what if there is no next BIG thing?

[the undisputed truth]

Good point. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what the 90s were all about, isn't it? musically it gave us jungle and a million potential branches for electronic exploration, but the culture was a sort of mish-mash of borrowed trends.

sorry, what was the original question again...?

The 90's was the honeymoon period for the electronic revolution in music with regards to making, distributing and incorporating all strains under it's digital umbrella. The 80's was the marriage. The 70's getting to know each other. The 60's was the introduction. The 00's is the settling down to be the blissful period making babies. Where everything seems as it should be, the house in in order, the kids are fine but next decade will be the divorce.

The male progeny of the electronic man and the musical female will hit it's teens and rebel against its own humanity. Machines barely need us to "write" music with them soon they won't need us at all. Imagine a program like the Pandora music genome project but instead of linking songs produced by artist of a similar strain and playing them end on end ala a radio format it wil compose original songs based on what you type in that will go on for as long as you like ?

So what of the musical twin daughter ? Maybe she'll go back to church or maybe she'll busk to support her drug habit.

 

[Guybrush]

Imagine a program like the Pandora music genome project but instead of linking songs produced by artist of a similar strain and playing them end on end ala a radio format it wil compose original songs based on what you type in that will go on for as long as you like ?

That would be something, huh?

And I think the one thing that is testament to the quality of nineties music and youth culture is the fact that nobody equates the that decade as naff. Ten years ago is always considered crap (bit of a generalistion, but still...) and twenty years ago is cool.

This is a well-worn cliché which obviously applies to the 90s, but was that really true in, say, the 70s (lamenting how hopelessly dated Pet Sounds sounded)? This is more of a question since I wasn't there.

 

[swears]

This is a well-worn cliché which obviously applies to the 90s, but was that really true in, say, the 70s (lamenting how hopelessly dated Pet Sounds sounded)? This is more of a question since I wasn't there.

Hah, I wasn't born 'til '83 and didn't get into music until '95 myself.

I'm just going on what I've heard and read. There is always something ideologically to rebel against one way or another. Capitalism, the state, traditional morality, industrial society, discrimination, take your pick. It's just that there's nothing really to rebel against in 2006 aesthetically. And sometimes it's exciting how aesthetic and ideological rebellion go hand in hand.

 

[noel emits]

The 90s will very shortly (if it isn't already) be seen as having been a very naive time. Embarassing and wack, or at least quaint. It was really all about the rediscovery and popularising of ideas that went back to the 60s and 70s, if not way before.

Electronic music? I think what was achieved in the 90s was really a rhythmic flattening and codifying. Go back to the 60s and 70s for lots of incredible, inventive and diverse electronic music that wasn't so hampered by fitting into a genre style. I loved House and Acid and Jungle and Drum & Bass and Techno and Electronica and so on of course, but these were not really new things - just small ideas inflated to larger movements.

When I think of the 90s I think of DJ Spooky, Terrance McKenna, Smart Drinks, Cybersex. Charlatans and snake oil.

The WWW was new - but the internet was not, neither were BBSs.

It's time we faced it - the 90s were shit, it's just that pretty much anything would have seemed exciting after the 80s.

 

[mms]

When I think of the 90s I think of DJ Spooky, Terrance McKenna, Smart Drinks, Cybersex. Charlatans and snake oil.

blimey you must have had a really awful time!

 

[noel emits]

Heheh.

Well, don't tell anyone but I had a fantastic time really.

I was just reacting to swears comments about living in the shadow of the 90s and nobody equating that decade with being naff. There was a LOT of naff!

 

[Norma Snockers]

Heheh.

Well, don't tell anyone but I had a fantastic time really.

I was just reacting to swears comments about living in the shadow of the 90s and nobody equating that decade with being naff. There was a LOT of naff!

Either way you still sound like you had a shit time.

 

[noel emits]

Either way you still sound like you had a shit time.

Hmm. Did you not see the at the end of my anti 90s rant?

Maybe swears is right though and people of a certain age are a little too in thrall to what happened in the last decade. Makes it harder to see what could happen now. Do I detect folk getting just lickle touchy about someone maybe treading on cherrished memories of a terrific time had?

