Third and fourth week of July 1999
"My main songwriting rule is that I never bring closure to a song. I don't even consider it finished after it's recorded. The composer LaMonte Young had this great concept in the late '50s-he believed that the space between putting down an instrument and picking it up again is all part of the same bit of music. He held that music is not something that begins or ends. It just carries on. If you look at it that way, you can't get frustrated trying to finish a song. You can let go of it, and maybe pick it up again ten years later. And all that space in between is part of the same song."
-damon (Guitar Player May 1999 issue)
Pretty deep stuff, don't you think? So who is this LaMonte Young? Only one of the most influential modern composers, that's who. He is also known as the father of "Minimalism" and his music is characteristically dronin', if you know what I mean. damon seems to have been influenced by him, as well, what with "Bustin' + Dronin,'""Repetition," "Dancehall," "Essex Dogs" and a whole slew of songs that could go on 'til kingdom come. Young's compositions tend to go on for hours at a time, much like the music of his disciples, John Cale and Philip Glass. Heck, he's the father punk rock music as well! damon's interest in the music of the Beta Band and Squarepusher is indicative of how fond he seems to be of repetitive music. Religious music is often repetitive as well and Hindu chants which can be sung for hours have brought many people to a state of spiritual bliss and ecstacy just through the mere act of repeating the same phrases over and over again. Is damon's love of and predilection towards repetitive music indicative of his eternal thirst for sonic ecstacy?
BRITGIRL
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dream...dream...dream..dream...
LaMonte's got them blues...
don't call it minimal, or Philip'll bop ya' one!
Warhol was there...
KNOCK, KNOCK. WHO'S THERE?
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