From Greg Earle Sent Fri, Sep 18th 1998, 21:46
From Greg Earle Sent Fri, Sep 18th 1998, 21:46
CiM wrote:
> Just noticed that most people who sent in lists had a fair amount of US
> Industrial stuff listed which I thought was interesting - shows how the
> IDM readership has really shifted from a UK/European base (when we used
> to talk about things like The Orb, Rephlex, A.R.T. and Detroit
> influenced Techno with only guys like Jon (Drukman) and Greg banging on
> about Industrial stuff) [...]
Ironic that CiM mentions this in the context of the "records that changed
my diapers" thread, really ... on a couple of levels.
I admit that I came to Techno and IDM from an immediate Industrial (and, much
less so, Rap) precursor background, so I probably tended to blather on in the
earlier days of the list from that perspective. And my own tastes in Techno
are definitely oriented towards music that has that Industrial-informed
aesthetic to some degree - seeing Aphex play "The Garden of Linmiri" live
(that Pirelli tire commercial song, for those of you playing along at home)
back in '92 single-handedly convinced me that Industrial was a dead genre, and
seeing Carl Craig play his hardest 69 material live back in '94 left me with
permanent concrete chin rash scars.
But if I were to try and list "music that changed my life" (a hopeless task,
given over 25 years' of immersion - Irene, Kent, can I get a witness?), I
suspect that the vast majority of it would not be Industrial, and would cover
most readily-identifiable genres and sub-genres that have existed over that
time. Thus the irony.
<rant>
That said, I don't think these lists people are posting are very useful.
To paraphrase Andre Agassi, "Context is everything" :-) Plain lists are just
going to either reinforce something you already feel (if you own the records
mentioned) or wash over you if you don't own them (or, of course, if you
disagree with it - personally, bands like The Pixies or The Replacements never
registered more than a blip on my personal map, for example).
In short, if it changed your life, isn't it important enough to take the
time - even a *one-liner* - to say *why*? C'mon kids ...
</rant>
> I used to know almost all the bands/artists
> mentioned on IDM a few years back but I certainly don't now.
'S OK Simon, yer just gettin' old ... hehehehe :-)
> Detroit Techno and Ambient stuff doesn't really get a mention any more
> but that's due to 313 and Ambient lists forming I guess.
I suppose that's true in part. I know *my* personal list would include lots
of both. But one thing I noticed is that almost without exception, people
are posting *albums* rather than singles or, say, particular album tracks
that might have single-handedly changed one's life. This probably hurts
the Detroit folks in this kind of tabulation. (Do I list "Innovator" because
"Nude Photo" absolutely, positively, changed my life?)
I also suspect we're seeing a case where the "consensus" of these lists (erm,
Least Common Denominator really) is influenced by The Kinds Of People That
Would Reply And Post Those Kinds Of Lists, too :-) (I suspect there's a lot
of people on the list who simply Wouldn't Bother when these things come up.)
- Greg