"shannon" wrote: one of the best house publications (on the academic tip) is hillegonda rietveld's "our house," which is available from ashgate publications in the UK. <snip snip snip> & i feel fairly safe in saying that house, in general, doesn't lend itself to the same flavor of theory that techno does. b/c house is, in general, geared toward a club or party environment while techno easily stands on its own as listening music, theory & anecdotes about house will probably stay largely w/in the sphere of the DJ & dance, while touching on issues of race & sexuality. ---------------------------------------------------------------------
thank you for the great compliment :) The current print run of This Is Our House: House Music, Cultural Spaces and Technologies (Ashgate) is currently very low in stock ... perhaps a few letters to Ashgate will convince them that it should be reprinted/republished ... as on house and theory ... true, house music is functional music, it's so effectively designed for the specific dance floor, that it is a very potent dance music genre ... However, as a result, it produces strong good-time memories and can therefore be heard anywhere else, from car stereos to clothing shops, from caffees to people's living rooms. Much of what can be said about Techno as a music, can also be said about House, except that the latter occasionally can have a more hedonistic feel to it and may therefore be regarded as less lofty, perhaps? Still, my philosophy is that hedonism is a totally valid subject for lofty thoughts, just as any other spiritual quest to hit a peak experience, so I've had great fun theorising a range of issues, from subjectivity on the dance floor to copyright law and DJ practices. Some additional recommended publication titles on house/techno/rave/DJs: 1 - Kai Fikentscher (2000) "You Better Work! Underground Dance Music in New York City" , Wesleyan UP. A PhD adapted to book form which addresses NYC house music related styles, covering a 30 year period. It is written by a ethnomusicologist who also produces and DJs house music so you can expect a focus on music. 2 - Dan Sicko (1999), "Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk", Billboard Books. By one of 313's very own, this book is strong on describing the Detroit scene and follows the development of techno beyond its geographical boundaries. 3 - Matthew Collin (1997), "Altered State", Serpent's Tail. If you're interested where the idea of a 'Rave' comes from, look no further than this journalistic historical account, researched and produced with all the love and care (and criticism too) that this UK scene deserved. 4 - Ulf Poschardt (1995) "DJ Culture", Quartet Books Combines academic cultural theory with issues of DJing in various genres now out of print, but available still if you long hard enough 5 - Anthony Thomas (1989), 'The House the Kids Built: The Gay Black imprinint on American Dance Music', in: CK Creekmur and A Dotty (Eds) "Out in Culture", Cassell. A classic journalistic article that highlights an earlier (1980s)cultural history and uses of American house music. Cheers, Hillegonda Rietveld.
