The Cutting Edge

L E T T E R S
Nielsen’s Folly
While a lot of ink has been spilled over
Robert Harley’s editorial from Issue
160, I think far more important issues
were raised by Bob Gendron’s editorial
from Issue 159 and the response in
Issue 160 by Mr. Nielson. Nielson
excoriated BG for having the temerity
to suggest that, to expand the high
end’s customer base, product reviewers
might want to demonstrate that they
listen to different kinds of post-70s
music, including hip-hop.
Nielson did not stop there. He
derided hip-hop as the product of “a
garbage culture” and lamented that
“rich suburban” kids were listening to
it. I’ve waited in vain for someone to
jump into the fray and set Mr. Nielson
straight, but none of The Absolute
Sound’s editors or other subscribers
seems inclined to do so. Permit me to
say a few words.
Nielson’s letter certainly was
racist—what exactly is the “garbage culture”
he considers to have birthed hiphop
And why is it a particular problem
that rich suburban kids (read: white) are
listening to that music But my main
beef is his contention that hip-hop is
uncreative “MIDI patch stuck on repeat”
music. To the contrary, today’s avatars of
hip-hop—such as OutKast, The Roots,
The Neptunes, and Kanye West, among
many others—rely heavily on live
instrumentation, drawing from other
genres like soul, jazz, funk, and rock to
create musical works that are the most
exhilarating, and diverse, in today’s popular
music. Don’t take my word for it:
Go and listen to records like Aquemini
and Speakerboxx/The Love Below by
OutKast, Late Registration by Kanye
West, Do You Want More or Things
Fall Apart by The Roots, or The Low End
Theory by A Tribe Called Quest. All of
these albums are destined to ascend to
the pantheon of great recorded music of
the last century, and will take their
rightful place besides such hoary chestnuts
as Abraxas, Kind of Blue, Revolver,
Innervisions, and Are You Experienced.
BG, Greg Kot, and Soren Baker have
taken great pains to point this out, but
they write only for the music section—
it’s high time the equipment reviewers
joined the party.
Mr. Nielson’s letter proves the central
point of Bob Gendron’s editorial:
Too many audiophiles and equipment
reviewers dismiss any music recorded
after the 70s as unworthy of attention
(unless, of course, the music was recorded
by an artist who rose to fame in the
70s). I do not mean to denigrate 70s
artists: I have, and listen to frequently, all
of the albums (meaning LPs) mentioned
above. But, as Gendron correctly points
out, to attract new hobbyists we have to
show them—using examples relevant to
them—how playback over a high-end
system would deepen their appreciation
for the music they love (and expand their
musical horizons, to boot). I speak from
experience: The sampled jazz in A Tribe
Called Quest’s records led me to Ron
Carter (and thence to Miles Davis),
Freddie Hubbard, Andrew Hill, and
Horace Silver. You might say that the
strange alchemy of hip-hop and the high
end turned me into a jazz-head. But none
of that would have happened without the
epiphany I experienced hearing The Low-
End Theory played back through an
Audible Illusions preamp, Marsh amplifier,
and Aerial Acoustic 7Bs.
So, what is the answer to this conundrum
Nielson also hates today’s movies,
but permit me to answer the question
with a quote from one (Mo’ Better Blues):
“The people don’t come because you
grandiose motherfuckers don’t play shit
that they like. If you played the shit that
they like, then people would come, simple
as that.”
Rest in peace, Jay Dee.
CHIDI J. OGENE
Nielsen, Encore
I am writing to you in response to Mr.
Nielson letter, which appeared in the
latest issue of TAS (161). I met the late
lamented English DJ John Peel back in
1996 in Hamburg, Germany, while he
was shooting a feature called “Autobahn
Blues” for BBC Channel 4. While in the
city, he also visited the independent FM
radio station FSK, and then after that,
we all went and checked out a live concert
by the John Spencer Blues
Explosion, who were playing that night.
I have been listening to his shows on
BFBS and FSK since then.
Alas, as we all know, John is not
with us anymore. But what I learned
Upcoming in TAS
Our really big 2006 Editors’ Choice List
Ascendo M loudspeaker
Rega Apollo CD player
Paradigm Reference Signature S8 loudspeaker
Arcam FMJ CD 36 and C 31 preamp
Vienna Acoustics Beethoven loudspeaker
6 THE ABSOLUTE SOUND ■ SEPTEMBER 2006