Paul Miller, 38-year-old disc jockey and music producer, took the stage at the Ogle Center Thursday, Oct. 2, for the first part of a two-part series sponsored by the IUS Common Experience.
Miller, also known as DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid, lectured on rhythm science, the creation of art from the flow of patterns in sound and culture.
Miller uses two small computers to rip, burn, edit and layer video and sound together to produce multimedia presentations. He travels around the country and the world with his computers in tow and through his lectures demonstrates how he creates his multimedia presentations.
“Nothing is just music, it’s connected to the visuals,” Miller said. “To me music isn’t music, it is information.”
Robin Morgan, professor of psychology and Common Experience co-chair, said Miller’s topics, especially his Antarctica presentation, are highly relevant to this year’s theme, “Greening of the Earth: Whose Responsibility.”
“He brings issues to the forefront that need to be addressed. His presentations provide images expressed with music. It pulls the topic together with art,” Morgan said.
Jimmy Tolizka, Spanish, political science and international studies sophomore, said he was familiar with Miller’s work and was happy to see he was brought to campus.
“He comes from an intellectual society and he is a big name in certain communities,” Tolizka said.
Miller began his lecture by showing a piece in which he ripped and edited together video and sound from a Jimmy Hendrix guitar solo, The Beatles “Paperback Writer” and “Hey Ya!” from rap group OutKast into a collage of the ’60s, ’70s and today.
Miller said this collaboration represented how far we have come as a culture.
“Music and video is no longer something that is meant to be permanent, it is meant to be ripped, mixed and burned. The way kids today play with video games, ring tones and the Internet is a new literary,” Miller said. “Sampling is about the prolonged presence. There is no final version, there is always another version you can make.
“It is really about editing as an art form and globalization of sound. Once things are out in the world, people can take them and run with them,” he said.
During his lecture, Miller said oral history is quickly becoming digital history. He also said the Internet is the new street for music culture and has become the social network for trading and sharing music globally, mainly because of Web sites like Myspace and Facebook.
“It will be very interesting how people in the 21st century will look at culture in 20, 30 or 40 years because we have moved from mass culture to mass customization,” Miller said.
Miller wrapped up his hour-long lecture by showing a short clip of his latest project “Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica” which he presented on Fri, Oct. 3, at the Ogle Center.
Miller also gave CDs of music from countries around the world to everyone in attendance, which he said he hoped would encourage trading and mixing so they can make their own version of rhythm science.
Crystal Edwards, nursing sophomore, said she attended the event to earn extra credit for a class but was surprised by the lecture.
“I was really expecting to be lectured and that wasn’t the case,” Edwards said. “I learned more than I expected. I enjoyed how he related the past to the future.”
Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Miller said he has always had a love for music and computers. After attending Bowdoin College in Maine, where he earned degrees in philosophy and French literature, he made his way to New York.
Miller said he found making ends meet in New York was tough and out of necessity he developed his DJ skills.
“It was hard to pay the rent with a degree in philosophy and French literature so I started hosting house parties where I would DJ,” Miller said. “I would charge people $5 a head and would make my rent for the month in one night.”
During the ’90s, Miller began recording and released his debut album “Songs of a Dead Dreamer.” Since the release of the album he has continued with his career, recording, producing and collaborating with some recognizable names in the music industry.
By AMY STALLINGS
Staff Writer
akstalli@ius.edu
