I think it can be summed up like this:
Trent introduced a lot of people to heavy electronic music with "Pretty
Hate Machine." I don't think that Ministry could have risen to the
heights that they did, even with Lollapalooza (did I spell that right?)
if Trent hadn't paved the way. Trent's innovation to heavy electronic
music has been the commercial hook. It's almost as if the whole scene
has come full circle. In the early 80's, bands like Skinny Puppy, Front
242, etc., decided NOT to follow synth music into the charts ala Depeche
Mode. They went underground to develop the techniques and sounds that a
lot of these mainstream artists are using now. With electronica poised
to burst out into the mainstream market, we will again have a flood of
hangers-on. After all, this is the music BUSINESS we're talking about.
Unfortunately, it has more to do with business than music. New bands
will be signed not on the basis of their artistic merit, but on how much
they sound like the current "best-seller." Look at how many NIN clones
are on the radio. Same thing happened with Pearl Jam and Nirvana. Once a
band defines a sound, there will always be imitators trying to cash in
on the popularity of the sound. So, yes, the mall crowd may be listening
to Aphex Twin, Chemical Brothers, etc., over the next few years. BUT,
once the "trend" is over and something new comes out, you'll see a lot
of those CD's at used shops. And yes, we need to educate these newcomers
by showing them that's there's a hell of a lot more to it than what MTV
or radio will be playing. As far as "The Perfect Drug" is concerned, I'd
probably like it if it weren't for that goofy chorus. Hopefully, the
remixes will DELETE the chorus. The rest of it isn't all that bad.
Dennis O'Hare
noise@webtv.net