Critical Review - Wayne&Wax

I'd like to comment specifically on an observation made early in the Wayne&Wax post "we use so many snares." In this post, Wayne notes that "reggaeton is an Internet music" and to me this is a crucial point that contextualizes how one perceives reggaeton and what goes into its composition. Particularly in light of other "Internet musics," the composition directly effects how individuals consume music, how it is performed live, and how people identify with the music itself. To emphasize my point, to underscore the importance of prefacing a music as an "Internet music" I would like to refer to an example we often use in class.

GirlTalk, masher-upper extraordinaire, stands at the pinnacle of digital music, exploiting the possibilities of both digital composition--in his meticulous splicing and laptop performance--as well as digital distribution--sweeping dorm room playlists through viral videos and MySpace links. Both these uses of digital technology connect GirlTalk with his audience, yet distance him from the music. In composing his tracks, GirlTalk does not conventionally write a melody nor a chord progression, he simply lifts snippets from other songs (albeit masterfully). The music is thus reduced to simple ctrl-X/ctrl-V commands, detached from the sounds themselves; the beat becomes regulated by its BPM, not by its "feel." This deconstruction of the "music itself" is further reflected in GirlTalk's live performance: an obviously over-compensating spectacle of stages full of fans in Day-Glo garb, aggrandizing a musician whose music is entirely pre-composed. Granted, this participation connects fan to artist, yet illustrates the inherent limits of digital music composition.

My point in using this example is not to accuse reggaeton of any such distance, but simply to frame further analysis of the genre by identifying the pitfalls already experienced by a (not so) distant relative. Wayne's detailed analysis (and examples) of reggaeton rhythms visually break down this simplistic view of composition--instead of previous generations speaking of the "feel" of different rhythmic patterns, different regional tendencies, he now makes his case by showing us FruityLoop sequences. On one hand, it opens the doors of composition to innumerable young beat-makers and aspiring reggaeton artists, yet conversely exposes its restrictions.

Discussion question(s): How can digital composition and live performance be reconciled? What works? What doesn't? Does seeing the process behind reggaeton broken down and analyzed in any way detract from the "music itself" or emphasize its artistry?