Donald Trump on Steve Reich: “He’s a Great Example of an Innovator”

One of Steve Reich’s major legacies as a composer is his innovative use of tape loops to create phasing patterns. It turns out, Donald Trump admires Reich’s innovative thought process. In his book Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education in Business and Life, Trump writes about Reich and phasing in a chapter called “Innovation,” as the BBC points out. Read the excerpt below.

I remember reading about a composer named Steve Reich who came up with a new idea called phasing, which is like windshield wipers going in and out of synch. Apparently he was caught in a traffic jam one rainy day and the rhythm of the windshield wipers caught his attention and he applied what he heard to his musical compositions. He has had a significant influence on contemporary music, and I think he’s a great example of an innovator. Sometimes new ideas can come from something as mundane and functional as your windshield wipers. The key is to pay attention and keep your brain and senses open to new stimuli.

It’s worth noting that, while Think Like a Champion is credited solely to Trump, the Republican presidential candidate has been known to use ghostwriters. Famously, Tony Schwartz–co-author of The Art of the Deal–admitted “a deep sense of remorse” for contributing to Trump’s growing public image through his writing.

Since the beginning of his presidential campaign, a slew of musicians have come out against Trump. There is an ongoing anti-Trump program called 30 Days, 30 Songs, which includes new tracks from Sun Kil Moon/Jesu, EL VY, Filthy Friends, Death Cab for Cutie, Franz Ferdinand, Jim James, Aimee Mann, and many more. A number of artists–including the White Stripes, Neil Young, and others–have also criticized Trump for his use of their music.

Read “Here’s How Candidates Can Use Songs in Their Campaigns, Even If Songwriters Don’t Like It” on the Pitch.

Watch Pitchfork.tv’s “The Short List: Donald Trump in Five Songs”:

Comments are closed.