In a message dated 3/29/00 11:02:40 PM Eastern Standard Time,
shephrdNOSPAM@earthlink.net writes:
<< When
the older, jaded idm'ers say that all the new idm sucks, I wonder if they've
heard any of this stuff. >>
As perhaps the archetypical jaded record collector I just
want to kick a few points into the discussion:
1) There is as much good stuff coming out in 2000 as there
was in 1994. However we've forgotten all the crap from 1994,
the collective underground has decided which tracks to remember
for whatever reason, and so 1994 seems much better than it was.
In 2006, 2000 will look much better than it does now.
2) There is not as high a percentage of good stuff in 2000 as there was in
1990
or 1991. Of course, I'm not sure any year in electronic music can
compete with the years Detroit and the UK were on top, especially
since in those days there wasn't nearly as much bad stuff as today
because there weren't nearly as many records. But listen to say,
"Warp 10+1 Influences". Derrick May, Mr. Fingers, Virgo, Model 500,
Phuture, first, then the rest. Derrick May and
Mr. Fingers are still sought after today. Nitro Deluxe and the Unique 3
don't get as much press. Some stuff holds up, some doesn't.
3) Music evolves. Many people are specifically attuned to music
from the era that drew them into electronic music. I started around 1993
myself. I generally like music from 1988-1993 better than current
stuff. I'd guess the lion's share of this list is 1996-2000, which is
pretty much the era of post-AI Warp, Skam, and their idolators,
instead of May, Banks, Dog, and their idolators. Times change.
That's not a problem. But I can still critique new stuff if I find it lacking,
just as you can laud it if you find it exceptional.
4) It's unfair to assert that most fans of old music haven't heard new
stuff. I've heard a lot of the output of Arovane, Fakesch, Skam, MaS,
Schematic, and just haven't cared for it. Period. I have many specific
complaints, but the main one is that when I put on a Black Dog,
a Florence, a Redcell, a Nuron, a Beltran, a Fingers, a May, a 69,
whoever track, then put on a Skam/new Warp-esque track, the one
I want to hear over and over is the old one. Of course, I realize most
of the stuff I listed is deep 313, not IDM. Whatever. It's all electronic.
5) There _is_ good music coming out these days. The Archive label
out of Italy has about nine fantastic releases, Seiji is a great producer,
Simulant are great, Nubian Mindz and most of the 2000 Black camp
are great, Jay Denham, KDJ, Ian O'Brien, Russ Gabriel and Theo Parrish
are still on top of their game, Jamie Read and Chris Grey still have
a great material appearing, Playhouse, Klang, Perlon and Ware have
some strong stuff, Gramm, SND, Vladislav Delay and Sutekh are
getting rave reviews from many different directions, etc.
6) I know I might be setting myself up here, but I would encourage
all fans of Schematic, or Warp, or Ninja Tune, or Clear, or whatever,
to check out a lot of the old techno stuff (or the new techno stuff,
but the old stuff provides a good background). I realize these days
finding copies of this stuff is difficult, but listen to one of the first
three John Beltran albums, the Red Planet 12"s, the very early Black
Dog (first seven or so 12"s and the first album), early Reload/Link/GC,
most of the first and second waves out of Detroit, and heck, some
Gottsching, Marshall Jefferson and even Kraftwerk while you're at it. If you
hear
that stuff, and still think Schematic and Warp are better, I won't agree but
I'll respect that you checked it; I really think everyone should at least
check out some of that old techno: it's life-changing music.
Remember that this is what got many of today's producers started.
7) I realize this is perhaps a long and complicated argument responding
to a rather innocent sentence, and I don't want to seem like I'm disagreeing
or jumping on somebody. I just think there is a lot of "old -vs- new"
discussion on this list these days and wanted to say what I felt and
hopefully be articulate and specific on this very important debate.
Matt
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