Subject: Re: (idm) neotropic
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 1997 22:16:40 -0500 (EST)
From: JTaraska@aol.com
To: idm-owner@hyperreal.com
fwd'd by idm-owner@hyperreal.com
On 26 March, you wrote (about Neotropic's *15 Levels of Magnification*, I
assume):
quoted 1 line you know, i really *respect* this album - it's intensely well done.> you know, i really *respect* this album - it's intensely well done.
sonically excellent in every respect. but it just
quoted 2 lines doesn't *move* me at all! it just washes over me and> doesn't *move* me at all! it just washes over me and
> leaves me utterly cold
I disagree completely. What struck me about *15 Levels* was that it was so
funky, the beats-moving-in-the-hips-making-the-pelvis-shake funky that much
idm lacks, aside from Squarepusher, Ae, and Plug. Not to simplify this matter
to a gender difference (or to insult your taste), but I assume you are male.
Because I am not, and this is a favorite album of mine and several female
friends (and we're no idm lightweights, mind you).
I think this album--and a lot of Riz's work--affects women more strongly
because of her music's reliance on bass and low-end beats. Unlike men, whose
center of gravity is in their chest and so feel the bass vibrations there,
women's centers of gravity are in their hips, and we feel the bass right in
our groins. (Ergo, that's why women like bass-heavy songs and often play bass
guitar in bands. So would you if bass rippled up your thighs as it does
ours). Female electronica artists and DJs from Andrea Parker to Rap to Sister
Bliss all concentrate on a very bass-heavy, low-end range of vibrations as
opposed to the higher frequencies employed in a lot of idm.
Don't get me wrong, now: I don't think *15 Levels* can only be enjoyed by
women. It's inventive electronica that is cleverly done. Just approach it
with your body as much as your brain and you might get better results.
Now please excuse me while I flip over my I-Roy record . . .
Julie