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The next big things
Published on 16/02/07
by matt
It’s a cliche for music geeks to discard the hyped sound by the time it’s getting column inches (should that be centimetres?) having moved on to something new and fresh. In my current series of great, patently obvious, observations that nonetheless enunciate something with a deeper meaning, here are some excerpts from Si Hindle aka Somefreak‘s review of the latest Villalobos beat, a 40 minute groove called ‘Fizheuer Ziheuer.’
Minimal, and this is defiantly minimal, is the ‘big thing’ right now. Si points out that ‘big things’ attract a bunch of people who are only interested in what he calls the “big thingyness” of it, rather than the “history or true nature behind the glitz.” You see it in all sorts of music, and scenes. Like at the moment the hyphy/Baltimore/Crunk thing in Sydney has flipped out of its Levins-driven niche into mainstream club culture – it’s getting Levins (who rocks these beats) loads of gigs, but all of a sudden a whole bunch of other DJs are playing the same records, with a lot less feeling.
“Of course, making something a Big Thing commodifies it, and reduces it to a set of rules which can then be clearly followed by craftsmen (yes Martin Buttrich, I’m looking at you) to create ‘new’ pieces of work that offer little new to the original form but help propagate the generic form associated with whatever label is applied to the Big Thing, to the point where it becomes caricaturised, hated and ultimately discarded for the next Big Thing (watch out, Dubstep!)”
I think it’s fair to say dubstep is pretty much there already – generic beats increasingly dropping as the scene explodes in the UK, and gets closer to it here – but that’s beside the point. Is there any way to avoid the NME style next big thing phase? Constant evolution can only take you so far – it didn’t work for dubstep, eventually the buzz brings in a crowd who aren’t interested in taking things forward, they want something they can get their heads around, describe in a buzz statement on flyers, and pitch to promoters.
But isn’t this exactly what happens with most (all?) music scenes? More to the point, isn’t it a great thing, forcing paradigm shifts, shaking up audiences, moving people along…
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Comments on The next big things
4 Responses
S-Freek
16/02/07
I agree with ya Matt, the whole obscurity-cult fandom-Big Thing-subsequent backlash cycle is everywhere, and part of the natural order I think. I feel that there’s no way of really avoiding it, as it happens on small scales too.
I think all that you can do is choose not to be affected by it. Don’t be one of these folk that jumps on bandwagons, but for fuck’s sake don’t be one of those that jumps OFF them because they’re even worse. Not liking a sound because it’s popular is attributing more value to descriptions than to that which they describe.
matt
19/02/07
music scenes are good and bad… they encourage rules and boundaries, fixed genre identities, but the irreverence blow-in fans bring can be a good thing. and a scene fosters gradual evolution and, importantly, a ready market for the music.
all the same i don’t think it’s worth hanging onto a chapter of music just because you were into it at some earlier point. music ebbs and flows, there are always scenes firing and scenes failing, i get excited about a new node every other week.
Matt M
19/02/07
This is both about your relationship with music (as a listener/producer) – and also your relationship to other people.
It’s not only the music you leave behind (tho it can be) but also the people/scenes/times associated with that music. Or else you are part of a crew that moves as a whole.
Lyndon
16/03/07
I feel that having so much access to so much music via the internet has been a blessing and a curse for many artists and indeed, listeners. The models of hype and the creation of scenes change so rapidly that it’s a challenging objective to stay ahead of the game. How much are we really listening to now, as opossed to having the music stored somewhere on our harddrives, to be held out of a sense of keeping up with the latest and greatest?
Interesting to read your example of the crunk/hyphy crew (with Levins and co as the catylysts). Indeed, where does one go to after focusing so heavily on creating a scene, then watching it become part of a popular movement (once other, less focused individuals jump on board)? Does it sour the experience? Or is it a testiment to the efforts put in by a handful of individuals?
There’s always going to be a NBT…it’s simply accelerated a lot more than the days where you would have to walk(!) to the record store and pick up a coipy of the New Musical Express or an equivalent. As long as you as the listener focus on what really moves you or the music you honestly believe in, there’s always a place for hype and trend in our lives. After all, it can be a lot of fun chasing the next sound – just remember to pull your head out of your behind when doing so.
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