
Beware the Purists, Lest They Kill Your Innovation - joshuacc
http://joshuablankenship.com/blog/2011/09/24/beware-the-purists/
======
zdw
There's a big difference between a purist, which is someone who wants
something to stay the same forever, and a perfectionist, which is someone who
wants change for the better.

It's very easy to confuse the two when you're receiving criticism and put on
the defensive.

Purism isn't about logic, it's about nostalgia.

Perfectionism will generally be based in logic, or a point of view subtly or
wildly different from your own.

~~~
azulum
as a perfectionist, i can safely say that it is not based on logic. the
rational mind cowers to the emotions behind perfectionism, and then explains
it as if it were its idea. a logical person would know when to stop, when the
law of diminishing returns is about to turn negative or shortly thereafter, a
perfectionist such as myself will not bother to start because the law of
diminishing returns is _exists_.

a purist, on the other hand, may be completely open to new ideas within the
framework of bebop or within the framework of "real instruments"—even if it
ends up sounding bad. a purist with taste i think would be able to marry
nostalgia with the new that is good, a purist without taste probably just
wants to be safe, or can't be bothered to listen closely enough to the music
to find out if it is any good.

the fact is, the streams of missives from the guy may have been because he was
a purist or it may have actually been pretty bad and his derision was from the
angle of a purist.

even if everything about a man is known, his intentions are forever foreign to
us. it's the problem with subjectivity.

------
mootothemax
_On and on (and on) he went. Hancock had “forgotten his jazz roots” and was
“trying to be too hip”. He should “never allow that electric bass on stage”
and has to “leave all this weird synth keyboard stuff alone”_

Bless him, this must've been irritating The Purist for nearly 40 years; I
mean, it's been nearly that long since Hancock released the revolutionary and
synth-heavy HeadHunters:

<http://allmusic.com/album/head-hunters-r140166>

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQsSQRWMhOs>

~~~
rglover
Thank you for mentioning Head Hunters. One of my favorite pieces of music to
date. Also a great example of a record you can listen to straight through and
enjoy every son equally.

------
phzbOx
Medium-related comment (sorry), but I wanted to point out a _great_ video of
Cantelope Island played by Herbie Hancock. This really is a good example of
jazz fusion (With the C -> Ab transition)

    
    
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrgP1u5YWEg&feature=related
    

If I had the chance to see Hancock, I'd surely want to see some jazz like
that.. So I somewhat can understand the 'purist' in the example. I wouldn't
however whine about it as I'm sure it'd be some epic music.

~~~
danieldk
I have seen Hancock recently, at a tribute to Miles Davis with Wayne Shorter,
and Marcus Miller. And witnessed a different emotion, equally bad to
innovation: people without a grain of critical thinking. In other words, they
had to like the music, not because it was great, but _because_ it was Hancock,
Shorter, and Miller.

Frankly, the concert sucked. There was no intimacy, it sounded cold, and the
instruments were completely drained by arena-style drums. At the same
festival, in tiny rooms, fantastic innovative music was made. But most people
rave only about the things they can namedrop to friends.

~~~
azulum
it amazes me how much of what is subjectively good is based on reputation
alone. like derek jeter winning gold gloves.

but there is a flip side, while you found it cold and lacking intimacy, the
people who rave based on reputation alone actually got something out of
it—even if just the equivalent to a cheap trinket—they saw someone famous play
with other famous people, and thus may have _enjoyed_ it based on reputation
alone.

it takes all sorts to make a world.

