good fat, and bad fat

kensuguro · Post by **kensuguro** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 7:21 pm

Just had an interesting idea today. Just like in food, I think all music can have excessive fat. Fat to fill in the gaps, or just to keep things from falling apart. Don't just eat mashed potatoes, throw a cup of butter on it. Don't just eat fries, throw a gallon of cheese on top of it. Why? It tastes better.

Well, there obviously is an overuse of fat in junk food for rich taste.. That's something we all should stay away from, as we prepare tasty music for the hungy ears.

On the other hand though.. any chef will tell you that the best cooked meals from the best chefs will also have lots of cream and cheese and butter as well. So, too much cheese and butter doesn't equal junk food. If used right, I suppose the richness of fat can be used to really tie things together, if its use is well thought out and used within a planned context. (not as a quick solution)

So, what's the good fat in music?

[ This Message was edited by: kensuguro on 2005-12-15 19:25 ]

dbmac · Post by **dbmac** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 7:55 pm

The Bass

samplaire · Post by **samplaire** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 10:33 pm

Like in food: if you just throw fat over potatos - it's the bad fat. But if you lubricate the potatos with the same amount of fat - it's good fat. So, fat in good places is good fat

BTW I love Lard mmmm, yummy

[ This Message was edited by: samplaire on 2005-12-15 22:36 ]

[ This Message was edited by: samplaire on 2005-12-15 22:37 ]

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 4:42 am

On 2005-12-15 19:21, kensuguro wrote:
...On the other hand though.. any chef will tell you that the best cooked meals from the best chefs will also have lots of cream and cheese and butter as well. ...

you did notice the size of the dishes, didn't you... ?

paulrmartin · Post by **paulrmartin** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 7:13 am

Good fat: The bass, chorus, flanging, phasers, etc...

Bad fat: All of the above in excess

Then we just talk about good taste or bad taste.

_________________
Are we listening?..

[ This Message was edited by: paulrmartin on 2005-12-16 07:14 ]

BingoTheClowno · Post by **BingoTheClowno** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 9:01 am

Good question Ken!
I think the good fat is the fat you don't feel but you know it's there.

paulrmartin · Post by **paulrmartin** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 9:32 am

Exactly my point

Lima · Post by **Lima** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 10:02 am

In terms of harmonic content I think there's no way to discuss objectively of it beacuse every one have a different taste, a different culture and a different sensibility. All these peculiarities are stricly non-objective and variable and often the change of one causes the change of the others. (For example if the culture changes then the taste and the sensibility probably change and viceversa)

The good fat of today for me, maybe will be bad fat for my child. Maybe an exaggeration of fat, wich sounds very bad for me today, sounds nice fat today in Africa or in China today, or like a fantastic fat tomorrow.
The nice thing is if you do something of very "bad taste" today, maybe in the future it will be revalued and maybe you will be seen like one who anticipate the time.

Ahhh the human being!

Nestor · Post by **Nestor** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 2:34 pm

For me the fats are EFFECTS in general, I think.

I think you cannot talk about the fatness of music without talking about the person who’s going to listen at it. For instance, a very thin man needs to eat some good fat and it’s not bad for him; in the other hand, a fat guy should not eat much fat, as he already has enough in his blood streaming… So, translating it from your metaphor to the musical real I would say:

People need music according to which they are and how they feel in a given moment, so the amount of extra elements added to the music, goes completely in relation to the person and the moment.

I personally tend to use the piano with lots and lots of sustain, this is what I need, this is what fills me with joy. For some people this is an overdose of expression and so it becomes heavy. For me some complex rhythms are most often needed so I feel comfortable, for some people square rhythms is what they need, etc.

What would be really interesting to find out is WHY we need such or such particularity in our music, WHY we love some particular chords of chain of chords.

Nevertheless, I have said that about 10 times in the Z, I will say that again: For me music is a language, and as a language, you actually communicate things, ideas, desires, frustrations, philosophies of life, understandings, misunderstandings, love, hate, spirituality, self-indulgence, etc., etc., etc. The most interesting thing would be to be able to translate with precision all the expressions of these musical languages.

Nestor · Post by **Nestor** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 2:43 pm

Right now, just while posting the before post, my wife was playing loose something in a patch, which is a piano and strings patch. An amazing coincidence happened… I told here, “Hey, your music makes me think of a film, and I can see a child coming back to his mother after having been lost”. She was amazed and said that that was exactly what she was picturing in her mind.

This tells me how real is my before statement, “music is a definite language”, I have perhaps understood what she played because we are so close to each other, I don’t know.

Lima · Post by **Lima** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 4:03 pm

Nestor, I agree with you. I just wanna add another point of view: there's people that thinks music as math. "behind the music there's an algorithm". This is a totally different approach to music than yours (an in a large part also mine).

One day my math teacher started his lesson with: "Math is an universal language[...]"

Another language, it's only a coincidence?

emzee · Post by **emzee** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 5:01 pm

I guess like many things, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When is a track finished? One of my teachers said "When it makes you cry". I'm not sure if frustration was included.

Shroomz~> · Post by **Shroomz~>** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 6:12 pm

Digging, exploration & ideas.

Nestor · Post by **Nestor** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 6:59 pm

I too agree with you Lima. Anyway, both realms do not contradict each other, I would rather say they complement.

braincell · Post by **braincell** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 10:03 pm

To me a lot of the fat in music is cultural. To say that people like fat is not a good enough excuse to use it. At some point you have to ask yourself who you are making music for. Do you care about what people think or do you care about what you think. Of course we all love to get praise.

I wish people were a little more open minded about music but then I realize how stupid people are and I come to the conclusion that there is no hope.

samplaire · Post by **samplaire** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 12:11 am

BTW I recently found that my belly becomes a real foodball

And, if fastfood is bad then FasterFood is the solution

_________________

Sir samplaire scopernicus
Haiku Fristajl (in Polish)
"Those are blind who don't use Scope" SSS

[ This Message was edited by: samplaire on 2005-12-17 00:13 ]

ChrisWerner · Post by **ChrisWerner** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 5:27 am

Very interesting comparison, Ken.
As a composer (cook) you have to serve the meals that are wanted from your guests.

Good fat or a good preparation of a meal live on accenting the main taste.

Personally, I cook well balanced meals each day but sometimes I like to enjoy real fat fastfood as well.
<img src="http://www.spring-of-sound.de/Pics/curry2.jpg"></img>

at0m · Post by **at0m** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 5:51 am

Hm, fries with cheese... never tried, will ask around :>

My personal favorite remains -admittedly, haven't tried the cheese yet- fries with stoofvleessaus (kinda goulash from which the meat's been sold to others before you) and mayonaise. Could live on that forever. Any tourist here in Belgium should get to know it. Gives them something to remember apart from the beers.

Enjoy your weekend,

at0m.

paulrmartin · Post by **paulrmartin** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 7:54 am

Here's one for you, at0m

http://www.apnmag.com/Northern%20Lights ... outine.htm

at0m · Post by **at0m** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 8:02 am

ok, now I have to come taste some :O

cheers!