) 'pioneered' guerilla gigs in the 1990's, playing in people's living rooms, see youtube. but maybe this has always been the case, for example folk musicians playing gigs in small venues for low/no fee. (was it Thelonious Monk who told Bob Dylan that 'surely we're all folk musicians'.) 

--- On Tue, 2/15/11, greg hooper <greghpr at yahoo.com.au> wrote:

From: greg hooper <greghpr at yahoo.com.au>
Subject: Re: [microsound] Exit Through the Gift Shop
To: microsound at microsound.org
Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 10:39 PM

I did a bunch of stuff years ago - early 80s - where I took cassettes - those were the tech back then :)  and manipulated the  contents so that the cassette gradually changed throughout the entire length. eg From initially a simple intervention - faint phone ringing in the background, through playing a solo along with Perry Como's band through to asynchronous loops of the material going off on its own path to form multiple complex layers. Then I smuggled the manipulated cassettes - in the original shells and packaging - back into the stores for resale.
I started doing similar for rented videos - the idea was to recut scenes and insert ads taped off TV (I figured people would barely notice an inserted ad as we are all so
 conditioned to watching them within programs). Unfortunately I couldn't get enough access to video editing  -in those days editing suites were very 'exclusive'
 www.greg-hooper.com

From: Steven Ricks <stevericksmusic at gmail.com>
To: microsound at microsound.org
Sent: Wed, 16 February, 2011 2:16:34 AM
Subject: Re: [microsound] Exit Through the Gift Shop

Thanks Bernhard,

I'm interested in the latter--the "urban intervention" as you say.  I was trying to imagine creating and then
 anonymously installing some sort of sound producing device/apparatus in a public space that would contribute to the overall sound environment in the way the Banksy et al pieces contribute to the visual environment.  I imagine it has been done in places but I'm only aware of some of the "sanctioned" sound installations.  There are some obvious challenges above and beyond what the visual artists face, including cost, perceptibility, and perhaps perceived security issues even more present in our world today that would drastically cut short the life of an unattended unidentified electronic/mechanical device.  Anyway . . . any other thoughts/info out there . . . ?

On Tue, Feb 15, 2011 at 3:41 AM, Bernhard Living <bernhard.living at me.com> wrote:

Dear Steven
Historically, there has alway been a close relationship between graffiti and so called urban music. In the US this would be hip hop, and in the UK it would be drum’n’bass and dub-step. Or are you asking if there is an equivalent in terms of making an urban intervention using sounds? If so, then it’s an interesting question to ask. The placing of speakers, playback devices and power sources would be something of an issue though. However, one can go and capture sounds from a location, and use these sounds for sample-based compositions, and then virally infect any public sound systems.

 There is an interesting documentation of sounds here at the British Library as part of the UK Sound Map; http://sounds.bl.uk/uksoundmap/index.aspx

Regards,

Bernhard LivingOn 15 Feb 2011, at 05:51, Steven Ricks wrote:

Forgive me if I missed any discussion on the topic below--I don't recall seeing anything . . . 
I know I'm a bit late on this, but I just watched Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop and found it interesting and thought provoking.  It raised the following question(s) in my mind:

What is or would be the musical equivalent of "Street Art" as presented in the film?Are the media too different to find close analogs? (Is it a worthwhile question?)
SR

-- 
Steven Ricks
Composer
Associate Professor, BYU School of Music
(801) 422-6115
www.stevericks.com

CD's
Mild Violence
http://www.bridgerecords.com/catpage.php?call=9256

Extreme Measures
http://www.albanyrecords.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AR&Product_Code=TROY1217-18

Sonic Images
http://www.capstonerecords.org/CPS-8712.html

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-- 
Steven Ricks
Composer
Associate Professor, BYU School of Music
(801) 422-6115
www.stevericks.com

CD's
Mild Violence
http://www.bridgerecords.com/catpage.php?call=9256

Extreme Measures
http://www.albanyrecords.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AR&Product_Code=TROY1217-18

Sonic Images
http://www.capstonerecords.org/CPS-8712.html

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