Rhythm Science (Mediaworks Pamphlets) (Paperback)

~ Paul D. Miller aka Dj Spooky that Subliminal Kid (Author) "The beginning. That's always the hard part..." (more)
Key Phrases: multiplex consciousness, rhythm science, Errata Erratum, Gas Station, Subliminal Kid (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

DJ/conceptual artist/author Paul Miller's pseudonym is at once an arcane reference to William S. Burroughs's Nova Express and a childlike recognition of the sometimes eerie, disembodied sounds he gathers—an immediate indicator of the gleeful enthusiasm with which both his "mixes" and his first book juxtapose cultures high and low, new and old, avant-garde and "street." Son of Howard University's dean of law (who died when Miller was three) and a mother who ran an international fabric shop off Dupont Circle, Miller spent much of his childhood in Washington, D.C.'s nurturing bohemia before studying philosophy and literature at Bowdoin. That his thesis was on Richard Wagner—whose theory of gestamtkunstwerk (the total art work) presages much of today's "new media" revolution—is no surprise. The emerging aesthetic he describes is one in which the proliferating technologies of sampling and studio manipulation have eroded the distinction between music's producers and consumers. From "dub" in Jamaica to the turntablism of the South Bronx, how music was manipulated by listeners after the fact has become as important as how it was "originally" made. The range of reference Miller brings to his description of these phenomena reaches back to Vico and Emerson and forward to Eminem, giving "DJ culture" the broad contextualization its innovations have long warranted. Though much of what Miller describes is hardly new either to listeners or practitioners, his insights as a practicing and successful DJ are fresh and unpretentious. The enclosed CD, an expert full-length mix that moves from Artaud to Morton Feldman, then Patti Smith without blinking, paradoxically points out that Miller is still a better DJ than writer; its effortless juxtapositions cohere in a way his text (including 45 minimalist illustrations) rarely manages. But even such writer/musicians as John Fahey and Glenn Gould rarely accomplished that, and Miller has certainly earned a place in their company.
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Review

"... [A] huge leap for the culture of the now. It's software for your head. Upgrade your grey matter."
— Roy Christopher, Slap

"...Rhythm Science is a compelling book written by a formidable intellect...a pivotally important manifesto for DJs."
— Christian Carey, Splendid

"A densely allusive manifesto that is itself an objet d'art with a die-cut cover and a Dj Spooky sampler CD."
— Josh Glenn, Boston Sunday Globe

"In Rhythm Science Miller remixes sounds and ideas with equal dexterity. A new vibe for a new world."
—John Akomfrah, film director

"It wouldn't much surprise me if DJ Spooky invigorates the intellectual world someday as Professor Spooky or even Chancellor Spooky."
—Bruce Sterling, author of The Hacker Crackdown and Tomorrow Now: Envisioning the Next Fifty Years

"Miller gets his points across in novel and affecting ways....a singular voice."
— Larry Blumenfeld, Jazziz

"Miller raises compelling questions about the philosophy behind the DJ mix and the role the DJ plays in society."
— Doree Shafrir, Philadelphia Weekly

"Miller's insights as a practicing and successful DJ are fresh and unpretentious."
— Publisher's Weekly

"Once again, Paul Miller has pushed the sonic arts and sciences to a new level, and in the process re-mastered literary form. I guarantee, this book will mess with your head, but in a funky way."
—Robin D.G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination

"The writing drifts easily, while cool design from COMA and a CD round out the package...."
— Anne York, Res Magazine

"We've ended the century of broadcast culture—when manufacturers produced the culture we consume. In this brilliant and beautiful book, Paul Miller gives us the rhythm of sampled culture—culture created by those who can remix, and by technologies that enable anyone to remix. Rhythm Science is science; it is art; it is the story of how freedom would build better science and art. Dark, with bright flashes, in tempo, with syncopation, it is a companion to the next stage, if we're allowed that next stage despite law that would keep us locked in the past."
—Lawrence Lessig, Stanford Law School, author of The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 130 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 026263287X
• ISBN-13: 978-0262632874
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #240,517 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This item is part of The Mediaworks Pamphlets Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Wave Scholarship, April 29, 2004

By A Customer

This is a pathbreaking work; surely a future classic. Using the DJ as a model for new patterns of creativity in our culture, DJ Spooky suggests that "the selection of sound becomes narrative." Creativity is in the mix of old and exisiting texts (written, aural, visual) rather than in the invention of new ones. Paradoxically, in the mix something new IS created.

This book shows that theory can be written almost poetically. A rare thing: theory that is as artistic as the art it describes. The accompanying CD of 33 songs is terrific: standout moments include James Joyce reading from Finnegans Wake mixed with Oval vs Yoshihiro Hanno and William S. Burroughs reading from The Five Steps mixed with Scanner Fuse. Patti Smith ain't bad, either.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars +, June 19, 2005

By	Bitform 5000 (NYC) - See all my reviews

Look people: Rhythm Science is about mixing art and sound. The book
is totally readable and accessible, and either people have a reading
level of a 2nd grade student or something, or they just don't get
theory stuff, or maybe they're just stupid. The reason the book is
great is that it draws together writing and music like a dj would and
should: with rhythm. Spooky mixes words and texts in the book like a
mix CD, and the CD that goes with the book is a kind of audio
companion. They are both pretty amazing, and they compliment each
other nicely. It's annoying to see people always come off
conservative and dumb when this is obviously an "avant garde" kind of
book. Come on people: it's not Martha Stewart telling you how to dj -
but you'd think that alot of the reviews are. People always want
something simple, and Spooky never does that. That's why this is an
amazing book. Think of the early Dada manifestoes (even Kurt
Schwitters is on the mix CD!), think of the early Surrealist
manifestoes of Andre Breton or Jean Cocteau, and then fast forward to
now. Digital media and cut culture blur all of these things together
- art, music, and writing, and Paul D. Miller a.k.a. Dj Spooky gets
that. The problem is it seems like he's ahead of alot of people who
don't. The book shows why.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good CD with over-done liner notes, July 29, 2007

By	Joey Narcotic "throatsprockets" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

I like to think of this as a gimmick-packaged CD instead of a book. Paul D. Miller has assembled a remarkable mix of music. It's a shame that the words accompanying the music almost spoils it.

I might have liked it better if the thing wasn't so ugly to look at. Like some of MIT's other Mediaworks pamphlets, Rhythm Science is over-designed to the point that discerning the text is a chore. Unlike other publications in this series (e.g. Shaping Things by Bruce Sterling) the thoughts contained within do not really justify struggling through the various typefaces. Miller's prose is not well written nor does it contain any arresting new ideas; he seems content to regurgitate rhetoric and jargon.

I understand that part of Miller's intent is to apply DJ principles to prose. His facile attempts do not compare favourably with, say, Brion Gysin's & William Burroughs's cut-up & fold-in experiments in the '50s & '60s, or even to Jeff Noon's attempts at word remixing in his novels.

However don't let the disappointingly pseudo-intellectual and pseudo-hip writing put you off the music. Five stars for the CD, 1 star for the book: my overall rating is the median of the two.