WHY THE IDM-L SHOULD BE DISASSEMBLED, MELTED DOWN, AND SOLD FOR SCRAP ELECTRONS
From its baby steps as a forum for Aphex Twin fans, the IDM list has
mutated into a beast with many heads, an irrelevant, post-modern joke that
no one laughs with anymore.
IDM Is Dead, Long Live IDM
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The movement away from "classic" IDM towards fractured sub-families of
electronically-assisted music: noise, ambient, d'n'b, etc. has left a
vacuum in the community. The stuff people listen to today ain't "smart" and
they tain't dancing to it, neither.
There is little to no sense that the genre has a coherent and meaningful
direction to it. Maybe that's not a bad thing, but the list suffers for it
when we are all treated to each other's personal listening tastes, which
may have nothing to do with IDM, or even electronic music in general.
Musicians have left because the list no longer represents them. It has
become largely a waste of people's time, with a few exceptions. We can't
even agree on what IDM is, simply because the music out there is a morass
of different stuff.
The Same Thread Keeps Rearing Its Head
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You know the one: "The music is elitist;" or, "Band X is selling out."
Folks, we are isolated from 99.99999% of the world's music-listening
public. A quick and dirty look at the demographic of this list would be
quite telling: I'll bet most of you students do not pay for your email
accounts, or you have jobs in the information technology sector and are
therefore making many times the average take-home salary of an American
worker. The exclusive, wealth-driven nature of this music and its audience
excludes it from just about every possible mainstream avenue: the list (and
genre) is inherently a clique, and always will be so.
The metaphor of the pot and the kettle springs immediately to mind whenever
someone is called elitist, or a band is accused of 'selling out.' You sold
out when you let mom and dad buy you a car for college, or you took a
high-paying IT job in the private sector. If you have an email account,
that immediately distinguishes you from about 90% of the rest of the world.
Don't point fingers.
IDM: A Sport for Collectors
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Since when did posting auction lists become a regular habit? Charging $90+
for a record that is restocked at a music store says a lot about the
general fan mentality. And while we're on the subject of speculation, why
are CD-R prints, LP singles and other extremely limited releases such a big
hit? Is it the music or the resale value? The listeners accuse bands of
selling out, while they themselves buy into the marketing gimmick that is
elitism!
IDM: A Sport for Gamblers
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The energy of this art form has long since waned, and there are very few
musicians left with the creative strength to keep going for long. How many
times will we keep buying records and gambling that a release will give us
enjoyment over the years? Why are 9 out of 10 releases complete duds? Why
do we keep buying into the tired bullshit that is the IDM Marketing
Hype(tm)?
More importantly, we come back to the IDM-L and the question, asked before,
"Why do people keep polishing turds?" Again, the inherent elitism of the
list prevents most people from being completely honest about the crap that
is put out in the stores.
"Every release is a classic! Buy now!" We keep saying these words to each
other with a wink and a nod, knowing with intimate detail the Ponzi scheme
that will ensnare new subscribers, when we sell them our copies of "Bionic
Vagina".
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There is little left for the list to represent that is meaningful in an
artistic context. Let's all unsubscribe in protest.
You first, though.
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