I am glad I am not alone in my indignation!
Aaron, I particularly like your summation that "...expertise is not longer =
required to reside in each individual, but within the network of those with=
ready access to the network's resources..." I find this time and time agai=
n with my ethnic music recordings, many of which are made spontaneously or =
with very little forewarning. I may not understand them at the time, but I =
take as much care and apply as much expertise as possible for every recordi=
ng, knowing that at the very least I'll get something I'll enjoy and can be=
proud of. Even better when someone in my social network is able to offer s=
ome illumination.
RMS' 'prescient' words seem very much out of touch with what is happening t=
oday. We can lament the overall lack of expertise, technique and/or high qu=
ality recording equipment, but the reality is that there are now more peopl=
e than ever recording just about anything, and that's a good thing for the =
awareness of sounds in general.
- Greg Simmons
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