(idm) Rant on IDM/ADM

From Nuutti-Iivari Merilainen
Sent Sun, May 3rd 1998, 19:17

Thus spake GamePrg.:
> 
> I still like IDM though..
> 
  NB. This article may or may not be a complete waste of your time and/or
bandwidth. Continue at your own discretion, I will rant incoherently for
a while.

  The current thread on IDM/ADM is pathologically ridiculous. Categorising
music by genre is either a masculine trait inherent in all human life or
a genial ploy of the marketing powers-that-be. I will not deny that
classification and categorisation of things is futile or useless, but
building one's identity or community via these fabricated constructs is.
The terms IDM or ADM (or any other acronym you might think of that describes
this list's contents), whether they refer to a style (or styles) of music
or the community at large who listen to music that can be classified under
the abovementioned style(s), are oxymoronic word-constructs.
  The music one listens to should be one's own, and I do not mean that you
should materially possess the music in one form or another. I mean that the
music one listens to should be emotionally, intellectually and even physically
satisfying.
  An occasionally rising thread on this list concerns the 'essential IDM
record'. It does not exist, because IDM/ADM/whatever as a genre does not
exists. There are no artists that could be referred to as 'proto-IDM'.
One could argue that the records and artists that were discussed in the
beginning of IDM should be those that defined the category, but that would
surely limit the scope of discussion even though the artists in question
have undoubtedly progressed in thought, talent and style.
  Next time you listen to a record that was recommended on this list, pause
for a thought. Really, REALLY listen to the record and ask yourself five
times 'does the music really give me something or do I just want to belong
in another group, another target market?' I have seen a sort of a lemming-
effect a couple of times with one starting 'I bought (record X which belongs
to a genre that is being pushed at the moment) and it is awesome! Go buy
this now!' And it starts to cascade. After about twenty articles the thing
has blown away and another starts.
  Excellent music is timeless. Seldom a day goes by that I do not grab an
old record from my shelf, listen to it and think 'there is an idea on this
record'. Most music discussed recently on this list have truly become what
electronic music has always been accused of: soulless and unemotional. They
are just the latest thing to pull coins out of your pockets through your
ears.
  If I really think like this, what am I doing on this list? Because there
are still tidbits of good information flying around, and every now and then
someone is selling an old record that arouses me from my dormant state.
Because this list (in general) reflects at least partially my taste in music.
But I do tend to think with my own brains, not collectively like the custom
is within lists of this kind.
  I do not seek to change things around here, and I do not wish to voice my
opinion against any particular style of music, subject or person. Actually,
there is one thing I would like to change. I would like to see the I back in
IDM back on the list.
  In agreement with some of the recent articles, I think most of us lack the
ability to verbalise our emotions when we listen to music. Thus, the thread
on music that makes one weep was very near to my heart as well. That kind of
a reaction is very personal and comes through subjective, not collective
experience. Exactly what I am looking for when I listen to music.

  EDM - Emotional Dance Music?
-- 
nuutti-iivari meriläinen -> xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx : diversion communications
               technostructuralist + information architect + media designer