The Cutting Edge.. by Steve Ison on The Pipeline at IndieMusicPeople

The Cutting Edge..
I saw it mentioned in another thread-and the writer said its the future of music..

Whats does 'the cutting edge' mean to you?

Is it painful to be on it?

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Duane Flock

1/26/2008 9:07:10 AM

To me the "cutting edge" means to be innovative and bold enough to set the standard. To bring forth a new technology, (or in our case) a brand new sound or style that people are eager to follow.
This is one of my goals when I try different genres. Although the results so far aren't very promising, I'm not getting discouraged. If you don't keep trying, then you're missing the whole point of being on "the cutting edge".

D.

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Steve Ison

1/26/2008 1:22:40 PM

Thats perhaps a little presumptious of you to say you have "a brand new sound or style that people are eager to follow" Offlockit lol

I think actually Beyonce could rightfully claim she was at the cutting edge a few years back with that particular vocal style she developed- which is all over the charts these days..
I mean much as i often find that style very annoying,i can't deny that the rythms,inflections and melodic choices made are radically different from 60s,70s,80s soul n RnB-and a totally original approach..

To me that seems a far more radical,fundamental change than so many "cutting edge" claims which seem to be based basically on slightly different production techniques and a little sound manipulation..

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Vartan

1/27/2008 12:06:12 PM

I think a good example of cutting edge for rock music would probably be the Flaming Lips. They have been so different for so long that they sound nothing like they used to. If you listen to all their albums you can hear the progression but it's amazing how far they have come from their original cutting edge sound to their new cutting edge sound. lol.

I am not so sure many bands are trying to emulate the Flaming Lips though. Wish they would.

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Steve Ison

1/27/2008 1:49:53 PM

Yeh,i love Flaming Lips too Vartan..They write brilliant,individual pop songs and their lyrics n themes are nearly always interesting..
Plus their music has a kinda warmth,empathy and life affirming quality thats really rare these days..
I think thats the main reason most indie bands can't emulate them..

'cos they can't..

They've got too much ego and too little heart..

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Stegor

1/28/2008 6:21:56 AM

I love The Flaming Lips and feel a sort of kindred spirit towards them. They are such unlikely heroes, being from Oklahoma, and considering they hit big time at an advanced age. I had heard the name earlier on but never heard them until I heard "Summertime" on a Mojo Magazine sampler. First thing I thought was - they sound like Bat Lenny! So I started reading about them and buying their music. I now claim them as an influence, even though it's not really true because we've never heard them until after our sound was formed. However it did help us justify our sound and what we're doing. No heroin though!

This doesn't mean I claim to be on any cutting edge though. To me the cutting edge implies that you are leading a trend that is catching on and is or soon will soon be ubiquitous. Like Beyonce. We aren't that and have no desire to be!

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qelizabeth

1/28/2008 7:14:24 AM

I love the flaming lips, but i kinda like beyonce too. . . .

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Hugh Hamilton

1/28/2008 11:57:25 AM

Mr. Aven played me a bunch of tunes while we were road tripping on Saturday - I am so narrowly focused on my retro faves, and I know he's not alone in wanting to expand my horizons past them and my IAC faves...at any rate, of all the stuff he played for me, the Flaming Lips tunes were the ones that most made me perk up my ears - funny coincidence to see them mentioned here...

The cutting edge doesn't matter to me one way or the other really, as all I care about is how my stuff sounds. I suppose I'd have to define the phrase as being a leading figure whose work departs in a new way from previous norms, and whom others wish to emulate...if there's a component of "cutting edge" to what we're ALL doing here, seems to me it's the internet aspect as well as the various ways to find, share and tout the work of other artists and enter into meaningful friendships and collaborations together...long distance...as a group, we're not the first to do that here, but I think this community is in fact "cutting edge" even if there are individuals such as myself who are content to be somewhat traditional (or retro or what-have-you) artistically...

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