i don't buy the geography argument.
new jersey and new york can be about as grim as it gets (harsh climate,
decaying urban enviroenments, social ills) but they are both places known
for uplifting soulful house.
however, the biggest counterargument comes from australia -a land of blue
skies, beaches and cute furry animals. it makes san fransisco seems chilly,
wet and dark.
yet, australia produces some hard-arsed dark music. first up the birthday
party (a birthday party gig from the late 70s early 80s makes an adam x set
seem like lounge music.) the industrial group spk (surgical penis clinic)
from the early 80s rate an honourable mention. early severed heads
material. the free party people, system corrupt, in sydney throw parties on
secluded beaches (lady jane) that are the image of tropical paradise and
yet play death metal. then there is the bloody fist label - the name says
it all.
james
www.jbucknell.com
"sasha"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]
com> To
<[email protected]>
25/05/04 08:49 AM cc
Subject
(313) Detroit and Geography
All this talk about where one is from has me thinking of something that
has been nipping at me since I made the trek from East to West about 5
or 6 years ago; how the landscape has such an important effect on the
impact of music.
For those of you not familiar with the US, the Northeast, on the coast,
in cities like Boston and NY (and Detroit) is very industrialized. Here
on the West Coast, especially in the Bay Area (San Francisco - or should
I say Pacifica, cause technically, I'm 5 miles south of the city?), the
land is more open and people are generally more in touch with the
environment around them. Some places, like LA, don't have a city center
and seem like one endless suburb. So, the point is that the West Coast
does not generally feel like an East Coast city.
Anyways, upon moving from Boston to SF, I noticed that all the music I
had previously been into, like UR, the more hard-hitting techno, etc,
did not feel or sound the same to me. The impact was no longer there.
Driving down the Pacific Coast Highway, and seeing the towering rocks
and blue ocean and blasting UR's X101 makes no sense to me any longer.
Hard to feel like a techno rebel with all this sunshine and blue skies
around. Although I still can get into the jazzier UR stuff, I avoid the
hard techno bin at the local shop now. House, funk, disco, environ, it
all sounds better out here somehow.
Not to imply that techno, especially Detroit techno, does not have a
universal appeal on some level, but it's taken moving around to help me
understand that music's appeal lies more than in just the art. The
cultural milieu, and the environmental surroundings have an important
impact as well.
Anyone else experience this?
- Sasha
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ronny Pries [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 12:02 AM
> Cc: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: (313) why lie on your bio (Tim Baker)
>
> aw,
>
> i was looking forward to a discussion regarding the digital
> distribution topic and you keep ranting about districts :)
>
> on a sidenote, not everybody knows that jackson, mason, ann
> arbor or whatever are even close to detroit. the important
> thing is giving people who aren't firm with detroit and its
> surrounding (be my guest :) a rough idea where you're from.
>
> i'd understand if you rant about me writing i'd come from detroit
> (*cough*) but hey, those few miles more or less you guys deal
> with aren't really worth getting upset, right?
>
> ronny
>
>
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