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John Oswald's “Dab”

The first ten seconds of “Dab” feel like the start of a typical percussion-heavy song. I think a lot of 80s pop music songs start that way. But this is not done by percussions, of course. It just reminds me of those. Phil Collins/Genesis comes to mind. Then the anticipation is squashed because the next ten or so seconds reminds me forcefully of the “It's Gonna Rain” track done by Steve Reich. At least on the first hearing. On the second hearing I realised that it is not “rain” but “bad”. It feels as if a coal-powered train is on the move. It gives that sound and vibe at the beginning, the first 30 seconds or so. And only then I realise that it is Michael Jackson's “Bad”. The sequences when there is not the Michael Jackson song playing feel like the medium (disc or cassette) is broken, and as if the music is on a broken loop. Also, the volume is turning down slowly, then the piece takes up both  pace and volume, and there he is, Michael is back in action. This is my impression on the first listening but when I listen again, I realise that that only happens at the very end, not throughout the piece.

The bits with Michael Jackson's song seem like being played on a turntable. This is my initial thought. The more I listen, the more I feel like it is a combination of broken turntable, broken medium, and poor radio reception. You know when you would travel in a car and once leaving the radio station's main area and the music would become distored and other radio stations would jump into the reception area and you would only get bits and pieces of the song you were listening to. It would be broken into by talk radio or other, awful music you would never willingly listen to. Making the experience, well, bad. So much so that you would have to change the station, and find something more enjoyable. This feels like that on my second and third listenings. But then I realise that I still like it. It has something fascinating to it because this is not the product of bad airwaves, this is done deliberately. On the – oh, I do not know what number – time of listening, I realise that the non-Michael Jackson bits are complementing and completing the “Bad” bits. What is that sound anyway? I cannot tell, is it some sort of electronic music? Great, now that I have this question, I cannot stop thinking about it. What kind of music is this?  I do not go for the typical electro music – if that is even a genre.
What I cannot tell is: is “Bad” played faster or maybe slower than the original? Maybe a bit of both.
The ending sounds as if a Wheel of Fortune is coming to the end of its cycle. Mixed with a few beats of “Bad. It is my favourite bit – not because the 7'13'' has finally come to an end but because I very much appreciate this Wheel of Fortune/”Bad “ combination at the end. I really enjoyed this. Every time I listened to, I enjoyed it a bit more.

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