We hear too much the "getting old" theory of musical taste, but maybe
whether people came to techno through an enjoyment of some type of
industrial music also has a lot do with the direction of their musical
tastes??? Please discuss.
Sure. The old TG/EN/Cab Volt/Mute stuff certainly threads into techno - but
bands like Cab Volt and even New Order (which after all evolved from Joy
Division) had their flirtations with the whole NY Funk/proto-electro scene
via Arthur Baker, John Robie, Benitez, etc...and it might be argued that
the latter scene ties more into house. Looking back, the Durannies are
quite marked up by the time period and feel awfully cheesy, but then again
they did NOT seem that way when those first 12"s rolled out. They were what
was new and hot before they were mass-marketed. I listened to old school
industrial and new wave pop (as well as most anything else I could get my
hands on) and I like a good deal of what I hear these days. Also, people's
tastes change as time goes on - I'm not sure how much weight one can place
upon where one came from with regard to where one is going. Influences are
always important, but any number of factors can influence progression or
regression. I used to listen to Raw Power a lot (and I'm not opposed to
slapping it on right now :-), but I'm not sure that has a lot of effect on
what I like in electronic music. I think people have come to the table
through a variety of paths, but it's tough at the end of the day to
separate cleanly the tributaries which have flowed into the current ocean.
I suppose I could have mixed in another metaphor, but I'll let the notion
of using a body of water as a table suffice. :-)
jeff
