S
simon silverdollar
Guest
this has been discussed a bit on the Grime rolling thread, but i thought it could be an interesting focus for a thread on its own.
so, the level of hate shown towards Hadouken (a new-rave-ish/grime/indie band) has really quite surprised. now, i'm no fan of the music, but i think much of the hate towards Hadouken transcends a dislike of their music, and is directed much more towards waht they represent, or their guiding motivations (to mix indie with grime).
so, what's wrong with hadouken?
my 2 cents is that hadouken have pretty much got the right idea. indie music, in its pure form, is pretty boring. aren't most of us on here complaining about how boring and closed-minded it is? how it rejects any non-indie influences? how it's self-consciously removed itself from where the action is (the club, the dancefloor, the street?)
hadouken are, at least, not making that mistake. i don't think we can have it both ways: we can't complain about how closed-minded indie is, and then complian when it tries to reach out (or 'appropriate' other genres).
some might say that this appropriation (specifically, of grime) is cynical. part of it might be: it's a good way to get attention. but part of it, i think, is done out of true love for the music (one member of hadouken used to be in True Tiger camp).
so, in what way is this 'appropriation' more objectionable than, say, tinchy stryder MCing over the 'lean back' beat on guns n roses? both forms of appropriation are 'cynical' in that they're (probably) a calculated move to get attention, picking up on a big, or exciting sound, but both are done from love of the music that is appropriated.
i guess one argument against hadouken (et al) is that such acts take the focus away from grime proper, and perpetuate a system which routinely ignores the music coming out of the UK's inner cities. but i just don't think there's much evidence for this. major labels have to have a 'hook' to hang new sounds on, something they can stick in every press release and get the journalists hyped up. dizzee's youth, and his background (kicked out of schools and then 'saved' by his music teacher) was pretty crucial to his success, i think.
hadouken have a good 'hook', and might become popular. if they do, that'll probably be to the good of grime, as then there's an easier way into the record label/music mag hype machine for grime artists ('____ from Hadouken's first crew True Tiger release their debut album...' and so on and etc)
put it this way, bands like the beastie boys helped to get more people in to 'true' hiphop than would have done had they not existed.
so, at the end of a long, rambling post: what's wrong with hadouken?
so, the level of hate shown towards Hadouken (a new-rave-ish/grime/indie band) has really quite surprised. now, i'm no fan of the music, but i think much of the hate towards Hadouken transcends a dislike of their music, and is directed much more towards waht they represent, or their guiding motivations (to mix indie with grime).
so, what's wrong with hadouken?
my 2 cents is that hadouken have pretty much got the right idea. indie music, in its pure form, is pretty boring. aren't most of us on here complaining about how boring and closed-minded it is? how it rejects any non-indie influences? how it's self-consciously removed itself from where the action is (the club, the dancefloor, the street?)
hadouken are, at least, not making that mistake. i don't think we can have it both ways: we can't complain about how closed-minded indie is, and then complian when it tries to reach out (or 'appropriate' other genres).
some might say that this appropriation (specifically, of grime) is cynical. part of it might be: it's a good way to get attention. but part of it, i think, is done out of true love for the music (one member of hadouken used to be in True Tiger camp).
so, in what way is this 'appropriation' more objectionable than, say, tinchy stryder MCing over the 'lean back' beat on guns n roses? both forms of appropriation are 'cynical' in that they're (probably) a calculated move to get attention, picking up on a big, or exciting sound, but both are done from love of the music that is appropriated.
i guess one argument against hadouken (et al) is that such acts take the focus away from grime proper, and perpetuate a system which routinely ignores the music coming out of the UK's inner cities. but i just don't think there's much evidence for this. major labels have to have a 'hook' to hang new sounds on, something they can stick in every press release and get the journalists hyped up. dizzee's youth, and his background (kicked out of schools and then 'saved' by his music teacher) was pretty crucial to his success, i think.
hadouken have a good 'hook', and might become popular. if they do, that'll probably be to the good of grime, as then there's an easier way into the record label/music mag hype machine for grime artists ('____ from Hadouken's first crew True Tiger release their debut album...' and so on and etc)
put it this way, bands like the beastie boys helped to get more people in to 'true' hiphop than would have done had they not existed.
so, at the end of a long, rambling post: what's wrong with hadouken?
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