From Britton James Sent Fri, Apr 3rd 1998, 05:12
From Britton James Sent Fri, Apr 3rd 1998, 05:12
Andregurov wrote: > > I agree with you one-hundred percent. I did not intend to sound overly > defensive (there is an irony on my part for being defensive about not trying > to sound defensive, isn't there?), but was merely attempting to show that > though drugs do affect the way we describe our music, it is not necessary. > Consciousness-altering is a serious step for those who are not prepared to > deal with the walls it "breaks down" and the feelings it can arouse and > inspire. I perhaps misunderstood your original post to be stating that > consciousness-altering artefacts have a wider scope to play in how we describe > our reaction and how we achieve that reaction, and my reply was intended to > convey alarm at this expansion. I believe that the music does not require any > altering to our perceptions to have credibility, but for those who can and are > prepared to seek out the new consciousness drugs can create the choice is > valid. My statement was not meant to verify your observations nor invalidate > them. The choice, as both of us recognize, is individual. > However, my statement of western music's history of individual accessibility I > stand by, for it does not just describe classical tradition. As long as we > are listening to the music it is an individual stance. Dancing does not, in > my view, change this music into a communal one. Yes, dancing may be a > communal act, but the receptivity of our ears to the music is still > individual. True, only by breaking down the walls of "us" and "them" into > "all" can we change that - and this is where the role of consciousness- > altering chemicals can help. But, since most IDM is confined to home speakers > or smoky nightclubs, and not large "tribal gatherings" (unless you are > lucky/unlucky enought to live in the UK), for most of us still the music is an > individual experience. Please do not misinterpret this to be an attack on > music that is meant to be a communal experience (i.e. trance as an easy > example), I merely accentuate a different facet of the experience of IDM than > you, my facet being the one I am most able to discuss. > > In sum, your post is challenging to think about. My garble hopefully is not a > total waste of your time. I'm going to go smoke now and be selfish about my > music. > > James (please take all sarcastic statements above as such)