Dear non-existent Lord Above, what a response! I go away for a day
and look what happens! Cool responses, people; they make for great reading!
Anyway, here's a more cerebral (and possibly more pointless) posit: in
a recent Melody Maker, Simon Reynolds dismissed the recent remixes for
Curve done by Future Sound of London and the Drum Club. Not for being
musically bad, mind you, but because the remixers were so "blatantly hip".
To build from that--is it good or bad that a variety of recent,
non-techno/dance acts (mostly British outfits such as Curve, Lush,
Chapterhouse, and the Boo Radleys) seek out remixes by supposedly
'blatantly hip' artists (besides the above mentioned outfits, Spooky,
St. Etienne, the Aphex Twin, and the ever-lovin' Orb)? The Drum Club
themselves have said in an interview that they feel it's a good thing
simply because such artists as Curve realize where the true cutting
edge is, yet I do have to say that you can't help but feel more than a
few of these bands are chasing after the ravers in much the same way
that everyone was yelping the words "Manchester" and "Seattle" not too
long ago. Hipness for hipnesses' sake and demographic pursuits, no more.
Any thoughts?
NAR