Re: (idm) Rant on IDM/ADM

From rbc3
Sent Sun, May 3rd 1998, 22:17

Nuutti-Iivari Meriläinen wrote:

> Categorising
> music by genre is either a masculine trait inherent in all human life or
> a genial ploy of the marketing powers-that-be.

Wow!  Categorizing ANYTHING is part of every known culture and
language.  It's our way of helping us describe the similarities in
things.  If we had to take the time to explain the details of
everything, we wouldn't even have time to sleep!  There's nothing
wrong with categories.  Literally speaking every instance of anything
never happens twice.  Everything is different.  Everything is random,
but within this randomness there are repeating similarities that occur
in patterns.  This is why we categorize.  Humans, both women AND men,
can see these patterns and therefore group things categorically.  So
then, why should music be any different?  Sure every song is
different.  Even the same recording of every song played back is going
to sound different given the changing acoustics of our surroundings or
the random placement of our ears at any given moment.  So based on
your argument we shouldn't even name songs, because all music is
different from listen to listen...

If I start a thread declaring Two Bad Mice deserved to be discuss on
this list, I'd get shot down in seconds.  Sure several of the list
members may like it, that's not the issue.  It's a rave anthem!  It's
not the least bit cerebral.  It's a speaker thumping, dance-floor
moving, throw your hands in the air warehouse rave track.  Hell, it
doesn't need to be intellectual.  Who can be intellectual when pumped
full of e at a rave?

It's extremely paranoid to pronounce categories as marketing ploys. 
Hell, most marketing firms aren't creative enough to come up with
their own classifications.  What makes marketing geniuses is not the
ability to create a category, but the ability to exploit them.  So
it's not enough to say that people who purchase music or even build
their identity on categories are fools.  Instead you should say that
people who buy into marketing ploys which exploit natural
classifications in order to profit are buying into a commercial
identity.  People should stop being so lazy and express their own free
will by exploring beyond what the commercial industry is feeding them.

Besides, IDM wasn't a term coined by the industry.  It was a term
coined by a few net heads who wanted to start a list about this new
style of Techno that began to emerge in the early 90's.  It was
seemingly a more "intelligent" approach to a scene that was driven by
the dance floor and a mindless beat.  There's nothing wrong with
expanding new territories and there's especially nothing wrong with
naming those territories.  By identifying the boundaries of style it
allows someone who wishes to create art within that boundary to
explore the edges and push our understanding.

-rbc3 robot