The ever-increasing role of technology in music has made the redefinition of sounds from the past in a new context a relatively commonplace event. Hip hop, mashup, and IDM (intelligent dance music) have all employed this approach to very creative effect. Stereolab, the collagist pop group from London, have been contributing to the concept for quite some time now, and their music has evolved into something of real interest. (By the way, I'd have to put their name among the very best I've ever heard. It's both cool and accurate. An interesting question could be raised here: Does having a good band name matter? Case in point for the negative: the Beatles.) In fact their best songs achieve the effect of sounding something like several older ones played simultaneously while overlapping with new material to create grooves that are somehow both busy and clear. A good example is "Three Women" from their 2008 album, Chemical Chords (which is another great name). Like many of their songs, it's sung in French, which adds a further layer of interest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRNGhqe4OiQ.

Further to yesterday's post, when I acknowledged having some reservations about the prevalence of the electronic approach in a lot of current popular music, what I was referring to is the following: Without instrumental expertise, the possibility of engaging in improvisation for the purpose of exploring the structure of a piece of music becomes limited. This ultimately affects the composition process itself, because an important avenue for ideas and learning is cut off. Improvising on a serious level is simply not possible without considerable time spent both in learning an instrument and in the study of music theory. My guess is that, like the best drummers recognize that it's crucial for them to learn piano, the best electronic musicians will do likewise with a variety of acoustic instruments.