It ain’t Ric Caric-level pseudo-intellectual foppery. But it’s getting close:
From dancehall to raving, club cultures to sound systems, disco to techno, breakbeat to psytrance, hip hop to dubstep, IDM to noisecore, nortec to bloghouse, global EDMCs are a shifting spectrum of scenes, genres, and aesthetics. What is the role of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, religion and spirituality in these formations? How does existing critical theory enable understanding of EDMCs, and how might the latter challenge the assumptions of our inherited heuristics? What is the role of the DJ in diverse genres, scenes, subcultures, and/or neotribes?
Well, gee, I can’t say that I’ve given it much thought. But if I had to guess, I’d say — relying solely on the framing of the question, mind you — that we’re about to learn that the “role of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, religion and spirituality in these formations” is pretty fucking enormous; that “existing critical theory” largely lets us down in our efforts to understand whatever it is we’re supposed to be understanding; and that the DJ plays an integral, almost Shamanesque-type role “in diverse genres, scenes, subcultures, and/or neotribes.”
But of course, I have an unfair advantage: I’m on to you.
And I’m not the only one.
It looks like someone is making liberal use of the Postmodernism Generator.
o_O
You can see it in their eyes as they sit and work the wheels and levers of po-mo academe – there really IS such a thing as a free lunch.
“neotribes”?
Seriously, this is someone pulling a prank that was revealed just a bit early (April 1st was the correct date to publicize this, right?).
I smell the creation of another area of major study the humanities; that will, of course, require federally funded studies galore. Because of the culture…
Limbaugh started out as a DJ, now he rules the Republican Party.
Maybe they are on to something.
Seems like a good excuse to take some X and crank up the Crystal Method to me. Maybe sprinkle in some Chemical Brothers and a bit of old-school Kraftwerk just for kicks.
And somewhere in the middle, just to see if everyone’s paying attention, Flop-eared Mule by the Holy Modal Rounders.
“electronic dance music cultures”?
Well, I can’t say I’ve ever been in one of those, but I thought they were all about getting laid.
Stupid Freud.
ROFLMAO!!! “Some speakers, radically situated.”
LB,
Well, I can’t say I’ve ever been in one of those “cultures” per se, but I’ve been to a rave once, and they are.
;^)
Heh. My socialist in training nephew is an honest to goodness DJ. I’ll have to get his perspective on this. If I can shake him out of his K and X inflicted catatonia, I’ll report back.
What sub-genre of electronic dance music does Curious George dance to?
of course, I have an unfair advantage: I’m on to you.
LOFL.
You would think that the taxpayers of Queensland would, as one, rise up and refuse to entertain such useless wankery any more, letting Dr St John earn his crust busking on the streets. But then, you would assume that any taxpayer anywhere on the planet would have a similar response to maintaining these gobshites in their academic departments. What a noble species are we.
well, to be fair, this is nothing new. My Masters thesis dealt with the cultural significance of Hee Haw!
So should we view the events in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya et al as a series of raves? One of which Obama has crashed with his ad hoc, frenetic, kinetic, overseas contingency operation stylings.
I bet Paris Hilton could wrangle an honorary doctorate out of this.
Oh. I kind of like DJ KUE’s mixes. But I only listen to him in the car.
Kind of like Kraftwerk. http://kebnekajse.tripod.com/stimme.html
There is actually something interesting going on there, but these guys are missing it. One could actually study how the electronic/DJ music culture keeps fracturing, and why. It seems that every week there is a new sub-sub-sub-sub genre of this style of music that is formed, and a resulting “culture/tribe” to go with it. The tribalism that springs forth is staggering, yet an untrained ear wouldn’t be able to spot the differences. It’s like everyone in that scene is trying to be Henry Higgins. It’s like friggin Babel out there where they can’t seem to stand each other.
I bet one could chart the differences in the genres based on BPM and frequency ranges.
A prof I worked with was studying the BMI/Center of Mass of the listener and how it affected the BPM of dance music. It was found that by picking songs of a particular range of BPM a DJ could control the ratio of male to female dancers at a club. It was observed that your center of mass would help determine the rate at which you could “hop” and when the BPM matched the frequency range you were comforatable with, you were more inclined to get on the dance floor. He was mostly studying the mechanical side of it, but I’m sure there’s a social side to it as well.
It’s science. Because it’s in a journal.
My paper will be called, “Lots of young people into dance music go to dance music and dance.”
