by Jim McGorman
On the evening of August 7, 2007 Barry Bonds
did what was considered a Herculean feat in sport, surpassing
Hank Aaron for the most career home runs in major league baseball (at the time, 756). As the ball sailed all 435 feet out of AT&T
Park, I paused to consider the conflicted feelings I had about an
amazing sport and this recent milestone. It’s obvious to any fan
of the game that Barry Bonds is an amazing baseball player, but
his alleged steroid use unfortunately calls into question the legi-tamacy of his achievement. FOX’s Tim McCarver said of the event,
“Only time will tell if baseball’s steroid era will result in a number
of asterisks within the record book, but there are already mental
asterisks in the minds of fans. It’s a shame that, after Bonds
breaks the record, the conversation will go, ‘Barry is the all-time
home run hitter, but…’ This record deserves more than that. With
Henry Aaron, there were no buts.”
The Tech Boom
No matter where you stand on tradition, it can’t be denied that
many of the things that have come out of this technological boom
have improved the quality of music and made musicians’ lives
easier. A few of my favorites are the now ubiquitous iPod; Pro
Tools and the wide variety of available plug-ins, making recording
faster, easier and limitless; new keyboard technology and the ability to manipulate sounds with almost limitless variation and little
sweat; virtual instruments, allowing you to have an orchestra at
your fingertips; and non-destructive editing of sound files. All of
these product innovations are amazing, inspiring and aid in our
abilities to create and enjoy music.
Of course, as with any great innovation, there is the inevitable
downside. All of these products are insanely powerful, capable of
creating amazing musical miracles. Perhaps it was
said best by Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben in the
c omic Amazing Fantasy #15, “With
g reat power, comes great responsibility.”
B ut I digress, this isn”t an ar tic le about baseball or steroid s
– although I think there are some serious parallels
b etween the two.
As a working musician, much like any athlete, I am
always looking for ways to improve my abilities, whether it is
through more practice or by utilizing the latest technology available. When it comes to your passion, I can certainly sympathize
with anyone who is trying to gain an edge in what they do.
The manufacturers of these
technologies are constantly
and simultaneously loading
them with more features
and making them easier
to use. Now, a person
who takes the time to
learn and manipulate
these products can cre-
ate something that sounds
unbelievable with little
o r no human input – in a
h istorically unique moment,
i t is now possible to make a
r ecord or create music without
the playing of any instrument! With
the help of modern technology, you could
take an average voice off the street and make it
sound like Pavarotti. If you’re honest with yourself, do you really
believe that Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan can sing?
And while I embrace the merging of technology with music, on
the other hand (much like a vast majority of baseball fans), I am
a traditionalist. I starting learning music at a time when computers were not heavily used, either in recording or instruction. I
took piano lessons when I was very young, and I taught myself
how to play guitar by watching others and looking at books. After
high school, I attended Berklee College of Music where I really
explored the history of music. I honed my craft. I learned what
makes it what it is. And now I have been playing music professionally for over ten years now – I have been in a position to
witness the explosive expansion of technology and how it has
become a mainstay in today’s music business.
That being said, there is no doubt that technology can be inspirational. Pete Townsend’s visionary approach to sound gave us
seminal tracks like “Baba O’Reilly” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”
Quincy Jones blended cutting edge technology and live musicians
to create Off the Wall and Thriller. There are many producers and
musicians doing innovative work in today’s music, such as Dr. Dre
and Timabland.
But the question inevitably becomes, where does the line
between what is natural and what is fake get drawn? Is there a
point where asterisks should be placed next to album tracks, next
to artist names?
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