Garage Band!
Yipee!! This thing is totally cool! Just got a copy of apple’s ilife. Wow! It includes updates for all the regular “i” applications, but it also includes garageband! What can I say? This piece of software is incredible. I installed it on my laptop, then put it on Leslie’s imac. Within 30 minutes of installing it, she had created a song, then exported it to her itunes! This is a bit of a stretch, so try to hang with me, but I think this software is making our communities more tribal, more connected to our African ancestors. Let me explain: In the ancient model of the “tribe”, which all societies are based on, the role of musician was the role of every citizen! To cheer on the newlyweds! To chant for the returning hunters! To sing for the shamen as he performed a medical or spiritual rite. Then, somewhere along the way, the creation of music became an elitist endeavor. Being a professional musician, it feels strange advocating a program that could potentially put me out of work, but you can’t look at it that way! This is a fear-based rationale. Try viewing it in terms of the potential for new and interesting musical forms and strains to emerge from those previously considered “non-musicians”. What has been eliminated is the learning curve. It’s as if Apple has created a platform which offers a direct connection between the creative impulse, and a finished product. That in itself is quite a feat! Now, it’s up to society to determine what the outcome of this will be. I like to think about what John Cale or Andy Warhol would have made of these cultural situations. I think they would sit back and laugh, and be amused by the various creations that emerge from this technology! Here is Leslie’s song!