My comment was mainly about personal preference. I hate fake drums. For me, I need to hear a real snare drum, and a real floor tom. Otherwise it’s a turn off. Obviously there’s entire genres and sub genres based on fake drums. That does not make them bad genres, just something I personally won’t gravitate towards. If I were to post about it i’d fear that it would be seen as dismissing an entire type of music, which i’m not prepared to do. I don’t hate dance music. I remember listening to the snare sound in that Fergie track “Clumsy” and being very impressed. That’s a real drum as far as im concerned. If it’s not a real drum, then the programming is good enough to fool me. I have no problem with that either. I just don’t want to hear generic thumping. That agonizing “Boom-clap clap” that just dominates so much of what’s released today.I know you can hear the difference Iman, you just need to allow yourself to “pick it out of the mix”. I’m also not campaigning against drum machines. They obviously provide opportunities to create for people who ordinarily dont have access to real drums.
Some points on Iman’s do drum machines have souls (my comments in parenthesis):
Mike Nessing’s comment “Plus if there’s fake drums, it’s already a loser in my book” elsewhere is somewhat reactionary.
(Helen compared the new Adam Lambert to ’80’s synthpop-which calls to mind sunglasses at night, fake explosions and all kinds of other dated ’80’s production techniques including, but not limited to fake drums.)
For one thing, who has ears so good they can pick up on it in this day and age. For another, every sound you hear today is doctored so much there is no organic drum sound left,
(Depends on the genre, Listen to that Fleet Foxes LP those drums are big, bad ass and real.-Do you dig Sonic Youth? Check out Steve Shelley, one of the greatest rock drummers ever. They don’t doctor his shit at all.)
and finally a well sequenced drum machine is better than a bad drummer any day of the week. (thats not saying much)
The more experimental the band, the steadier you need the drums.
(I have no problem with steady, my problem is with generic crashes and phony hand claps in lieu of an actual person sitting at a kit and expressing himself)
That’s why the drummer is the most important member of Dirty Projectors, without him they’d fall over the sides.
(dont know the band, but id probably agree)
If you think you can tell the difference between a drum machine and a drummer (and let’s be honest, most hip hop bands use both at the same time) you’re gonna hafta prove it!!!
(That’s why i don’t listen to hippity hop or whatever you kids call it. Like Phil Hartman as Sinatra says, “it’s all buzzes andclicks to me, junior.”)
A comment won’t do on this one Mike, if you think I’m wrong how about a post???
(Hopefully Ive given you enough for one)
Oh, and drum machines have the souls of the musicians who sequence.
(I am an embracer of technology and understand convenience. A good song will still rise above it all. But for me, as a listener it’s a detriment. Dance music doesn’t have to be all programmed rhythms. Listen to ABBA or any classic Disco for that matter, those guys never used fake drums).