Well said Mark, well said indeed.
quoted 1 line From: Mark Stevens <mark@headspin.clara.net>
>From: Mark Stevens <mark@headspin.clara.net>quoted 62 lines Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 15:48:34 +0000
>Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 15:48:34 +0000
>
>
>It's interesting you should mention Orbital, because there does seem
>to be a pretty wide gulf between their fans and their detractors on
>this list. Those that hate Orbital with a passion tend to be
>relatively younger listeners of so-called IDM, whose first contact
>with the group was probably on MTV (the bizarre rationale being that
>if an artist appears on MTV, they've somehow "sold out" and thus
>aren't worthy of further attention).
>
>I find this all quite amusing. Over here in the UK, during the
>late-80s, I found myself being attracted to what was generically known
>as "dance" music. Around 1987-88, as a 15-16 year-old kid, if you were
>into "dance" music, you were considered "a bit odd". If you were into
>pure pop, people left you alone. If you wanted to be "cool", you had
>to listen to "heavy metal" music such as Def Leppard and Bon Jovi. It
>seems laughable now, but that was the way it was.
>
>At the same time, UK clubs and discos didn't play speed garage, drum &
>bass or club music, because it didn't exist. These clubs and discos
>played either classic 70s disco or these new-fangled 12-inch remixes
>of pop music. House/acid/techno began to emerge in 1986, but no-one
>took it seriously -- and if you did, you were seen as a weirdo.
>
>Now look at how things have changed. The house scene has since evolved
>into today's current club scene, which everyone and their dog is
>involved in. Now you're seen as a weirdo if you're *not* into that
>sort of stuff.
>
>Where was I going with this? Ah yes, so back in the late 80s, I
>started hearing this incredible new music from the likes of Bomb the
>Bass, S'Express, 808 State, Orbital, Humanoid, Shades of Rhythm and
>LFO. I'd previously been listening to a bit of Jarre and founds the
>sort of sonic experimentation on early New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Art
>of Noise, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Propaganda albums to be good
>fun. Now it all seemed to be going a step further and I liked what I
>was hearing.
>
>Pretty much all these artists are still around today. Some have split
>up, but the various members are still actively recording decent music.
>But it makes me laugh when the younger IDM listeners wonder what all
>the fuss about Orbital and 808 State is about. If it weren't for them,
>the current IDM scene would be *very* different, perhaps hardly
>recognisable, so jumping on them for not daring to be as "progressive"
>as the current bunch of click-hiss-whirr artists is nonsense.
>
>I had the good fortune to see Orbital (with Plaid in support) earlier
>this year. I've also seen Autechre live. Now, as much as I find
>Autechre's albums, eps and remixes to be incredible, cutting edge
>stuff, their live performance is about as interesting as watching
>paint dry -- and the audience usually consists of a dozen bearded
>students, stroking their chins as they analyse the fractal structures
>between sips of diet coke. On the other hand, whilst Orbital perhaps
>aren't as "progressive" or "experimental", their live shows are
>awesome. Seeing thousands of people jumping around, high on the music
>as it pulsates throughout the venue in tidal sine waves, projected
>images and icons flying everywhere, is a sight to see (and hear).
>
>
>--
>Mark Stevens
.MatthewFord.
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