quoted 2 lines i can see several reasons:> i can see several reasons:
> 1) the fetishization of novelty and innovation that comes with capitalism
Though I never made the connection with capitalism, I've always been drawn
to innovative sounds as a music critic. If a writer's job involves
communicating to his or her audience about new and exciting sounds, why
bother writing about generic music that recycles old ideas?
quoted 6 lines 2) plain old insecurity - genres imply a set of rules, and a> 2) plain old insecurity - genres imply a set of rules, and a
> tradition, that the journalist by nature (having to be
> semi-versed in scores of genres and topics) will probably not
> know. therefore, rather than learning about the history &
> intricacies of drum'n'bass, say, or house music, it's easier to
> slag it as uncreative.
Not every writer out there may know the ins and outs of every genre --
techno, DnB, house, trance, rock, jazz, rap, etc. It's almost impossible to
have a deep encyclopedic knowledge about each of these. But there are many
writers out there with an amazing depth of knowledge in particular areas
(many of which are on this list).
If you think about it though, the writers out there and the people at the
labels are the ones that have defined the genres. Obviously, someone had to
sit back and think "hmm, let's call this minimal techno" after they first
heard Robert Mills and Dan Bell. Furthermore, it seems as though writers
are the ones that get dissed for often over-applying generic boundaries.
Just think of all the different types of DnB out there -- tech-step,
jump-up, dark-step, intelligent, ragga, etc. Who's defining these terms?
So here's my main point about why writers don't like genres....in my opinion
and in my personal experiences, I spend so much time dealing with generic
trash that I get pretty damn excited when I hear something new. You don't
even want to know how many "Sasha in Ibiza"-type CDs that writers and retail
buyers have to wade through. Even with mounds of music on my desk, I still
find myself listening to stuff such as Basic Channel, Jeff Mills, The Doors,
and Public Enemy at home.
In an age where the market for music has become so enormously saturated
(think of MP3.com and Napster's content), it's often refreshing to hear
something innovative. Think of how many European techno artists that follow
Jeff Mills' templates from the mid-'90s, for example. It's not as easy to
be innovative in 2000 as it was in the early '80s when Juan Atkins plugged
in his synth.
~Jason Birchmeier
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