Perhaps I'm missing something here. Granted it is
rather contradictory of me to be on a mailing list
after what I'm about to say, but I often make great
distinctions between the music and many topics that
make it to the board. The list is very helpful in
getting a feel for the music, and a great place to
discuss the music, but I've always felt that this
genre as ultimately rather introverted. In that, I
mean that the music produced is most often far too
involved to try and "get" anything more than, well,
music out of it. The most obvious example of this:
the lack of words in idm. This is a field concerned
with sound, not message as far as I'm can tell.
Obviously the music is what attracts me, but a great
side benefit is the absence of a direct message. This
music is almost entirely subjective in every respect.
Again, this is *not* a trend I notice on the
discussion board, but in the music itself. I certainly
do not want to criticize anyone if they feel something
concerning gender when listening to a certain piece
(though I probably would not understand how such
specific topics would arise from this sort of music),
but to be so direct as to consider the sex of the
artist up front seems a bit odd to me. If I wanted to
understand or explore a cultural divide [ethnic,
political, gender] I'll listen to punk rock or - god
forbid - talk radio. But trying bring attention to
such idm just seems a bit silly. The last thing on
my mind when I put dat politics in my disc player is
"I wonder which beep the woman member was making..."
Remember the BOC is gay string that wouldn't die? I
see this discussion about as meaningful. They both
end up at the same place: who cares? Either you like
someone's music or you don't. If the sex of the
creator is something anybody needs to consider when
judging a work, perhaps they are missing the point. I
try to place myself in a social environment where
gender, race and sex are not considered unless
involving something *directly* related to gender, race
or sex. In a situation where women are held back by
men, in whatever way, clearly the term "male
dominated" ought to be applied. But if two girls
walked into a coffee shop and, after noticing that
there happen to be twice as many men as women there,
one mentions "hey, this place seems rather 'male
dominated', call your sister and her friends" that
would seem a bit absurd.
I still haven't found a cock-rock counterpart in idm
[thinking of you, Donna S. ;) ] so what gives? It any
of this really necessary?
There was a new group created for female idm'rs, so I
suppose it is necessary. I just wish I could
understand why.
Or maybe I'm just missing the point. No disrespect
all around, and thanks for reading.
Brandon
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more
http://games.yahoo.com/
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org
For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org