Keith Fullerton Whitman: Greatest Hits

Donc a priori, rien de très excitant à la vue d'une énième compil' de plunderphonics consacrée à la maltraitance des artefacts pop de bien commun. On s'est souvent épanchés sur les praticiens de la technique si chère à John Oswald - sampler, morpher, défigurer, détourner etc. des échantillons sonores culturels - tout en en déplorant leur recrudescence inquiétante sur Internet. Car combien parmi tous ces petits malins qui s'amusent à ralentir Justin Bieber pour faire du dark ambient ont à l'esprit les mille et une complexités de cette pratique artistique hyper politique?

Or celui dont ou vous parle aujourd'hui - le sound artist Keith Fullerton Whitman, petite sommité de la musique électronique et modulaire depuis plus de quinze ans - semble avoir pris le contre-pied du matraquage éhonté auquel d'aucuns nous avaient habitués. Pour ce très personnel Greatest Hits, le gars pioche dans la cédéthèque de sa jeunesse, fragmente les morceaux, les fait tourner à l'envers, les ralentit. Et plutôt que d'en écharper le contenu, l'Américain les traite avec suffisamment de respect et de nostalgie pour en faire ressurgir des pans originellement imperceptibles et ouvertement fantomatiques:

“On the eve of my 30th birthday, I began rendering ‘automatic’ ‘enhancements’ of the most salient points of the pop music of my youth (...). Each edit was looped at exactly half-speed, then run through a series of time and gain-based processes that slowly and meticulously chewed through the audio, revealing hidden layers of content, context, and temporal/spectral production details…like shining a flashlight into the dark corners of each selection, exposing the hidden ghosts lurking within."

Van Halen tous mous, Eurythmics en dépression post-industrielle Stalker-ienne, ça va presque effleurer du Leyland Kirby (dont on rappelle rapidement que l'ancien projet V/VM était largement consacré à l'art délicat du plunderphonisme). Whitman vient juste de publier les 50 premiers titres; on en attend encore 200 autres pour les prochains mois.

111. Michael Jackson "Human Nature" (1982)

110. Snap "Rhythm Is A Dancer" (1992)

109. Kenny G "Songbird" (1986)

108. Cyndi Lauper "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (1983)

107. C+C Music Factory "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" (1990)

106. Barry White "I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby" (1973)

105. Michael Jackson "Rock With You" (1979)

104. Stevie Wonder "I Just Called To Say I Love You" (1984)

103. Bon Jovi "Runaway" (1983)

102. Joe Satriani "Satch Boogie" (1987)

101. Stevie Wonder "Livin' For The City" (1973)

100. Dokken "Mr. Scary" (1987)

99. L.A. Guns "Electric Gypsy" (1987)

98. Def Leppard "Pour Some Sugar On Me" (1987)

97. Def Leppard "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" (1981)

96. James Gang "Funk 49" (1970)

95. Billy Joel "The Stranger" (1977)

94. Bon Jovi "Livin' On A Prayer" (1986)

93. Crowded House "Don't Dream It's Over" (1986)

92. Phil Collins "Take Me Home" (1985)

91. Tangerine Dream "Love On A Real Train" (1984)

90. Pino Donaggio "Telescope" (1984)

89. Frankie Goes To Hollywood "Relax" (1983)

88. Peter Frampton "Do You Feel Like We Do" (1976)

87. The Velvet Underground "Sweet Jane" (1970)

86. U2 "I Will Follow" (1980)

85. U2 "New Year's Day" (1983)

84. Big Country "In A Big Country" (1983)

83. The Clash "Rock The Casbah" (1982)

82. The Clash "London Calling" (1979)

81. Blur "Sing" (1991)

80. Taylor Dane "Tell It To My Heart" (1987)

79. Van Halen "Jump" (1983)

78. Tina Turner "What's Love Got To Do With It" (1984)

77. Harold Faltermeyer "Axel F" (1984)

76. Buckner & Garcia "Pac-Man Fever" (1982)

74. James Brown "Living In America" (1985)

73. Miami Sound Machine "Conga" (1986)

72. Simply Red "Holding Back The Years" (1985)

71. Cutting Crew "(I Just) Died In Your Arms" (1986)

70. LL Cool J "I Need Love" (1987)

69. George Michael "Faith" (1987)

68. ABBA "The WInner Takes It All" (1980)

67. Nena "99 Luftballoons" (1983)

66. Phil Collins "In The Air Tonight" (1981)

65. Grover Washington, Jr. "Just The Two Of Us" (1981)

64. Kim WIlde "Kids In America" (1981)

62. ABBA "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" (1979)

61. Led Zeppelin "No Quarter" (1973)

60. Steve Miller Band "Threshold" (1977)

59. The Supremes "You Keep Me Hanging On" (1966)

58. Siouxsie And The Banshees "Peek-A-Boo" (1988)

57. Styx "Mister Roboto" (1983)

56. Marvin Gaye "Sexual Healing" (1982)

55. Duran Duran "Tiger Tiger" (1987)

54. Boston "Foreplay" (1976)

53. Michael Sembello "Maniac" (1983)

52. Eddy Grant "Electric Avenue" (1982)

51. Eurythmics "Here Comes The Rain Again" (1984)

50. Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" (1983)

49. Toto "Africa" (1982)

48. Mick Smiley "Magic" (1984)

47. Herbie Hancock "Rockit" (1983)

46. Shannon "Let The Music Play" (1983)

45. Art Of Noise "Moments In Love" (1983)

44. Madonna "Take A Bow" (1994)

43. Michael Jackson "Billie Jean" (1983)

42. Van Halen "Eruption" (1978)

41. Mister Mister "Broken Wings" (1985)

40. Skid Row "18 And Life" (1989)

39. Kenny Loggins "This Is It" (1979)

38. Loverboy "Turn Me Loose" (1980)

37. Joe Satriani "Always with Me, Always with You" (1987)

36. INXS "Never Tear Us Apart" (1988)

35. Tears For Fears "Head Over Heels" (1985)

34. Anthrax "Indians" (1987)

33. Men Without Hats "The Safety Dance" (1982)

32. Asia "Heat Of The Moment" (1982)

31. White Lion "Wait" (1987)

30. Guns 'N Roses "Welcome To The Jungle" (1987)