Excentrica

The electronic avant-garde scene has seen a lot of progress in recent years. More and more artists have turned from their earlier alt-rock efforts, forsaking their roots in favor of trying something new. For some reason, the world of electronic music seems to be the most comfortable place for them to start on their quest for a new identity. Of course there are always those artists that are more comfortable starting out like that in the first place such as The Residents, offering their first experiments to the world as early as 1969.

Experiments that Redefined “Experimental”

These almost non-musical synth-laden tunes from the Residents came out right around the time when people were coming down from their Beatles high. Consumers were hungry for something fresh, and were not as concerned with quality. In this sense, the Beatles had opened up many opportunities for struggling artists. Having changed the art world forever, once they were out of the equation, a band wasn’t required to be good anymore, only different. Thus the experimental was a safe route to take, and yet one of the most risky ones. A band could rest assured that their music would be heard if they made music in this genre, but they would have to master an acute balance between bad and good.

They had to be bad enough that their music rarely conformed to the sets of rules that defined music, and yet good enough that the people that picked up their first album out of simple curiosity would still continue to purchase the band’s next record. This was a talent that the Residents had, that few shared with them.

In many ways experimental music gave rise to the electronic avant-garde of today and has been eclipsed by it. Though the two share very much in common, they are more different than they are similar in the year 2011.