What is the role of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, religion and spirituality in these formations?
The raves are Mass, the DJ is the priest, and the participants are all looking for transcendence and membership in something Bigger Than Themselves. The schisms are schisms, the stupid conflicts between the tribes are better called the 30-Year-Olds War, and these clowns are all just making it up as they go.
Next question.
Now finding out why these sub-cultures keep forming is easy, it’s snobbery. It’s just like the hipster douches who all try to out-edgy/out-pretentious each other. If a band has more than 5 fans, they’ve “Sold out” and only posh wankers would want to listen to it. Same deal, only electronic style.
Now if you’d titled this “reading writing and a rhythm tic” you might have had something….
You know, you just don’t get it. Those kids, they can dance if they want to. They can leave you and your hive behind. Because your friends don’t dance; and if they don’t dance, then they’re no friends of Frey’s. I say they can go where they want to, a place you’ll never find, and they can act like they come from OUT OF THIS WORLD, leave the real one far behind. And they can dance. They can go were they want to, the night is young and so is Frey. And they can dress real neat from their hats to their feet and suprise ’em with their victory cry. Say, they can act if they want to. If they don’t nobody will, and you can act real rude and totally removed and Frey can act the imbecile.
W.
T.
F.?
I would take that class.
If only because proper understanding of dubstep would require me – on behalf of intellectual honesty, objectivity and academic rigor – to drop a shitload of acid.
DJ as shaman, huh?
“That is a sick beat, but do you have something for this cold sore?”
Thereby proving that anthropology as a subject of study is bullshit.
We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
‘Cause your friends don’t dance and if they don’t dance
Well they’re no friends of mine
I say, we can go where we want to
A place where they will never find
And we can act like we come from out of this world
Leave the real one far behind
And we can dance
Speaking of skool’in and learn’in and stuff, anyone know this is going on?
I heard about it on the local talk show, and did a google search on it. It isn’t going on just at this one school.
The authorities get together (including SWAT) and spend like six months planning, including a script for the “shooter”. The local guy was talking about an instance(I didn’t catch where yet, so I can’t confirm)) that had the shooter as a kid with right wing parents into guns and borders, out to please daddy by wasting some Hispanics. So the “actor” was a white kid walking around the school shooting all the brown people.
Pretty disgusting stuff, even without the last part.
oh fer crimeny’s sake
David Thompson discovers, yet again, why no taxpayer money should be going to “higher education.”
Lee
Your link is to a satire site.
“Your link is to a satire site.”
Oh. Guess I got carried away after hearing the radio and then seeing this, this, and this.
Sorry..
Now is the time on sprokets when we dance!
No, seriously, dance. My Dad won’t pay for another incomplete.
LB,
I think you missed one, and probably the most offensive, too.
Although it is only scheduled at this point.
@18 SarahW, thanks for that link. I’m a fan of Kraftwerk’s; but I didn’t know they used ‘morse code voice’ to spell out Radioactivity.
Larry Fast (Synergy), Tangerine Dream, Rick Wakeman, all pioneers in the field. This is relatively unknown…anyone heard of or remember it?
Here’s a handy dandy site showing the tree structure of electronic music, complete with samples and history. If you’re into that sort of thing.
All we are is ducks in the wind.
Quack, quack!
“BumperStickerist posted on 3/24 @ 1:28 pm
well, to be fair, this is nothing new. My Masters thesis dealt with the cultural significance of Hee Haw!”
Be careful there!
I used to play in the Hee Haw band. Seriously.
Or as “seriously” as playing in the Hee Haw band could be taken as…
You saw that video too!
Thank god, my father insisted his sons learn a trade as well as get a degree.
“What is the role of the DJ in diverse genres, scenes, subcultures, and/or neotribes?
Limbaugh started out as a DJ, now he rules the Republican Party.
Maybe they are on to something.”
Mark Steyn was also a DJ. The evidence mounts. It’s clearly a key element of our neotribe.
Spiny @34. Ah, that must have been the one the radio guy I mentioned @29 was talking about.
The whole exercise is obscene, even without the obvious indoctrination.
I believe you mean Operation Tangerine Dream.
I wonder what would happen if they did a drill during a junior high basketball game, and they dressed a guy in loose cloths and a turban, put a open cell phone in his hand, and sent him center court during a time out chanting “Allah-Akbar, Allah-Akbar”?
zino3 – That’s awesome. You see the re-runs are on RFDTV? I freakin’ love that show.