I can't say I agree here with the general feeling about older idm being
that much better.
I've prety much been listening to electronic music, critically since the
late 80s. Now granted I'm not a label whore or trainspotter by any means
and I've probably missed hundreds of great albums, But I've probably heard
75-90% of the classics. (I'm actually going to extend this to EDM in
general, though to some of you it might not be fair - but we include
techno, tech house, d'n'b, etc on this list)
Of anything, the music has gotten better and more complex over the years -
the attention to detail has gone way through the roof, and this has to
only be a good thing. WWhile the original spirit of experimentation might
be lost, I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing.
I love complexity and evolution of styles. That's what we've been seeing.
Used to be in the earlier 90s I'd listen to music and think I could write
something similar, but listening to the current crop of IDM leaves me
thinking I have no chance of writing music up to that level.
Case in point: just yesterday I finally got a vinyl copy of Global Comm's
74.16 (?), This album used to floor me when it came out. Although it's
still nice and timeless, if I played it next to the new arovane CD, the GC
would sound dated and pale in comparison. There are a very few artists
whose older works can stand up next to todays works, and they are the real
pioneers (for some reason Jeff Mills is popping into my head now), but I
really think the vast majority of producers, and many of whom you as a
collective list cannonize have their place in the evolution of IDM but did
not write their best music in 93.
It's that whole problem about getting interested in an artist at a
certain moment in their musical development and latching on to that as
their best work. I'm guilty of that with the smashing pumpkins. But
seriously, IDM has been getting better and better year by year. There are
always classics, but in a genre of music where pushing the envelope is
part of the aesthetic, I think those of you are trying to hold on to so
much of yesterday's music really need to accept the fact that yours is not
the general feeling.
-Gil
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