2008/10/8 Peter Todd
<chuck@xinaesthetic.net>
What? Ritchie Hawtin doesn't use ChucK?!
Why weren't we told about this sooner?
Nobody suspected, I suppose. I was shocked to hear this as well. for a while a few years back there were these wild rumours on the web that Hawtin used basically anything he could get his hands on but apparently he doesn't use ChucK, even if it's generally available and easy to get hooked on. (I like a lot of Hawtins work and respect him but this joke was too good to pass up).
Well, la-di-da, Mr "I've contributed to a well respected journal". Bet you went to university, too. Your sort make me sick.
I'll have you know that I actually went to *two* universities. One I attended for nearly a full year, the second almost double that. Still, I got must use out of my completely independent research on the culture around electronic dance music which I studied intensively. I am not ashamed to admit I put both my health and my sanity at stake in the name of academic pursuits.... and indeed like mr. Bowkett rightly points out my studies were often sponsored by various institutions. I am greatly indebted to the so called "free party" world as well as various private individuals who generously sponsorred my work out of their own pocket, typically also facilitating rather extended interviews in the process.
Lately I've been invited for residencies in various laboratories where I have been suplied with extensive measuring equipment as well as test subjects in in increasing numbers and indeed been subsidised, allowing my to continue my studies.
This is without even going into my research into video game interfaces One shouldn't brag but the simple truth is that I started serious research on this subject at a age where most people still struggle with math. I hadn't even hit puberty when my fame led fellow scollars to travel as far as three streets to consult me on this subject.
This has indeed led to a rather estranged postion relative to the real world as compared to working musicians like mr. Bowkett. I'd like to be more like him, to get a real working career, to get extremely popular using techniques like insulting everybody who uses any other system as well as gay men and all women... but I don't think I could find my way out of my ivory tower if I wanted to.
I can well understand your sentiments.
(thanks)
Seriously, though; this guy writes 'music AI' software and then resents it when people think that implies he might be interested in other experimental computer music programmes... well, I guess for his purposes it's good that his software revolves around a particular networking protocol... ChucK seems more concerned with time, which many of us find useful, but that must be because we've lost track of what music is about...
Seriously, I haven't had the time to get as deeply into SMIRK as I'd like to but a quick read of the papers and some of the examples make me feel we are doing very well indeed in that field. Rebecca, Ge and Perry did a great job there, and it's just a small beginning.