From Simon Paul Sent Wed, Oct 29th 1997, 19:40
From Simon Paul Sent Wed, Oct 29th 1997, 19:40
I'm finding it interesting lately how people divide themselves into 'tribes' with music, interesting and difficult to understand. Case in point: I was reading some posts in a Skinny Puppy mailing list yesterday and how most people are pissed off with the 'apparent' new direction of Download with the 'III' album.How they were very dissappointed that cEvin Key 'apparently' didn't have much to do with the album and that it sounded like repetetive techno(which some of it does sure).Or that maybe cEvin had run out of ideas!Now I love this album it's not really techno(in the classic sense) but it does has some 'techno' sensiblities.But anyway the general consensus seemed to be that someone who changes there 'tribe' has run out of ideas or is 'selling-out'..now the fact of the matter is cEvin and co. have changed tribes several times. From straight-up noise to dub to pop to 'industrial' and now some techno.I find this refreshing and to the contrary of running out of ideas.Just like Richard H. Kirk has gone through many many many styles and guises...has he run out of ideas?I don't think so(although he does like to ride certain waves for a long time like the almost interchangable Sandoz/electronic eye/sweet excorcist). Maybe it's because these certain people are young and trying to find/cling to something that they identify with.... it's confusing to think that people won't allow others to change or grow..hell I wonder what the consesus was on the latest Tear Garden album which had (god forbid) slide guitar and country elements to it and hardly any 'electronic' elements (which to me seems a reaction to D.r. Goettles(sp?) death).... I guess I find myself at odds with the 'hard-core' fan of any one certain genre of music..I love it when boundaries are crossed and blurred and mixed up....granted that sometimes I don't like a certain change in a band but I don't go saying 'they've run out of ideas' they've mearly changed focus something for some reason doesn't jive with me any more.... am I completely off base with this? What if Autechre put out a 'happy hard-core' album or introduced guitars(I know it's hypothetical and they'd do it in their own unique way but still) would alot of people be upset? It just makes me mad to think of the restrictions people put on themselves and others and how unwilling they are to expand thier horizons.. I'm tired of these divisions being made for no reason ie.industrial vs. techno 'funky vs. 4/4 (hello Skinny Puppy has been 'funky' from the beginning!) food for thought, hope it made sense sorry if it was too long or way off topic(but this is a music list and I'm interested in other people ideas on the subject) spaul