Wrt what Nick Gutterbreakz said, I do think that things like the mass adoption of tatooing/body piercing will be seen as quite laughable soon enough, as all fashions should be at some point. And I think partly the 'New Rave' thing has to do with younger kids finding the whole rave thing kind of cool, but in an ironic 'weren't our parent / older sibblings daft drug muppets but this is fun' kind of way. Why hasn't the term 'No Rave' caught on anyway? That's much better.

 

[noel emits]

As for an actual NBT - I think it might involve some kind of overt neo-paganism and widespread popularity and acceptance of 'occult' practice. The culture will be explicitly political in a pragmatic way (the best ideas win out) with elements of conscious myth construction. Strong environmental awareness too ov course. As things get worse youth cultures wil no longer tolerate stupidity and retrogressive attitudes. I guess this was the sort of thing the 90s was moving towards, itself a further iteration of what was around in the 60s.

Designer Religion.

 

[mms]

As for an actual NBT - I think it might involve some kind of overt neo-paganism and widespread popularity and acceptance of 'occult' practice. The culture will be explicitly political in a pragmatic way (the best ideas win out) with elements of conscious myth construction. Strong environmental awareness too ov course. As things get worse youth cultures wil no longer tolerate stupidity and retrogressive attitudes. I guess this was the sort of thing the 90s was moving towards, itself a further iteration of what was around in the 60s.

Designer Religion.

it's funny how much harry potter has instilled some kind of paganish occultoidism in the youth i think. this sounds like an interesting idea though not sure how it will work and where the shoots are visible at the moment.

 

[mms]

Hmm. Did you not see the at the end of my anti 90s rant?

And I think partly the 'New Rave' thing has to do with younger kids finding the whole rave thing kind of cool, but in an ironic 'weren't our parent / older sibblings daft drug muppets but this is fun' kind of way. Why hasn't the term 'No Rave' caught on anyway? That's much better.

one of the things that came across in some observer piece on youth groups the other day was a pic and little interview with a young new raver, he looked almost the same as i did when i was 15 or 16 but was saying he doesn't like over 18's clubs as there are too many druggies', i must admit i was a bit scared of drugs at that age (except weed) but i always wanted to get into older clubs, that's a strange confidence in yr own teeb scene isn't it?

 

[the undisputed truth]

it's funny how much harry potter has instilled some kind of paganish occultoidism in the youth i think. this sounds like an interesting idea though not sure how it will work and where the shoots are visible at the moment.

maybe you can see it in the breakdown of the family unit, community spirit and a move away from christian values

Britons becoming afraid of young people - report

LONDON: Britain is becoming a nation increasingly afraid of its young people and this "paedophobia" is causing problems for children as they grow up, a report released on Sunday said.

Britons were far less likely than their European counterparts to stop young people committing antisocial behaviour, because of fears of reprisals, being attacked, or verbal abuse, the study by the Institute of Policy Research (IPPR) found.

It said changes to family, local communities and the economy had combined to cause "deep inequalities" in the transition from childhood to adult life, meaning many young people were incapable of growing up safely or successfully.

 

[swears]

Britons were far less likely than their European counterparts to stop young people committing antisocial behaviour, because of fears of reprisals, being attacked, or verbal abuse, the study by the Institute of Policy Research (IPPR) found.

It said changes to family, local communities and the economy had combined to cause "deep inequalities" in the transition from childhood to adult life, meaning many young people were incapable of growing up safely or successfully.

Aren't other youngsters statisically more likely to be the victims, rather than adults?
Have to say, there are a few schmindie songs at the moment about those dreadful ruffian types. "People are getting quite laaaaiiiry..." and all that. Isn't it great that they're addressing these pressing social issues?

 

[mms]

maybe you can see it in the breakdown of the family unit, community spirit and a move away from christian values

Britons becoming afraid of young people - report

LONDON: Britain is becoming a nation increasingly afraid of its young people and this "paedophobia" is causing problems for children as they grow up, a report released on Sunday said.

Britons were far less likely than their European counterparts to stop young people committing antisocial behaviour, because of fears of reprisals, being attacked, or verbal abuse, the study by the Institute of Policy Research (IPPR) found.

It said changes to family, local communities and the economy had combined to cause "deep inequalities" in the transition from childhood to adult life, meaning many young people were incapable of growing up safely or successfully.

alot of this is imagined rather than real though isn't it, to an extent?
i have a friend who has started to see the world thru paranoid eyes, everyone is potentially violent or murderous all the time, its not the way i see it especially when he invents things to justify his view, he's a pretty standard bloke, girlfriend, (who i have a feeling doesn't help at all, good job in the city,)i think he reads too many shit stirring newspapers, commutes too much.

