[Tango-L] Words and music

[Jake Spatz (TangoDC.com)]

AJ (etc.),

So far I've seen you dis DJs (they're not musicians), critics (they're
hacks), dancers (their perspective is uninformed), and just about
everyone EXCEPT fucking musicians. Meanwhile, I've seen Igor and Chris
(your chosen antagonists in this debate) offer perfectly valid criticism
of live tango bands _that play at milongas_-- all of which amounts to
the single point that some of these bands, some of the time, are not
playing to their audience (in the case of a milonga, dancers).

I've also sat here and watched you complain about criticism that offers
"no" constructive program or suggestion (i.e., support to the
criticized), while offering NOTHING of constructive value yourself to
other musicians who might be following this thread. You're setting an
example for nothing but resentment-- and if we have to coddle the
aspiring, let them descend, I say. Stages are not for rehearsal what
time the floor is packed.

As a writer, I almost take offense to your correction of Igor's
spelling, not only because of your own plethora of slop usage & typing,
but because you evidently overlooked what was an accidental but quite
interesting pun, which a goddamn "professional" musician ought to have
picked up on. Moreover, Igor's posts (and Chris's especially) are
usually worth reading Twice, because these guys consistently Think
before they start whacking buttons. I have sparred and debated with
both, and I daresay the respect due a worthy opponent has been wanting
not on their end, but on yours.

I don't mean to dig you a grave here, man, but you have made some
egregious over-reactions.

The entire history of GOOD art criticism-- in music, drama, design, or
what have you-- stands against your arguments. The best critics of music
have always been musicians; of writing, writers; and so on down the
line. To read the way you dismiss dancers' perspectives as "ignorant" is
disgusting to me as a dancer, critic, DJ, and musician; you might as
well blame your instrument as write off the audience. And to call
critics envious wannabes, or even "hacks," is a childish attitude--
worthy perhaps of this forum, but not of anyone engaged seriously in the
arts.

Secondly, you make the broad statement that dancers & DJs aren't
musicians, and therefore lack a proper (or at any rate, ideal)
understanding of the music they play. And yet you are both a DJ and a
musician, as well as a dancer; and so am I; and so are plenty of tango
DJs; and so are plenty of tango dancers. The grounds from which you're
trying to defend "musicians" are probably more imaginary (because overly
simplistic) than real.

Thirdly, to argue that a tango DJ is "not a musician" is a tad
thoughtless. A DJ's instrument is essentially their collection plus a
sound system; they do basically the same thing a guitarist does, only on
a different scale, and without either the responsibility or the artistry
of a "real musician." Their relation to the phonic arts is more or less
the equivalent of a photographer's to the visual arts: they may not
create their work from scratch (and neither does a musician who plays
covers), but they do nonetheless present something in the same medium.
And DJs, like musicians, are subject to critique by the very same
standards: how well they do their thing relative to others in the field
(a), and (b) how much the audience uncontrollably gives a damn.

A few weeks back, there was a thread here that discussed tango
arrangements; and I, for one, wrote of practical measures and deliberate
agendas which a tango band nowadays might pursue to its advantage. If
you're so up in arms about supporting musicians and making criticism
count, where were you for that? Where are you now? Which artists on
earth is your counter-attack actually serving?

Heed the vocal line: That is my advice to musicians who would play for
dancers. Build the marcado around that, to support it, and you will
produce a relatively danceable arrangement and perhaps even performance.
That is what the trios and duos typically do, and that is why they
succeed in the eyes of their audience (dancers).

Again, I recently danced in Atlanta, to an entirely successful duo
(Manuel can verify this, I'm sure: he was there), and they succeeded
because they respected the lyrics-- and they had no singer. I can still
remember that they gave an interesting treatment to "Caminito," although
the particulars escape me, because the vocal line had (to my ear) a
unique canyengue swing to it. You could sing along to their work,
provided you knew the words-- AND it wasn't a carbon copy. If a gringo
schmuck like myself can enjoy the music on that level, it must point to
something effective.

The dominant _perceived_ tendency nowadays is that tango orchestras
follow the virtuosi of the concert stage-- 60s Troilo, Pugliese, and
Salgan, to be exact. But the smaller ensembles often don't opt for this
route. The Trio Hugo Diaz (bandoneonist) often did, and made music
unsuitable for dancers but perfectly acceptable otherwise. The ensemble
led by the _other_ Hugo Diaz (harmonica, and not quite a virtuoso)
showed more reverence for (what was originally) the vocal line, with
much better dance-floor results. Likewise, the Muchachos de Antes (on
their recordings), Trio Pantango, and Los Tubatango succeed with dancers
when their music presents, rather than departs from, the rhythm & melody
of The Words.

I would even go so far as to say that the "Golden Age" ended not because
the musicians ran out of gas, but because Buenos Aires ran out of solid
pop lyricists. Manzi and Discepolo (the giants) both died in 1951;
Homero Exposito was running on fumes around that time, and losing
interest in writing; everyone else was dead or dying. Horacio Ferrer and
Eladia Blazquez, the only lyricists of note after the 50s, wrote mostly
for Piazzolla.

There are, I'm certain, many other factors involved; but this is a huge
one, which dancers (except in Argentina, largely) remain in the dark
about, and which musicians nowadays tend to overlook, for no reason
except their stupidity (perhaps their ignorance, or arrogance) related
to the hybrid nature of SONG.

To my knowledge, no contemporary tango band (perhaps-- Perhaps--
excepting Daniel Melingo and Kevin Johansen) is consistently producing
new material with anything but shit lyrics. If I am mistaken on this
point, I can not only be corrected, but enlisted as a translator.

I mention all this to invite serious debate and counter-suggestions,
provided there are any, regarding the actual making of music. If
musicians out there really do need a mommy's encouragement, I advise
them to quit and save themselves a lot of fucking time. If they want
practical advice, as artists, they have plenty herewith.

If they want to be "defended" by reductive argument and a hero who
shoulders attacks he considers unworthy, well, keep checking your email
instead of practicing your arrastre, or working on your walk.

They are, ultimately, one and the same.

(A.) (J.) Spatz
DC

AJ Azure wrote:
> There seems to be a misconception that I am arguing for dancers not saying anything, that is not the case. I am saying have some tact and respect when asking for something. Don't criticize, request.
>
> I want to play for dancers. I welcome guidance and requests. What I do not want is arrogance, pomposity and rudeness sent my way.
>
> I've seen both Igor and Chris do this to other dancers on this list as well. It's just not civil and certainly not conducive to open discussion or growth of a community.
>
>
> Other than that, I can't disagree with anything you've said.
>
>
> -AJ :)
>