> -----Original Message----- > From: JT Stewart [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 25 November 2007 00:34 > To: Thomas D. Cox, Jr. > Cc: [email protected] > Subject: Re: (313) Amato's Demise > > mainstream culture and the music biz of course play a large > role, but i feel like a lot of blame rests with dance music > fans for holding the music back. the tremendous emphasis on > so-called "innovation" and "newness" gives the impression > that electronic music is just a novelty. that it _should_ be > a novelty, it should strive for it. it's not enough for the > music to be great -- it has to "innovate". it has to do > whatever nonsense richie hawtin is saying he is trying to do > which is unlike anything before etc etc. in addition to being > essentially "faceless" to begin with, dance music producers > aren't allowed to have a signature style, at least, not for > long. music that doesn't incorporate all the latest > production techniques gets called "retro". techno fans in > particular take the "techno" label literally, they expect the > music to progress at the same speed as technology, and if it > doesn't, it's "been there done that". what makes music good > -- any music -- takes a back seat with electronic dance music > fans. depth and poignant emotional expression, and good song > writing, are either acknowledged as an afterthought or hardly > acknowledged at all. it's had a negative affect on dance > music both within and without. the rest of the music business > doesn't take "techno" (i'm using it as an umbrella term) > seriously because there is a lack of respect for real musical > art even from dance music fans -- they all seem to have > tunnel vision. i feel like Detroit Techno was the electronic > dance music to ground the genre, to give it personality, > humanity, to give it respect. but it was either lost on most > people, or discarded after awhile in the push to move on to > whatever is the supposed next-step. i like Detroit Techno. i > don't care if nothing supposedly "new" is coming from > Detroit. new music aside, I like the sounds that have already > been made in Detroit enough to sustain me for a lifetime.
There's nothing invalid about this, but I reckon it's only one part of the issue. On the one hand, I recall listening to Monolake's "Tangent II" when it came out and thinking it was the most 'futuristic' thing I'd heard in a long time. I don't think I've had that feeling since outside of perhaps some insane newer hip hop (and it still sounds like one of the "newest" things I've ever heard). I don't think it's a bad thing per se, but I think those sort of stark contrasts are probably rairer now and will probably continue to be. While you correctly pointed out a few weeks ago that this feeling only highlights our ignorance at the point of exposure, I still get off on that feeling of newness and long for it. On the other hand I've never personally lamented the "oldness" of Detroit house or techno (indeed I probably only really got into it once I saw it from a distance and put it into its historical musical context). I like it for what it is, like I like those new Escort disco records from New York and Studio in Sweden. What I think is probably a larger factor is the fact that U.S. radio and television don't support upcoming and independent music (and especially dance music) in the same way as it is supported in Europe. Add to that the puritanical hours of operation for clubs in the states and I think you have a fairly prohibitive environment for nurturing the growth of dance music. That's not to say that it's impossible (things have broken through these factors in the past) but it's hard to see how a lasting national scene could be sustained. Perhaps regional scenes can flare up occasionally, but I don't see that American dance music will be waving the flag for much longer like this. Tristan ======= http://www.phonopsia.co.uk [EMAIL PROTECTED]
