All good points. But aren't those assumptions predicated on the basis
that everyone is equally wired all the time from pre- to post-field
experience? Are we absolutely certain that those links won't, at some
point, break down? Then what?
Schafer is very much "out of touch." One cannot reach him even by
phone. He lives very privately with his wife in southern Ontario and
has none. If you want to contact RMS, you write him a
letter...preferably in long-hand and he'll eventually (if he likes the
subject matter) answer -- in long hand. He certainly is not wired in
any way. His farm barely has electricity (a bit of hyperbole, here, to
make a point). You won't find him distracted by iPods, iPads, i
Phones, nor will his face be found buried 24/7 in a computer screen.
When one meets him, one can expect complete human and eye-contact and
attention and exchange. When one hears his presentations, lectures,
performances, music, one cannot but be impressed with his
extraordinary Renaissance-man range of knowledge on everything from
acoustics to natural history and his ability to deliver those messages
in any of several languages.
Yes, indeed. Schafer is a dinosaur. And if I had a choice between
being constantly wired or Socratically curious and informed and self-
sufficient...? Actually, I'm delighted to be part of both worlds.
Bernie
On Apr 20, 2010, at 5:46 AM, simmosonics wrote:
> 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 again 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 recording, 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 some
> illumination.
>
> RMS' 'prescient' words seem very much out of touch with what is
> happening today. We can lament the overall lack of expertise,
> technique and/or high quality recording equipment, but the reality
> is that there are now more people than ever recording just about
> anything, and that's a good thing for the awareness of sounds in
> general.
>
> - Greg Simmons
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie
> Krause
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
Wild Sanctuary
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Glen Ellen, CA 95442
707-996-6677
http://www.wildsanctuary.com
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