Friday 23 January 2009

Things I like a lot less than I probably should, part 1

Tangerine Dream.

The title of this post explains just what it's like: things I like less than I probably should, not certainly should. And I include Tangerine Dream here because, well, I hear so much positive stuff about this band, but I never could get into them. Maybe I've listened to too little stuff? I have tried their biggest works, including Phaedra, Atem and Rubycon, but I just can't see what's so good about it. To me, it sounds like a mish-mash of different trends of electronic music, but taking the WORST of each world. It's not quite dynamic enough to be captivating, it's not quite soothing enough to be pleasant, and the textures and movement suggest that there is nothing to suggest. I don't get it. I'm a big fan of Jean Michel Jarre, and I'm a big fan of Brian Eno, and I'm a big fan of Vangelis and so on -- and I know, Tangerine Dream is quite a different league, but still, it seems to me that they are too involved in doing something way beyond than simply music, but failing. Is it technically outstanding? Maybe, but so is Brian Eno's stuff. Is it evocative? Perhaps, but Jean Michel Jarre is so much more it's not even funny. Really, if ANYONE can point me out what's so good about them, I might try again.

4 comments:

  1. I do 100% percent agree with you here. Well, for 95% maybe, 'cause I'm not really a fan of Brian Eno either. I like "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" by Brian Eno and David Byrne very much, but the works by Eno alone I've heard do very little to me. However, I think that that's merely a matter of taste; his music isn't dynamic enough FOR ME, but I can see that there's atmosphere and that the music is somehow going somewhere.

    As for the music by Tangerine Dream, I completely agree with you. As a matter of fact, I have the same kind of problem with Klaus Schulze...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do 100% agree with you here. Well, for 95% maybe, 'cause I'm not really a fan of Brian Eno either. I like "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" by Brian Eno and David Byrne very much, but the works by Eno alone I've heard do very little to me. However, I think that that's merely a matter of taste. For me, his music simply isn't dynamic enough, but I can see that there's atmosphere and that the music is somehow going somewhere. Just like you, I'm a very big fan of Jean Michel Jarre, though.

    As for the music by Tangerine Dream, I completely agree with you. As a matter of fact, I have the same kind of problem with Klaus Schulze...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I do 100% agree with you here. Well, for 95% maybe, 'cause I'm also not really a fan of Brian Eno. I like "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" by Brian Eno and David Byrne very much, but the works by Eno alone I've heard do very little to me, except maybe "Another Green World" which is quite nice. However, I think that that's merely a matter of taste. For me, his music simply isn't dynamic enough, but I can see that there's atmosphere and that the music is somehow going somewhere. Just like you, I'm a very big fan of Jean Michel Jarre and just like you I have much sympathy for Vangelis as well, though.

    As for the music by Tangerine Dream, I completely agree with you. As a matter of fact, I have the same kind of problem with Klaus Schulze...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I do 100% agree with you here. Well, for 95% maybe, 'cause I'm also not really a fan of Brian Eno. I like "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" by Brian Eno and David Byrne very much, but the works by Eno alone I've heard do very little to me, except maybe "Another Green World" which is quite nice. However, I think that that's merely a matter of taste. For me, his music simply isn't dynamic enough, but I can see that there's atmosphere and that the music is somehow going somewhere. Just like you, I'm a very big fan of Jean Michel Jarre and just like you I've much sympathy for Vangelis, though.

    As for the music by Tangerine Dream, I completely agree with you. As a matter of fact, I have the same kind of problem with Klaus Schulze...

    ReplyDelete