>minto and i were talking a little bit about why music business seems so
>lackluster lately the other day. not really thinking too much about it,
but
>my feeling is that it has a lot to do with world politics, the general
>climate of life in usa & europe past few years. is that being too
>reductive/simplistic and looking for too much meaning where there is
little?
>cus i kinda think its true. but maybe i just pay too much attention to the
>news etc. but it's kinda hard to get in the party spirit and lose yourself
>in music when jobs are few and far between and you have these idiots in
>charge spinning your place of residence (and those of others) into a
>ditch...etc etc. a lot of worries and disillusionment and lack of
direction
>clouding things..ahhh well. i'm sure there's lots of factors...of course
>techno and house were born in the reagan era, but still, i think there is
a
>much more distinct morose feeling these days..after all the 80's were
still
>partytime..or is it just me? :P i'm not really THAT old so i'd be curious
to
>hear what some older list members make of things.
yeah, I think that's fairly acurate. the 80s were very "partytime" even
with Ronny Wilson "I don't recall" Reagan in office.
It's definitely affecting the entire electronic - well, actually "club"
music. Seems like leftfield/listening type stuff is doing well.
There's small clubs here that, after years of running packed night every
weekend, suddenly close down. These are "house" clubs mind you.
Techno, on the other hand, seems to be starting to percolate up and it
hasn't been popular here for close to ten years. Maybe because most people
feel it's harder music for harder times? It's more personal because it's
abstract therefore you can stay in your space - unlike traditional house
which tends to be more extroverted.
I'm sure drugs had a factor in the 80s - cocaine was still going strong and
there was this new thing called exctasy.
Also, the music was new.
House, techno, etc. is now over 20 years old - there are people who don't
remember a day when this music didn't exist.
It's a cycle that we've never seen but has most probably occurred in the
world of rock'n'roll. However, I think you're correct to say that the
political and social climate isn't helping anything.
Let them eat jellybeans
MEK
