quoted 5 lines On one of the other occasions when this topic has appeared, the> On one of the other occasions when this topic has appeared, the
> impossibility of obtaining all the Art/Music/etc. you want was pointed
> out. If labels can keep all their releases in print then good for them,
> but that doesn't mean that labels who can't or won't should
> (necessarily) be condemned.
Goddammit, I think I just spotted the ethos behind the tendancy towards
minimal print runs... sorry to anyone I slagged for doing it in the past.
It's kind of Buddhist (apologies to any genuine Buddhists who understand that
religion and know that its nothing of the sort): the point is that we get
hung up on hearing everything. We have to hear every release from Fax or Skam
or whoever, and we're willing to pay hundreds of pounds to do so, rather like
the way you compulsively check every record in the bargain bin in case the
next one's twoism.
In any case, this is a bad thing. We should be sufficiently relaxed to enjoy
what music we can get, and let the rest go. Frankly, unless my premium bonds
come up, I'll never 'complete' my record collection, but I shouldn't let not
owning Lego Feet worry me: far better to enjoy my latest Mille-Plateau.
By limiting their releases, labels give us a choice between accepting this
fact or becoming totally screwed up. Hopefully we can all choose the former.
It also reduces the possibility that when IDM hits a lull, we all just live
in perpeptual 1992 until things get better: we should be forced to search
out, or even create, something new.
I suppose one final goal (note the argument becoming confused as the post
develops) is a kind of cottage industry utopia: making all scenes from
something national or regional into something totally personal: this ties up
with the idea of letting things go: we shouldn't worry about missing an
Autechre show up north, because we're having a hoedown round the ol' 303 with
our local IDM geniuses. RDJ has complained that he's not particularly
interesting, its just everyone else being totally boring, and we should all
take steps to remedy this. By releasing limited print runs, the companies are
trying to avoid the market becoming dominated by their stuff... its easy to
conceive an ambient scene going the same way as populist DJs who all have to
play Crowd Say Bo or whatever in every set they do. This wouldn't happen if
Positiva limited their releases to about five. Although that would be a good
thing anyhow.
Thanks for bearing with me.
Jorkens
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