The option to experiment in „Dab” (1989) by John Oswald

 

“Dab” is backwards for “Bad” which gives a first hint on Oswald’s song. He did not only change the title when spelling it backwards, he put Michael Jackson’s song “Bad” upside down. When I first listened to it, I did not like the beginning of Oswald’s plunderphone. I could not make sense of the different noises so that I felt irritated. Still, I liked the mix of Michael Jackson’s voice and Oswald’s composition. It was interesting but also hard to listen to since the sounds are high, short-lasting and even more repetitive so it was hard to keep track. After having recognized samples of “Bad”, while continuing to listen to “Dab” I waited for more familiar lyrics or melodies. I also liked that the song is quite surprising and therefore unpredictable. You do not know what is coming next since the sound is constantly changing. In the middle of the song, it was hard to connect the sounds and the repetitive voice so that the song seemed chopped up, I could not connect the fragments to one another. Yet, after that part, the melody fades and the song gets almost calm and harmonious. Then again, the sound increases, it sounds like a buzzing going along with an echo in the background. Thus, there are many different sound impressions that take turns. In the end, the song just fades out, a crackle is followed by a rhythmic sound that slowly fades away.

I find Oswald's composition very interesting, especially how he came to string together and then drown out exactly these tones and sounds with each other. I wonder whether he had the melody first and adapted samples from “Bad” to it, or whether he built the song and its mixture of sounds around “Bad's” samples. Additionally, I was surprised by the length of the song. Meanwhile “Bad” is about 4 minutes, “Dab” is about 7 minutes long.

After listening to the song for the second time, I realized that the song actually starts with “Bad” being put in sound and all over repeated. I was also more familiar with the technique of the song which made me listen to it more carefully. In order to really understand Oswald’s compositions and be more attentive to the mix of sounds, you have to listen to some of his work so that you figure out what you need to pay attention to in his songs.

Moreover, I read Oswald’s paper that he presented at the Wired Society Electronic-Acoustic Conference in Toronto in 1985. I agree with him saying that there should be the “option to experiment” with already existing melodies or lyrics. Why should a great song or melody be only presented in one way? Furthermore, the original track gets more promotion. Nevertheless, I think it is necessary to make sure that if an already existing song is remodeled that the public will know it not being the original. Consequently, the first version is appreciated as well.