Bob Dobbs and guests explore modern music and technology through the lens of Frank Zappa, with a focus on Marshall McLuhan’s essay “Art as Survival in the Electric Age”.
Bob Dobbs is a Zappa researcher and McLuhan scholar. He is joined by regular contributors Roxana Flores Larrainzar and Bert Hill.
Recorded December 12, 2015
00:00:00 – Intro
00:01:52 – Electronic Music & Science Fiction
“Forbidden Planet”, Bebe & Louis Barron and Zappa’s concept of “movies for your ears.”
00:13:27 – Zappa Mixed Genres
Frank Zappa mixed elements from high art electronic music with popular culture genres.
00:19:05 – McLuhan’s “Art as Survival in the Electric Age”
McLuhan suggests that media has a more profound impact on society than nuclear weapons.
00:28:01 – Art as Liaison Between Biology and Technology
A.T. Simeon’s “Man’s Presumptuous Brain”.
00:35:18 – Function of Art and Technology
Challenging the concept that art heals or provides therapy to societal stresses.
00:41:22 – McLuhan’s Vision of Artist and Media
McLuhan envisioned a programmer of global media diets.
00:45:47 – Literature vs Film
Film is an image-based, right-hemisphere medium in comparison to the verbally-oriented nature of literature.
00:47:36 – Japanese Monster Movies
The overemphasis on nuclear war in Japanese monster movies.
00:50:24 – McLuhan on Art, Technology, and Survival
McLuhan posits that nature ended when humans created environments that encircle the planet.
00:58:34 – Visual vs Acoustic Space
Contrast between visual and acoustic spaces.
01:05:02 – Harbingers of a new reality
How artists and thinkers like Zappa, McLuhan and James Joyce were precursors to a new understanding of time and causality.
01:15:01 – Speed, Preogress and Disaster
The illusion of technological progress and the apparent speeding up of life.
01:27:09 – McLuhan’s Acoustic Space
McLuhan noted that artists like Poe were ahead of scientists like Einstein in understanding these concepts.
01:39:46 – Mysteries of Castle Chambord
A castle in France, built during the Renaissance, its peculiar architecture, influenced by Leonardo da Vinci.
01:55:13 – Influence of Media and Fiction
How media serve as a form of programming and education.
02:05:15 – McLuhan’s “Art as Survival in the Electric Age”
The group returns to the essay that seems closely tied to the vortex concept.
02:12:45 – T.S. Eliot’s Auditory Imagination
The structure of the instantaneous acoustic environment.
02:19:06 – Popular Music vs Poetry
The participative nature of jazz and rock vs traditional poetry.
02:41:49 – Zappa and McLuhan
How both individuals created an acoustic performance environment.
02:47:44 – “Art as Survival in the Electric Age”
How tactile art can help navigate and survive within the Android Meme.
02:53:17 – McLuhan and Pop Culture
McLuhan immersed himself in pop culture while maintaining a scholarly disguise.
03:06:08 – McLuhan’s Later Career and Legacy
McLuhan’s career trajectory, from a scholar to a cultural commentator.
03:13:07 – McLuhan on Tactility
Tactility and its extension into technology.
03:24:25 – McLuhan on the “instant replay”
The instant replay as a way to understand experiences without living them.
03:34:02 – Experience versus Meaning
Instant replay allows one to derive meaning without direct experience.
03:46:01 – Pattern Recognition
How pattern recognition affects various aspects of life.
03:57:10 – Ray Wilson
Ray Wilson’s extensive musical knowledge and his place as a valued oral historian of New York’s culture.
04:05:17 – “Art as Survival in the Modern World”
The need for a ‘pattern grammar’ provided by thinkers like McLuhan to cope with the bizarre forms of the present age.
04:07:09 – The Concept of Rebirth
Being reborn in the context of culture, history, and personal identity.
04:16:51 – The Influence of Violence in Art
Krishnamurti on violence as part of the artistic process.
04:23:00 – Interplay of Commercialism and Art
Frank Sinatra and Elvis’s appearance together, suggesting that commercial interests can influence artistic choices.
04:38:47 – Shift in Creative Collaboration
Collaboration and the evolving role of the artist.
04:53:53 – The Modern Musical Landscape
Laptop orchestras and the transformation of the idea of musical instruments.
04:56:04 – Media and The Individual
Role of the individual as the content and the form of new media environments, with particular attention to the iPhone.
05:11:02 – Art, Biology and Technology
Art as a liaison between biology and technology, and the role of art in bridging gaps in human perception.
05:31:00 – The Richness of Zappa’s Music
Frank Zappa’s musical genius and improvisational skills.
05:43:25 – Evolving Music Tastes
Shifts in music appreciation, tactile sensations becoming more prevalent than auditory.
05:49:43 – Audience Commentary
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