LogFAQs > #956244947

108. Aphex Twin Windowlicker (1999)
non-album single

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwcxAnZzItg

There will likely never be a more controversial instrument in popular music than the synthesizer. What some artists saw as a jump into the future was loudly rejected by those who viewed it as an excessive, cold imitation of real instruments. Several artists have put in great effort to show the human side of the synthesizer, while others found comfort in the robotic future. Windowlicker feels like a vicious assault from every angle. There is no humanity here, nor a chromatic vision. This is a calculated nightmare, as if Aphex Twin looked to the surface-level horror of his previous single, Come to Daddy, and decided to show us what a real electronic monstrosity could sound like. Yet the sheer coldness proves those other bands right the amount of effort required to strip electronic music of its soul makes every other act look human.

As such, Windowlicker is an exercise in unpleasantness, more a proof of concept than anything. Yet something mesmerizing exists below it seemingly impenetrable surface. The trick of being designed around unpredictable elements is that an experienced listener knows what to expect. Once you adjust to the unusual sound, Windowlicker becomes a singularly bizarre dance track. The final trick Aphex Twin pulls off is a reminder that even the most extreme music is rooted in the human experience.

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My top 100 games (with write-ups): https://foolfantastic.com/top-100-video-games-project/