why is ambient so popular now

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
"Jeopardy! Theme Makes a Non-Trivial Amount
Jeopardy!'s memorable theme song "Think!" was originally composed by show creator Merv Griffin as a lullaby for his son Tony; in 2005 Griffin told the New York Times that he had tossed the tune together in less than a minute. It might have been the most lucrative minute on record, though. In the same interview, Griffin estimated that the royalties from the theme had put somewhere between $70 and $80 million in his pockets."
 

luka

Well-known member
I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case tbh as music has BECOME AMBIENT, whether or not it was designed to be.

It's constantly accessible, and so constantly playing, in the background. Nobody sits down and listens to music without any distractions anymore.

What is wanted, most of the time, is a pleasant accompaniment to browsing social media.

I often read on the tube with music in my headphones, and I am constantly forced to stick on some ultra-agreeable classical music or ambient (Eno 'On Land') just so it doesn't distract me from reading.

OFFTOPIC but its similar to the situation with visual art, in which we're so overwhelmed with images these days that images that used to shock or inspire or overwhelm people now have to be stared at for a considerable length of time, perhaps with explanatory captions, in order to puncture our overstimulated senses. Imagery is ambient too.

😈
 
Ok yeah that wasn’t even a clever joke from me I’ve read that forgot it and tried to pass it off as my own
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Luka's obsessed with catching people out and taking credit where credit's due.

Fair enough but hasn't all this acid mysticism taught you that there's no such thing as luka or corpsey there's only lukacorpsey the eternal ohm
 

luka

Well-known member
Reynolds will turn up and make a list of all the stuff I've nicked off him if I'm not careful
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Besides for all we know you're just nicking stuff off Prynne and Pound and nobody will ever find out except maybe version
 

luka

Well-known member
Re: the ambient is ambient thing, I asked way back on this thread how you distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' ambient. I don't dispute that there are such things. I think it must come down to fine distinctions. In the same way you can differentiate (if you're into that sort of thing) good abstract painting from bad abstract painting. To me the good stuff looks quite like the bad stuff.

"The great and golden rule of art, as well as of life, is this: That the more distinct, sharp, and wirey the bounding line, the more perfect the work of art; and the less keen and sharp, the greater is the evidence of weak imitation, plagiarism, and bungling…. What is it that builds a house and plants a garden, but the definite and determinate? What is it that distinguishes honesty from knavery, but the hard and wirey line of rectitude and certainty in the actions and intentions. Leave out this line and you leave out life itself; all is chaos again. . ."
 

catalog

Well-known member
I feel like most of my TV watching these days is background. Unless it's some gripping battle scene in game of thrones or something, the telly goes on as a background thing, then you've got your phone and dinner between you and the screen. Maybe ipad as well.
 

borzoi

Well-known member
dunno how the dance music lifers here feel about it but the 90s ambient stuff like the orb and klf's chill out is interesting in that its good background music but also is very playful and sort of narrative driven with all the samples and whatnot, something that feels like a pure relic of the early 90s. no one on Pan would be caught dead putting a NASA sample in their track. but why not?
 

boxedjoy

Well-known member
over-use. When something goes from an original idea to over-familiar it becomes a cliche to avoid, a victim of its own success
 
Top