Luann Udell / Durable Goods

Sunday, March 04, 2007

THE "AMEN BREAK"

A musician friend sent me a link to this little video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj0vfU0vFSs

It's about 24 minutes long, but the video aspect is so minimal, you could play it and work on something else while you listen.

It's about a six-second drum solo that appeard on the B side of a record made in the 60's that has been clipped, modified, reformatted and re-recorded into many, many songs since then. It's so famous in the music industry, it has its own name; it's called the "Amen Break".

As a lover of techno and electronic music, I found it fascinating to hear where all my favorite beats come from.

As an artist, I was amazed at how a six-second "break" can be borrowed, transmuted and reincarnated into such a wide variety of new music.

I also wondered why the visual portion of this video is so bland. Is the guy more audio-oriented than I am and just didn't realize the visual part is limited? Is it so we can focus purely on his words as we watch the record spin?

It's also fascinating to see who benefitted, and who did not, from our copyright laws. (Hint: The people who were the farthest away from the actual creation of this "break" are the ones who have the deepest pockets to protect "their" creation.)

comment [] 11:21:25 AM

BEADS

For years people have asked me if I would sell only the artifacts I make--that is, sell them separately as beads for people to make their own jewelry with.

I'm somewhat acquainted with the bead market, but it never felt right. It felt like I was selling pieces of my work.

The "cons" became immediately apparent a few years ago. I was exhibiting next to a guy whose wife was nice but extremely goofy. For some reason (I can't remember now) I gave her a horse ornament. (For awhile I sold the horse and fish artifacts decorated with semi-precious stone beads and "stars" as ornaments.) (Okay, look, it SEEMED like a good idea at the time...)

A few years later, she came by the booth to show me the necklace she'd made with it. I won't go into detail. It was AWFUL. She was so proud and happy that she had one of "my" necklaces for a fraction of the cost of buying one (and told me so). When she left the booth, I was in agony thinking that my name was going to be associated with that awful work.

My daughter said, "Mom, don't worry, she's going to brag to everyone about how she made it herself." Which was some small comfort....

But now I'm wondering if there's an opportunity here I'm missing.

Recently I went to a polymer clay site where artists' beads are selling for anywhere from $50 to $150. And suddenly, I'm thinking maybe I WOULD enjoy selling the artifacts as beads at those prices!

I can't decide if I'm looking at a great new venue, or losing my mind.

comment [] 11:19:47 AM