From Charles Henry James Sent Fri, Apr 9th 1999, 04:05
From Charles Henry James Sent Fri, Apr 9th 1999, 04:05
Sharon Maher wrote: > > (1) Would someone like to explain to me why "wilful obscurantism" is a bad > thing? > (2) If "geektronica" is hobbyism, what do you call the massivly larger > population who obsessivly collect Beatles or Prince music, bootlegs, and > memorabilia? > (3) Sounds to me like Reynold's isn't concered with "geektronica" at all, but > rather the precident that it could set, ie that music becomes increasinly > non-commerical entity. In which case his position in the music industry heierchy > as a lofty and rather pompus music critic would be rather unimportant. I agree thoroughly with Sharon. The idea that we could all be hobbyists, trading and selling our wares to each other has a very healthy ring to it. Fuck the star system. And as for geekism, geeks are everywhere. I was leafing through the Hendrix estate "EXPERIENCE" magazine today at a bookstore, and believe me, geekism follows even the most "muscular" and overexposed rock acts of all time. The list is endless. Reynolds is obviously proud of his belittling "geektronica" label (if it's his), and here we see somebody trying to put an evolving, growing, mutating phenomenon into a critcal box. This is a foundational problem with criticism, it tries to freeze a moving entity. The obsessive geekism of the DIY electronica community is what spawned (for better or worse) such acts as Prodigy and Fatboy Slim. The scene evolved for years before such commercial appeal developed. I DJ'd the stuff at a radio station for five years before it broke, and I have to admit it was a bit of a disappointment when it went overground. I think the music suffered and some talented people went wrong in the pursuit of the buck. That's the gristmill of the star system that Mr. Reynolds holds favorably in comparison to the electronica DIY crowd. I disagree with him. That's just my opinion Critiqueing the critics, Charlie James