The Evolution of Electronic Music and why electronic musicians of today suck balls

[Flam3r]

When I listen to Old Skool tunes, and I mean OLD (pre 1995), I notice a few things. The first thing that always hits me is nostalgia. Where I was when I first heard those 8 bit tinny beats and how much I loved them. Sometime in the mid 90's 8 turned 16, 16 turned 24 and those over compressed, tinny, cold digitized beats got warmer, thicker, deeper, and analogous in tonal quality. I would say a good marker for this change can be heard on Keoki's Disco Death Race 2000 album released in 1995 followed by DJ Dan's "Zipper Track (Needle Damage) which became a smash phenomenon sometime in 1996-1997.

1993-2001 Was the golden age of the rave scene. That was when we witnessed the disappearance of map points and shows becoming so huge they moved from the warehouse to the sports arena. The golden age of the rave scene was also the golden age of INNOVATIVE and FANTASTIC electronic music, I mean to include all styles from Techno, Trance, Jungle, House, breaks, DnB and everything else in between.

2002-present is when the mass exodus of the rave scene happened. Sure there are a few big concert style events but for the most part ravers became the one thing most of them hated... clubbers... I am not going to go far into the details of why the rave scene melded into the club scene but it mostly happened because the underground scene got too big to stay underground and there was too much rampant drug use for the authorities to ignore the problem and continue give out permits.

The reason most of the bigger concert style shows became extinct is two-fold. Taxer payers frowning on rampant drug use and lack of an actual show. The only thing more boring than watching someone play records onstage is watching someone do a "Live" performance on their laptop. There are/were a couple of great stage acts but only a couple. Rabbit in the Moon was the best one of the 90's hands down and now there is a couple but in the entirety of the electronic music scene there have only been a maybe 7 acts that were actually fun to watch and listen to.

2002-present is also when electronic music became well, rather disappointing. Every year there are a couple of good tracks that get produced but for the most part new music very shit-tacular. I am sick of the re-releases the get released as a new track. DJ Dan's Zipper Track (Needle Damage) has been officially released at least 4 times... come the fuck on, really? Don't even get me started on how much I hate DJ Dan. He is the epitomy of the worst DJ to watch. Let's take Nation in 2000 for example. That was an amazing event. 20,000 people plus the Invisible Scratch Pickle's last performance, 3 major areas all super star line-up. When the time comes DJ Dan walks up to the decks. The crowd is breathless and wet in anticipation of an amazing set. Then up on the Jumbo-tron (unbeknownst to him) you see a lager than life DJ Dan set down his record bag, pull out a CD, and pretend to play records... When he got boo'd he turned around and saw that the crowd has seen his folly. In response he pulled down his hat, crossed his arms and just stood there, for the whole time slot. Talent turned douche bag or maybe always a douche bag but anyway I digress.

What disgusts me even more than DJ Dan is all of the other remixing that is going on and not just in electronic music, hip-hop is also guilty. The formula is sound, and states, that if your track sounds like one or has sample from one that at one point in time was a chart topper then yours should do well, in most cases they do. The thing is that after the first couple of remixes well that horse has been beat to death, revived beat to death again, reincarnated and then beat to death yet again and again and again and again and again. 1991-1996 was the era of the remix for both hip-hop and electronic, bringing us various versions of many 80's songs as well as theme tracks from Tetris to Sesame Street as well as a lot of remixed classical music Vivaldi, Beethoven etc.. Because of all the remixing it really is starting to seam that there are only a few "new" tracks out each year and that hip-hop and electronic music has stagnated and become gangrenous. I would even dare to say that in the last 10 years there has not been a single new genre or even a subgenre to hit the streets. I am not saying that you have to pioneer a new genre to be great. I am just trying to illustrate stagnation. In the late 80's early 90's there was only house and techno. During the 90's the Trance, Jungle, Electro and at least 20 distinct subgenres came into popularity. In the last 10 years there has been nothing. NOTHING.

Rock and Roll is over 60 years old and still going stong. Why is that? How could it be? Certainly rock does not have nearly as many genres as electronic music. The reasons are simple. Rock bands are typically entertaining on stage. Take away the pyrotechnics, and replace the band with a DJ how many people would still go to concerts? Has a coverband ever sold out a stadium?

I would love to see the return of good electronic music and that is more possible today then ever. A musician is only as good as his tools and the electronic musician of today has some massive advantages over their forefathers. The computers, programs and hardware that started the scene are far inferior, even to what was around 10 years ago. So what the fuck is going on?

For there to be any chance of revitalization in the electronic scene there need to be good, new music. No more remixes or samples of something that already had it's day. Produce something good and new FFS! DJ's develop a show a real show. Hire dancers or someone to take a grinder to the steel mask they are wearing that makes a lot of sparks, do something besides simpling queueing and mixing. Trust me, when I say that there is very little a DJ can do to make watching him or her her spin records entertaining. Female DJ's, you may have some great tits and yes we do enjoy seeing you topless, but it is distracting. Hell I dunno, maybe that is what you need to happen for your masses to be fooled in to thinking you have actual talent - distract them.

Go to school learn how to produce good and original music, figure out how to make watching you entertaining and give the scene the fresh air it needs.