Re-make/Re-model
Have you ever listened to Roxy Music’s 1972 self-titled debut? It’s a wonderful record that I discovered somewhere toward the end of high school (as my punk-rock musical tunnel vision started to loosen up a bit.)
What makes Roxy Music special is that it synthesizes so much of what rock music had been (rock n roll, doo-wop, soul) and would be (glam, new wave). By introducing new sounds, and a new level of kookball, art-school, avant-rock (that, btw, Williamsburg hipsters are still struggling to recreate) Roxy Music managed to carve out a new space for themselves, and for the many artists that followed in their path.
The aptly titled opening track, “Re-make/Re-model”, is a riff on a galloping rock n roll tune that, at its core, is relatively straightforward. The backing track – drums, bass, piano – isn’t anything out of the ordinary. But then they layer on a rambling fuzzed guitar lead, insane saxophone squall, Eno’s non-stop synth oscillations and finally Brian Ferry’s vampiric crooning. The sum becomes something altogether unique.
Check it:
Oh, and the visuals! Wacky costumes, makeup, antics—the total package. How amazing is this:
After 10 years of digesting Roxy Music, the mythos of “remake remodel” has stuck with me. There’s something interesting in the idea that one can arrive at something unique by simply manipulating and expanding upon established patterns and conventions. Through this lens, creativity is less about being “original” and more about being clever in how you draw from the world around you.
I think this idea applies to all creative disciplines, and design in particular as it relies so heavily on the arrangement of separate elements (type, illustration, photography, etc.) Regardless of the particular expertise – be it motion graphics or web design – the designer’s job is to first understand the patterns and conventions of the world around, and then to arrive at a solution by manipulating the conventional forms in a unique fashion.
The real trick of course is in finding the little twist or turn that will take something from ordinary to remarkable. For Roxy Music that was a balding guy in a peacock outfit twiddling knobs on the synth. For the rest of us, who knows where the magic will sprinkle. CPL593H!
