Jean Routhier

Stereotyped Latter-day Opinion (1999)

1:00

Analysis by Matthew Kober

A concise vignette, the prevalent element of the piece is the ominously chugging loop. The slow but urgent rhythmic scrap is reminiscent of Massive Attack or transient loops from a Tricky album. The beat breaks on occasion, most notably at 00:42, when a climax occurs in the form of a steady mid to high tone glissando. Punctuating the piece is a cat's meow that pops up in syncopated juxtaposition with the loop.

Buried somewhere in the middle an ethereal guitar plays two chords, then stops.

In more sporadic, incidental and ambient placement throughout "Stereotyped" are high-frequency synth squishes, squared-off alarm-clock bleeps, and rough, digital glitch noises. The end contains crowd recordings and concrete-style clangs that lends the piece an urgently cinematic air.

The imagery can shift with repeated listenings. At first an alleycat wandering through hot labyrinthian city alleys, singing his own tune to the clanking urban rhythm, then maybe drunk in an arcade in Parc Extension at four in the afternoon. The prevailing overtone is one of darkness mystery, however the sly placement of the cat's meowing shows a wryly humorous shade.

Spectral analysis taken from "Stereotyped Latter-day Opinion"

00:20 to 00:50