After reading a previous blog post by Jorden “A Different Kind of Remix.. or Remake?” I was inspired to continue the discussion on the connotation that remixes hold. Remixes are stereotypically known to be ‘much faster’ or ‘heavier’ then the original song beat. This stereotype is not true, and I want to bring awareness to remix culture, as it’s own entity. A remix of a song should be seen in its own entity. I am not saying it should be completely free of its referent, but it should be judged on its own. The referent is still important to compare the differences and similarities.
Using the ‘Specificity Thesis,” explained by Philosopher and theorist Noel Carroll, can be beneficial to explain that remix is a different art form from the original song because of its formal and physical medium. She explains the thesis is in place to correct the vagueness of tendency to reduce all art forms to their common denominator. The idea that there is something each medium does best, and in this case, remix is the formative building on ideas, beats, pictures, clips and formats that already exist.
Here is a song created (remixed) from all the sounds and voices heard in Alice In Wonderland to form an “original” song. I think it is actually such a pretty, calming song:
Here is the source for Noel Carroll:
Nonfiction Film and Postmodernist Skepticism." Post-Theory: Reconstructing Film Studies. Eds. David Bordwell and Carroll. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996. pp. 283-306.
