Andregurov wrote:
quoted 35 lines I agree with you one-hundred percent. I did not intend to sound overly>
> I agree with you one-hundred percent. I did not intend to sound overly
> defensive (there is an irony on my part for being defensive about not trying
> to sound defensive, isn't there?), but was merely attempting to show that
> though drugs do affect the way we describe our music, it is not necessary.
> Consciousness-altering is a serious step for those who are not prepared to
> deal with the walls it "breaks down" and the feelings it can arouse and
> inspire. I perhaps misunderstood your original post to be stating that
> consciousness-altering artefacts have a wider scope to play in how we describe
> our reaction and how we achieve that reaction, and my reply was intended to
> convey alarm at this expansion. I believe that the music does not require any
> altering to our perceptions to have credibility, but for those who can and are
> prepared to seek out the new consciousness drugs can create the choice is
> valid. My statement was not meant to verify your observations nor invalidate
> them. The choice, as both of us recognize, is individual.
> However, my statement of western music's history of individual accessibility I
> stand by, for it does not just describe classical tradition. As long as we
> are listening to the music it is an individual stance. Dancing does not, in
> my view, change this music into a communal one. Yes, dancing may be a
> communal act, but the receptivity of our ears to the music is still
> individual. True, only by breaking down the walls of "us" and "them" into
> "all" can we change that - and this is where the role of consciousness-
> altering chemicals can help. But, since most IDM is confined to home speakers
> or smoky nightclubs, and not large "tribal gatherings" (unless you are
> lucky/unlucky enought to live in the UK), for most of us still the music is an
> individual experience. Please do not misinterpret this to be an attack on
> music that is meant to be a communal experience (i.e. trance as an easy
> example), I merely accentuate a different facet of the experience of IDM than
> you, my facet being the one I am most able to discuss.
>
> In sum, your post is challenging to think about. My garble hopefully is not a
> total waste of your time. I'm going to go smoke now and be selfish about my
> music.
>
> James (please take all sarcastic statements above as such)