I disagree with Simon Reynolds here; he's arguing that an individual is solely defined by their race, class, gender, sexuality and whether or not they're planning on getting wasted. Human beings just aren't that simple. If someone says to me, "I'm a gay white male with a lower middle-class background and I don't take drugs", I still know barely anything about them. Aside from "pure ideation", there are a hell of a lot of other factors that come together to define an individual, and these myriad factors also help to shape whatever cultural output (including music) that individual produces.
If Reynolds was correct, music would be incredibly homogenous. Another person who shared my racial/class background, my sexuality and my penchant for Guinness would make music almost identical to mine. But for some mysterious reason, there are people I grew up with who have *identical* backgrounds to me but who produce and listen to completely different forms of music. Weird, eh? Brendan > -----Original Message----- > From: Simon Vrebos [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 05 January 2005 15:44 > To: 313@hyperreal.org > Subject: (313) Energy Flash by Simon Reynolds > > > I'm reading 'Energy Flash' by Simon Reynolds published by > Picador (1998). In this book and more specific in chapter > eight entitled 'The Future Sound Of Detroit' I read some > 'interesting' viewpoints for discussion. Here's the entire > last part of the chapter: > > KEEPING THE FAITH > > Jeff Mills belongs to a tradition of black scholar-musicians > and autodidacts: Sun Ra, Anthony Braxton, Derrick May, DJ > Spooky. Instead of inspiring thoughtless, sweaty fun, Mills > believes dance music should be the vehicle for lofty > intellectualism and weighty-verging-on-ponderous concepts. > 'Let me be very very clear,' he says, with the barest hint of > annoyance. 'Underground Resistance wasn't militant, nor was > it angry... I'm not angry now... The music that I make now > has absolutely nothing to do with colour. It has nothing to > do with man/woman, East/West, up/down, but more [to do with] > "the mind". The mind has no colour... There's this perception > that if you're black and you make music, then you must be > angry. Or you must be "deep". Or you must be out to get money > and women. Or you must be high when you made that record. > It's one of the four. And the media does a really good job of > staying within those four categories. But in these cases, > it's neither of those.' > To which you might respond, what's left? If you remove race, > class, gender, sexuality, the body and the craving for > intoxication from the picture, what exactly remains to fuel > the music? Just the 'pure' play of ideation >
