Here's my letter to the Times, still not sent yet. I think I need to edit it
down, because letters this long don't even stand half a chance of getting
printed. Here goes.
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Three points in regard to Michiko Kakutani's article on techno. First, her
criticisms can just as easily be applied to all forms of pop music.
Repetitive and formulaic? Look at rock based around three power chords or
hiphop sold on a good hook and a nice voice. Little else but studio
wizardry? Most pop bands have"superproducers,": Just compare the album to
the live version. Look at what the Dust Brothers have done with Hanson or
even with Beck. At least with techno, the artists are their own producers.
Second, Kakutani's criticism of the "hive mind" falls flat as well. For
example, the photo accompanying her column is taken from a Spin article which
focused on how human today's techno artists are. Granted, there are
mindlessly assaultive genres and anonymous artists. However, groups like
Orbital compose personal, almost symphonic pieces; artists like Richard D.
James (Aphex Twin) and Tricky have as many personality quirks as the brothers
from Oasis. And regarding her criticism of rave culture--it was originally
about escaping an oppressive society and enjoying "peace, love, unity, and
respect." Sounds a lot like Kakutani's hippie ideal. Anyway, I seriously
doubt that the stereotypical drugged-out hippie was a political leader in his
spare time. And the apoliticality of ravers is more a reflection of our
society than anything else--at my NYC high school I'd be hard-pressed to find
anyone I could call an activist.
Finally, on Kakutani's criticism of techno as a musical form--why is the
instrument an issue? We've gone from harpsichord to piano, from acoustic to
electric guitar--now we're using electronics. All programmed music means is
that it's harder to play live or with feeling. However, really good artists
overcome those obstacles, and audiences appreciate it. Regarding DJs--with
almost one hundred years of recorded music, isn't it about time someone
recombined recordings in new ways and got credit for it as artistic
expression?
Sam