 

[DJ PIMP]

it's funny how much harry potter has instilled some kind of paganish occultoidism in the youth i think.

not unlike dungeons and dragons and pick-a-path adventure books in the 80s - reacting against hyper-capitalism in an unconscious retreat into myth... or on another tanget escaping into virtuality in video games etc, trapped in the myth of the machine. whereas, however flawed, the 60s was an actual attempt to confront the social reality of the time by constructing a new-age myth, the age of aquarius, flower children etc.

i don't see society getting out of these reactionary cycles until, assuming it happens, the environment falls over and we are forced to coexist with nature. until then, the tele(pathic)marketers are always one step ahead and, to misquote Mencken, nobody ever went broke underestimating the stupidity of the masses.

 

[Buick6]

not unlike dungeons and dragons and pick-a-path adventure books in the 80s - reacting against hyper-capitalism in an unconscious retreat into myth... or on another tanget escaping into virtuality in video games etc, trapped in the myth of the machine. whereas, however flawed, the 60s was an actual attempt to confront the social reality of the time by constructing a new-age myth, the age of aquarius, flower children etc.

i don't see society getting out of these reactionary cycles until, assuming it happens, the environment falls over and we are forced to coexist with nature. until then, the tele(pathic)marketers are always one step ahead and, to misquote Mencken, nobody ever went broke underestimating the stupidity of the masses.

Good point. If only the Lefties had better means of engaging the masses.

 

[IdleRich]

"i have a friend who has started to see the world thru paranoid eyes, everyone is potentially violent or murderous all the time, its not the way i see it especially when he invents things to justify his view, he's a pretty standard bloke, girlfriend, (who i have a feeling doesn't help at all, good job in the city,)i think he reads too many shit stirring newspapers, commutes too much."

I've read about people in "gated communities" becoming worried whenever they leave as the people they see have not been vetted to live in the safe bit. It's like a drug where at first the gate makes you feel safer but soon you have to be on the inside to feel as normal as you did before (in extreme cases obviously).

 

[baboon2004]

maybe you can see it in the breakdown of the family unit, community spirit and a move away from christian values

Britons becoming afraid of young people - report

LONDON: Britain is becoming a nation increasingly afraid of its young people and this "paedophobia" is causing problems for children as they grow up, a report released on Sunday said.

Britons were far less likely than their European counterparts to stop young people committing antisocial behaviour, because of fears of reprisals, being attacked, or verbal abuse, the study by the Institute of Policy Research (IPPR) found.

It said changes to family, local communities and the economy had combined to cause "deep inequalities" in the transition from childhood to adult life, meaning many young people were incapable of growing up safely or successfully.

Do we have to resort to quoting surveys the main thesis of which is a good sight more than bleedingly obvious, but which equally allow no room at all for nuance and, dare I say it, reality?

 

[mms]

not unlike dungeons and dragons and pick-a-path adventure books in the 80s - reacting against hyper-capitalism in an unconscious retreat into myth... or on another tanget escaping into virtuality in video games etc, trapped in the myth of the machine. whereas, however flawed, the 60s was an actual attempt to confront the social reality of the time by constructing a new-age myth, the age of aquarius, flower children etc.

i don't see society getting out of these reactionary cycles until, assuming it happens, the environment falls over and we are forced to coexist with nature. until then, the tele(pathic)marketers are always one step ahead and, to misquote Mencken, nobody ever went broke underestimating the stupidity of the masses.

sure but a small percentage of harry potter reading kids have been inspired to read about witchcraft etc, readily available on the net as it is. a small percentage of kids probably did this thru d and d and heavy metal but its easier now.
harry potter is fairly 'practical' as well, even though it's still myth obviously, there is more space for translation into real life.
i tihnk you're right about reactionary cycles but in every generation there are always many levels of flawed utopianism of different strands.

 

[swears]

96-05: nothing new really (i don't rate 2 step, big beat, grime, dubstep as revolutionary new as the aforementioned, not to speak of indie or nu-metal).

Maybe that's the "eclectic" era, starting with Beck's Odelay in '96. That's really when throwing all these disparate influences into one big pot came into its own.

If '06 is the beginning of a new era, there's only 2 months left to come up with something fresh. Maybe the christmas number one will be in a completely new genre?