Disintegration Loops Documentary

  On 3/22/2021 at 8:47 PM, zkom said:

I never really understood what's so special about the whole thing. It's not bad I guess?

this is honestly the ideal assessment

I love the albums, and can appreciate the story even if I have problems believeing it. Yeah Basinski is flamboyant and pretentious, but there's enough artists living in tree-huts and bank vaults who only give interviews via e-mails when they release something every five years. 

"what's so special about it? it's a tape loop that's repeated ad nauseam"

guess what: that's 99% of all ambient music lol

I personally love this. I recently got Lamentations and it's stunning. I may even prefer it to Disintegration Loops. 

I do however find the back story behind Disintegration Loops a bit questionable. Not sure if I think it was totally ethical to sort of pair it to such a horrible humanitarian disaster even if it did coincidentally reach completion around 9/11 but perhaps I'm misunderstanding exactly what happened. 

I hadn't heard the back story before listening to the whole thing. People just kept mentioning it so I decided to give it a go and was then wondering what is supposed to be so special.

weird i wsa just listening to it last ngiht. theres only one piece that still holds up for me (dlp 4).

this doc shoulda just been a podcast. it does feel more exploitative when u actually have the VIDEO of the towers falling and people reacting to it with Disintegration Loops in the back.

Slayer's album God Hates Us All was released that day, which really makes more sense as the official 9/11 soundtrack imho.  Someone should make a doc about that album being released on that day, with footage of the buildings falling while either God Send Death, Cast Down, or Payback plays in the background.  Maybe interview some NYC Slayer fanatics at the memorial site.  You know, tasteful art stuff.

I like the series, not so keen on the narrative around them. I'll watch this, always fascinating to hear how people connect to music. 

Beware to ye who disparage the loops...

You Tape Loop-fanbois should check out AMULETS

Tape Loop Orchestra is my favouritist of all the tape loopererers - https://tapelooporchestra.bandcamp.com/

For example:

  On 3/22/2021 at 9:04 PM, chim said:

  On 3/22/2021 at 8:47 PM, zkom said:

I never really understood what's so special about the whole thing. It's not bad I guess?

It's the proto-Caretaker "so deep" album that messes with normie heads. 

kinda dreading the imminent caretaker documentary 

They have a certain hypnotic quality that I'm happy to come back to once in a while, and I love the whole idea of chance music, so I'm all for the albums themselves. The narrative around them, if anything, takes away from the music itself. Even if it's true, the coincidence between working on them and 9/11 shouldn't really have gone beyond an intriguing aspect of the press release. Don't use the deaths of thousands of people and a generation-defining event that led to an illegal war as a way to market your music when it has an inherently marketable gimmick.

taken on face value it's pretty generic ambient music. if the album didn't have the 9/11 theme I don't think anyone would remember it today. It's not bad music, it's just kind of scummy music imo

edit: mostly scummy marketing rather than the music itself

Basinski is probably the most overrated artist in the known universe but he at least did something on its own, nothing much new, but still he bravely and shamelessly attached a tragedy to his work, move that turned to be very profitable for him! At least some part related to the loops was creative! Forgetabout morality! That’s for poor people! 
 

That being said, I can’t think of anything that’s less creative than imitating disintegration loops! That’s like the ultimate surrender to stupidity and impotency, supported with delusional levels of self importance that motivates hordes of morons doing it on yt, teaching another human geniuses how to recreate the same thing by themselves, basically how to be creative lol! And ever since I went to see some videos related to the loops I’m constantly getting those works of geniuses suggested on yt! 

#theworldwelivein

Putting shit like this on a pedestal is why people feel the need to take themselves way too fucking seriously

"some of them were listening to FUCKING WHAM DUDE"

cylob knows how to make good loops

  On 3/26/2021 at 1:55 AM, Valleyfold said:

Disintegration Loops rules it’s beautiful and touching 

 

 

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Disintegration Loops rool

haterz drool

I once saw him perform Disintegration Loops live on two tape players that didn't even work. Pure theatrics.

rumor has it he orchestrated the 9/11 attacks as part of a publicity stunt for this release

truly disgusting 

  On 3/26/2021 at 4:14 PM, brian trageskin said:

rumor has it he orchestrated the 9/11 attacks as part of a publicity stunt for this release

truly disgusting 

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i'll see myself out

 

 

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finally, this thread has a good post 

The first ten seconds are great, but it all gets a bit samey for me after that.

I like some of Basinski's short form works (e.g. Melancholia , Variations: A Movement in Chrome Primitive) - otherwise he sounds like nondescript vaporwave. Disintegration oops, yawn.

Am I the only one who liked Sparkle Division??