Wow, not only is that posting absolutely spot on...it's gorgeous, too. Mind
if I sample you saying it?!
Stevie.
www.gram.org.uk
www.rewind1000.co.uk
quoted 90 lines -----Original Message-----
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Matthew Korfhage [mailto:pomomofo2000@hotmail.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2000 11:59 PM
> To: idm@hyperreal.org
> Subject: [idm] Detroit, origins and all that
>
>
> Yes, Christophe, point well taken. If you attempt to trace the origins of
> something but have no definable context, point, or direction, everything
> goes all apocryphal and you end up with the horrible muddle that
> you seem to
> be writing [about].
>
> But it also seems obvious, in the colloquial sense-- and that's
> what we're
> doing here, right? having conversations with assumed mutual
> backgrounds? --
> that anyone talking about origins or catalysts is *not* attempting to
> stretch it back to the origins of time or attain the ultimate
> subsumation of
> the categories. And no one said a word about Athena from the head of Zeus.
>
> Generally, and one should give them the benefit of the doubt on
> this before
> expanding the discourse to questionable extremes, they mean that *this is
> the place where it first surfaced in a form that I can recognize it* or
> *this is what launched whatever idea we've categorized "like
> this" into the
> general consciousness*. And sure, it all comes down to
> preferences, personal
> and shared histories, depth of penetration into a subject, and
> that lot. But
> it's not that difficult to understand. It's what allows one to
> write about
> anything like music history or roots and still, miraculously, be
> understood.
>
> Was Detroit THE catalyst of electronic music? No, of course not.
> People were
> making electronic music long before anyone in that specific
> Detroit scene.
> Was it the root of techno? If by techno you mean that style of electronic
> music that sprung up in Detroit in the early eighties, with definite funk
> influences and cross-pollenation with hip-hop: sure, why not. Let
> it be said
> and believed. Build shrines to Juan Atkins and let him name our children,
> for the savior has come bearing gifts of bass and funk.
>
> Every time that someone who's had a few philosophy, linguistics, or
> sociology classes jumps up to declare that we cannot speak as we
> do because
> the categories are arbitrary and blurred, something in all of us dies a
> little. Just a little. Please. Stop it.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Matthew
>
> From: Christophe McKeon <c.mckeon@rcn.com>
> CC: idm@hyperreal.org
> Subject: Re: [idm] Detroit in the news
> Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 12:41:59 -0400
> >
> >A "catalyst" as far as I am informed. Is that which makes some kind >of
> >reaction/transformation possible, which at least in chemistry,
> >would not
> >have taken place w/o its presence. Kind of like the element
> >which brings
> >the whole ensemble to a more active state. A 'key' of >sorts, opening up
> >the possibility of emergent and synergistic >behavior of the entire
> >ensemble, whatever it may be. I think it is >safe to say that
> this is also
> >it's adopted vernacular meaning. I >think if we want to talk about
> >catalysts, we should perhaps be >talking about the relationship between
> >humans and machines after the >advent of the transistor. In other words,
> >music has been around for >ever, and "electronic music" was
> thought up, at
> >least in theory, far >before any body actually built the
> machines capable
> >of making it. The >catalyst in this case is the technology,
> <Snip>
> ________________________________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org
>
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org
For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org