Well, just as a contrast, I live in Chicago in Logan Square. Recently Derrick Carter played a set three blocks from my house. For FREE.
He just showed up at Streetside, the neighborhood bar which has a DJ every night and never charges cover. Apparently he owed a favor to the guys that play that night, but whatever, I mean it is a free venue. If you play there it is cus you love the music. I really, really respect that... And I don't think it at all detracts from Derrick's ability to make a living. Now, nobody makes you buy a Jeff Mills record, and he has a right to run his business as he chooses. But guess what, people notice things like that. Some of us try and be very choosy and smart consumers watching who are dollars support. (I also don't eat McDonald's or Coke). So I'm not gonna bitch about the price of a Mills record. It's a luxury, some people have nowhere to live. But guess what, there's plenty of great music. I JUST WON'T BUY THE RECORD. I'd actually much rather support UR. Beyond that, there are plenty of lesser known people and some are up on his level, so much of this is just HYPE. Don't be the dumb consumer. Support what you believe in and stay away from the rest. Maybe his overpricing is even good, if it means that less knowledgeable people buy HIS record, whereas you go out and find something really worth your money! ~David -----Original Message----- From: atomly [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 4:18 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: (313) axis [EMAIL PROTECTED] > I agree - all those Jeff Mills records I and thousands of other people > own and enjoy in our living rooms - not to mention all of us who use > his records to make other people dance, plus the fantastic DJ sets > we've experienced, and his and Robert Hoods practical invention of the > minimal techno style don't amount to much. We've been duped. > > I think Jeff Mills owes us all a personal apology for robbing us all > these years of "a lot" - whatever that "a lot" may be. Well isn't that a pompous response? Jeff Mills hasn't played in Chicago since 1993? despite living here for years. You may remember that he reluctantly agreed to play a show in Detroit in 2000 after not performing there for years, even though he's from there, and then cancelled it because it didn't sell enough tickets. The event finally happened years later, but not until after he had acted like a total prima donna. I think artists/musicians/whatever have a responsibility to their community beyond just releasing records-- art is not created inside some sort of a vacuum. You may disagree with me, and that's fine, but that's how I feel and that influences how and where I spend my money. I think that Jeff Mills has a certain responsibility to help foster the American electronic music scene being that he is an electronic musician from the United States. It's like he took what he needed from Detroit/Chicago and then just turned his back on them. It's not like he invented techno, despite what some of you may think, but rather was introduced to a fertile art scene and is not acting to maintain that scene at all but instead is essentially plundering and pilfering whatever he can from the apparently willing fans. -- :: atomly :: [ [EMAIL PROTECTED] : www.atomly.com ... [ atomiq records : po box 805319 chicago il 60680 : 312.804.5389 ... [ e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for atomly info and updates ...
