My broadest complaint about Reynolds is that he seems to be promoting a very
conservative view of techno which dictates that progress can't come unless
you are fooling around within a strict formula. I will be the first to admit
that a lot of the mergers don't work (jazz fusion-jungle for example) but at
least people are trying to expand.
The comments about coined terms is right own. My favorite is "Mentasm stab."
On the positive side, I did like his stuff on Gabba, "'ardcore" and jungle.
quoted 13 lines In response:
>In response:
>
>I haven't read "Generation Ecstacy", but I have read a fair bit of
>Reynolds' other work (articles, mostly). While I agree that his attitudes
>towards substance use are grating at times (especially for somebody who
>doesn't really use illicit substances), I find myself agreeing with him on
>other subjects sometimes. His dismissal of cookie-cutter
>fungle/drill-n-bass/whatever especially hits home - check
>http://members.aol.com/blissout/over97.htm for the full article. As
>annoying as I find his overdependence on his own coined terms ("heroin
>house" to describe Chain Reaction material, especially), I find his
>willingness to aim at the sacred cows refreshing.
>
The minimalist/gamelan connection is pretty strong. I believe the liner
notes to Reich's revised "Music for 18 Musicians" go into some detail about
this. Previous discussions on the list have brought into question the
ambient and minimalist link but I think there is a legitimate comparison.
quoted 13 lines I found Toop's book interesting, but a little too filled with seemingly
>
>I found Toop's book interesting, but a little too filled with seemingly
>purposeless name-dropping at times. I also found myself wondering at the
>tenuous nature of some of the connections he drew (especially between
>things like gamelan music and today's ambient via the minimalists
>composers such as Steve Reich). I'm not nearly as knowledgable about some
>of the history as he is, so maybe it's there & I'm just not seeing it or
>don't know about it.
>
>If you're looking for pure history about music that influences
>IDM/electronics, check "Reggae: A Rough Guide", especially the chapters on
>dub's development. It's excellent.
>quoted 6 lines Also, no idm-related book review session would be complete without
>Also, no idm-related book review session would be complete without
>mentioning the disquiet site:
>
> http://www.disquiet.com/
>
>An excellent resource for those interested in reading while they listen.