I wouldn't mind the "old is new again" thing in music if the choices of
influences weren't so narrowed down.
Take for example the recent 80s post-punk rehash. The primary influences
that have emerged from that have been Gang of Four, the Cure, The Clash,
and A Certain Ratio.
Now what happens is that the media picks up on this and focuses on a small
number of groups from the 80s and soon you have kids running around
thinking that these were the only bands around when, for those who are old
enough to remember, know that there was much more going on. So instead of
more and more influences opening up the music the sound gets whittled down
to "x" sound because everyone wants to sound like the handful of popular
rediscovered artists. I think this is where the whole electro-punk thing
went up its arse and got boring as f*ck.
Luckily most of us are curious about music so we search out the roots of
the music we enjoy. I would say that 99% of the people just follow the
trend and don't bother trying to learn the history of the music they listen
to. For them it's just fun. Which is fair enough I guess but it's
frustrating to try to lay some knowledge on them and you just see their
eyes glaze over.
MEK
"lr2" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote on 09/21/2005 08:47:02 AM:
> Perhaps some folks play the tracks 'cuz they weren't around during the
first
> wave of that sort of music. If they haven't heard anything like it
before
> it's not hard to believe that this new output could excite them.
>
> It's always interesting to me that there are people I meet who are really
> into something they think is "new" but they are completely unaware of a
> previous artist who did something similar. It happened to me when I
first
> got into the Orb...I was excitingly playing it for a
crusty-hippie-co-worker
> I had and I was enthusing on how different and fresh it sounded to me.
He
> suggested (with a slightly pained look of a parent trying to correct a
> child's bad behavior) that I check out some dub. Up until that part I
never
> even knew dub existed. The Orb's rehashing of something that had already
> been done (albeit combined creatively with new elements) set me on a
> delightful path of rediscovery. That's actually one of my favorite
elements
> of listening to music and why I appreciate labels like Soul Jazz Records
so
> much...they help me unearth stuff I missed the first time.
>
> On a related note I get grumpy when artists actually cover a track and
don't
> bother to acknowledge the original performer...I always see that as a
missed
> opportunity to educate people on music they're into...granted most of the
> bigger acts will at least acknowledge the writing credits or sample
credits
> but I'd love it if they used some of their booklet space to expound on
who
> the artist was and why they covered it...imagine if Missy had done
something
> like the with Clear.
>
> Though they're not techno, some of you might know BR54-9 or Squirrel Nut
> Zippers...they're two acts that rose to some degree of fame by clever
> incorporation of OLD material. When I first heard them I thought they
were
> so fresh and interesting never realizing that they were trawling through
the
> back catalogues of obscure country and jazz tunes respectively. It would
> have been nice if they'd worn their influences a little more openly on
their
> sleeves so I could have had a better context to place their music in.
>
> Whew...sorry, that kind of went on a bit eh?
>
> Leslie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Thomas D. Cox, Jr. [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2005 8:44 AM
> To: 313@hyperreal.org
> Subject: Re: (313) Juan Maclean tracks
>
> ---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
> From: "Matt Kane's Brain" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> >Most people around me spin it as the next revolution in dance
> music, the
> >punk rock knight that is going to slay the dragon progressive
> house once
> >and for all.
>
> if i wanted to hear punk, id play my punk records! does anyone
> else really care what happens with prog house? i mean its so far
> removed from what im into and what i do that i dont think i could
> even tell you where to hear some in my own city, though im sure
> its out there. maybe people should spend more time making good
> music than trying to conquer some nonsense music listened to by a
> bunch of jokers.
>
> i havent heard a single DFA/modern "dance punk" record ive liked.
> even that morgan geist rmx of the rapture wasnt a favorite of
> mine. im still wondering why people play that !!! "me and
> guiliani" cut. ugh, that track is terrible.
>
> tommmmmmmm
>
> ________________________________________________________________
> andythepooh.com
>
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>
>
>
