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Shaggy Snodgrass's avatar

Oh boy. Lmao. Talk about a deep ol' rabbithole. I think when we talk about being "deceived", that's a "category error". It assumes that recorded music and live performance of music are the same thing, and they're not.

They're not,

They're not,

They're not.

I have to repeat this for emphasis, because too many smart people have either conflated the two, or thoughtlessly accept the conflation.

They are two different extensions of the same art form, and one should not be mistaken for the other. A record is literally that; a permanent "record" of an otherwise ephemeral artwork. The alleged "deceptions" arise solely from the tools and tactics the technicians use to satisfy the demands of such permanence; such that the process of the record's creation takes on a life of its own.

This should be a stipulation, not a revelation. And yet, many people (including very many on this app) continue to view the two separate experiences as from the same bag; or worse yet, view live performance as some "poorer brother" of recorded (and enhanced) performance. The question is, which one contains the "soul" of the artists' art? That depends upon the artist, and what they are expressing through it. Some express different facets through each; The Beatles + The Who being prime examples. And that should be cool too.

The problems begin when it ain't; and that's a habit of mind too many folks inside and outside the music business have adopted.

I'm probably saying all this shit wrong. But as a live musician who makes records bc he has to, who works for a guy who's pretty much the opposite; it's something I feel in my bones.

Live Music is one experience; a record is another.

Embrace each for what they are, and *only* what they are, and you'll never feel "deceived".

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Timothy Bailey's avatar

Man I love this piece. It resonates with thoughts I have every time I hit “undo” in Logic. There is no contemporary music without layers of something like…artifice. Thanks for saying this all so clearly.

Every time we hear a rock band with both a drum kit and a singer—and the singer is audible…we’re hearing something “unnatural.” Do most non-musicians really get that?

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