Has anybody else just about reached the end of
their rope in tolerating _BAD_ IDM releases?
It seems that an absolute flood of them are out
now, and while in past times people seemed a bit
more candid on the list about them, now it seems
when a release gets publicized and people buy it
and don't like it, they don't say anything, and so
everyone else makes the same mistake of picking
it up and not liking it. I'm not suggesting flames,
unnecessary slagging, or anything of that sort,
I'm just pointing out that if we take time to praise
a release for being exceptional (see recent deservedly
favorable reviews of Boulderdash) we should also
just post quick notes about releases we didn't like
so people don't have to just trust five paragraph
ramblings on mail order lists (or, as the woman in the
video store in Clerks so rightly put it (paraphrase): "They say so
much, but they never tell you if it's any good.") After all,
we all know how it is to get a huge pile of stuff to find out
50% of it is forgettable (seems to happen to me every month).
So, in order to do my part, here's some stuff that's gotten
publicity lately that I found either average (or worse).
most of the Schematic label releases
most of the 20' to 2000 series
Num Num: Unknown Sources 10" (Toytronic)
Aspen: Are You That Retail Snob? CD (Involve)
Gimmik: Random Access 12" (Worm Interface)
Quench: A Journey Into Electronix CD (U-Cover)
Schlammpeitziger: (long title I forget off-hand) LP (Entenpfuhl)
Gamers In Exile: Whippin' Time 7" (Unbearable) - and to think I publicized
this one!
Iyunx Productions: The Duckie Dirty Bird EP 12" (Isophlux)
Alder and Elius: Bionic Vagina 12" (Skam)
Don't Dolby: Don't Dolby 05 CD (Gefriem)
A. Krause: Schwellwert CD (BMB Labs)
Broadcast: Echo's Answer 7" (Warp)
Kit Clayton: Repetition and Nonsense CD (Drop Beat)
Indio CD (Transmat)
And I could go on and on like this (and intend to later). I just would like
to encourage more _INTELLIGENT_, yet critical music
discussion on this list. I don't want to name names, but
I think a lot of the people on here (especially radio show
types) are afraid to say anything negative about a record
because they know the producers and are either their
friend (and don't want to hurt a friend) or don't want to stop
getting free promos from the label. This sort of partisan
musical criticism is only detrimental, dishonest and damaging.
I, for one, am tired of being posed the choice of either missing
out on a release and never getting to hear it or having to spend
$20 on a gamble. Come on, people. And also, to any producers
listed above, many of you (Schlammpeitziger, Aspen, Mike Ink)
have very, very good releases out as well, and I would just like to
encourage quality control. Take a look at Detroit Escalator Company
or Nuron: quality control pays off both in building an authentic fanbase,
garnering critical respect, and being remembered in five years.
Remember, Markant gets a lot of flack on this list (which I think to
some extent is warranted as he is a polarized example of some of
the issues in IDM today) but there are a lot of records that get
praised on here that are FAR worse than Markant.
Matt
np Black Dog: Parallel CD (GPR)
No Virginia, they don't make much music like
this anymore.
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