Customer Reviews

Rhythm Science (Mediaworks Pamphlets)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

This book is not just a book, it is poetry, music and artwork all rolled into a unique look at copy culture and the mix. DJ Spooky transends the traditional notions of mix by including artists like Boulez and Debussy as well as other DJs typically associated with the genre. Using the words and voices of authors and poets like Gertrude Stein and James Joyce on the CD, Spooky reveals his theory of rhythm science explaned in the book and decodes, deconstructs and creates new through found objects.

after reading the prior reviews of Dj spooky's rhythm science I feel I must voice my opinion. I read rhythm science last august a few months after studying and integrating Marshall Mc Luhan's epic "Understanding Media"....Upon finishing that text I was struck that there was a very obvious missing chapter..namely that on internet and its effects on culture. Rhythm Science is to date the only text that I am aware of that engages this 'unwritten'chapter...furthermore this is only the beginning....the post-heidegarean overtones, coupled with an obvious knowledge of art history, and the dj's place in such a history make this piece vital to anyone engaging this art form as such.....the downfall of the text though, as well miller's lectures, is not in fact the work itself but the context..we are at a place and time in hiphop/electronic music/performance art/ avant garde practice that is rather sad...where to be involved in so many different practices one has to water oneself down to satisfy everyone...The text is vital and not long enough. i do not think Miller is a bad writer but perhaps a very select audience is ready to deal with this work. If you are coming from an 'intelectual' background perhaps the language used and the non-chalance of his style might seem 'below' you..and if you are coming from an 'uneducated' background the ideas might seem lofty....It is an incredible piece of writing that has set the bar for what an artist must do in an age where art history and intelectual discourse are part of the game. Miller draws from a WIDE range of ideas spanning both time and culture and has produced something as provocative as should be expected...sadly i think the culture absorbing this is at a sad state, which is pushing Miller to pigeon hole himself....nonetheless, Miller's work has had a profound impact on myself, ever more apparent with a second read...and later memory jolts that this piece seems to produce....this is an dense and subtle experience which showcases Miller as truly pushing the genre and art in general, and sadly the sorry state of the avant garde at this point....

Rhythm Science is definitely one of those books that can be viewed in extreme opposite lights depending on the sort of mindset the reader is. This book is not for those that aren't already interested in DJ Spooky/Miller or the DJ culture. I read it for a class, and it was tough to get through. Upon reflection and reading through it again, I was able to appreciate it more.
As a previous review has already stated, as you read this book, it is essential to give your thought patterns to Miller, to submerge your mind into the text in order to really get into the flow of the book and fully understand what Miller is saying.

I completely agree with others, though. The CD that serves as the book's audio companion is far better than the book itself.

Overall, it is an interesting read, but unless you have the time and willingness to dive into the book and not surface until you're finished, I wouldn't bother.

If you are an artist, a dj, a writer, a musician or just have the ability to see things creatively you might enjoy this book. Miller gives a glimpse into how he is finding success and describes the history of his influences and alter-egos. I read it in one sitting, but found myself going back through and re-reading sections that were intriguing. Love his invented vocabulary.

The previous two reviews are BOTH true, IMO. I never review stuff here but I was just so struck by how opinions vary so widely with Spooky... and all of it is true, if I were to add some perspective. Miller/Spooky is such an influence and inspiration to me - I love his music, I love what he does with sound, I love how he is able to draw so many disparate elements to play to create sound-worlds that are immersive, instructive, and wildly engaging.

Too bad he just won't shut up sometimes. He is really so hard to defend as an academic... and to the degree I love the disc, I also agree with the last take on the text.

So, bottom line from a huge fan of the MUSIC: the book is beautifully designed, gorgeous to look at, and virtually unreadable. Skip it. Consider it a nice CD holder. Buy this for the Mix CD: one of the best of Spooky's published work - a seamless integration of ambient, beats, and representative cut-ups of major pieces of 20th Century spoken word or voice performance. Where else can you hear Oval, Patti Smith, William Burroughs, Marcel Duchamp, Bill Laswell, Gertrude Stein, e.e. cummings and DJ Grazhopper in the same place? It's like Blake Edwards' "The Party" took place over the Algonquin Round Table and was catered to by Wordsound Records. n i c e.

With Globalization approaching faster and faster, how does an artist/ writer/ muscician keep up? This incredibly thoughtful, poingnant, and reflective piece is the culmination of DJ Spooky's process that is the foundation of all his work. In it, he keeps a fast-paced conversation going on how we are overwhelmed with media, choice, community, and "networks" and how all these relate to the idea of "Rhythm Science". What is Rhytm Science? Its speaking through the voices that have overwhelmed a global community. Essentially, you are a propagator of these voices and using them to speak, not for you, but trough you is the key. One of the best 21st century pieces of writing on philosophy, art, and music that you will find. Plus, its as visual a book as it is literary. The CD that comes with it will surely bring all of what DJ Spooky talks about together for you in a unique auditory collage. Don't miss this one...

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.

This book is not academia, it is hip hop. By that I mean it is a manifesto encoded into rhythmic, visual passages that don't always make sense right away. Eventually, if the reader is open to it, his consciousness begins to adapt to Miller's, and ideas that once seemed like gibberish begin to make sense. I highly recommend this book. It is short but the knowledge is incredibly dense/intense. It has absolutely changed the way I look at identity and cultural evolution in the information age, and it accomplishes this subtly. Perhaps readers not exposed to hip-hop culture and philosophy will get lost in the mix, but this is their loss. "Check the rhyme as it unfolds in time." This book is about the evolution of human consciousness.