From eluna@coil.com
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 20:25:19 -0500 (EST)
From: eluna <eluna@coil.com>
To: mwraves <mw-raves@taz.hyperreal.com>
Cc: michael mccusty <johnston.151@osu.edu>
Subject: big band/techno + jangool thoughts

hi mike!  hi mw posse!!

(mike i cc'd this to you JUST TO MAKE SURE you'd get it!!  :)

speaking of swing i think it's funny to mention that in the '30s, swing
was very similar to techno (well maybe late '20s).  for a while, going to
your local juke-joint/speakeasy was the most underground thang for urban
blacks and whites to do.  they went to dance and check out the latest
riddms of (usually) black bands of The DUKE (ELLINGTON), The COUNT (BASIE)
and CAB CALLOWAY.  then in the later `30s, swing got appropriated by acts
like BENNY GOODMAN, TOMMY DORSEY, and WOODY HERMAN (whiteys) and it became
pop, mass-marketed and everything.  sound familiar?

and before this becomes another "oh gosh those darn whiteys are always
taking black ideas" thing, all the artists i mentioned above (white and
black) added a lot to the mix (it's all good ;).  in the end it was good
because many black artists, while they remained poor as hell (and even in
mixed white/black bands, the blacks had to eat separately and enter/exit
thru the BACK door), did made _some_ money off the swing explosion, and
some even turned away from it altogether and went on to bust out in the
'40s with the phattest jams ever heard before or since: be-bop, yo
(BIRD/GILLESPIE/ROACH/MONK/MILES/TATUM/POWELL anyone?!?!). 

maybe we'll be able to see more parallels with techno as The
Commercialization of Techno (part 3) continues.  i say part 3 because lest
we forget, techno's been "in" twice already (roughly, technopop-->house:
1979-1989 "the human numan depeche duran stock aitken & waterman m/a/a/r/s
maneouvers in the astley inner city league," and new beat: 1990-93 "james
brown is/isnt dead o enigma fortuna the spice gets fingerfukked"). 

and as far as jungle goes, well in england, breakbeat was nearly 
commercial in '91, then went underground for a couple years, and over the 
last 2 years has become commercial again, moreso than ever.  so its 
relationship with commercialization has had its up and downs as well.

to those who feel that jungle is just a "phase" of techno (*coughdiana*) i
say BOLSHY YARBLOCKOS TO YOU!!  hehe.  to be truthful, jungle is one of
those things where either you "get it" or you dont.  monochrome always sez
that jungle really requires a lot of attention to understand (in other
words if you are impatient, you'll have a harder time) and he also thinks
that it's easier to understand if you've grown with it.  breakbeats have
been used and cut up since early hip hop (1976 yo BAM, KOOL HERC, GMASTER
FLASH anyone?!?!) and has gone through its mutations such as P.E., MEAT
BEAT MANIFESTO, and P.W.E.I. (old breakbeat chestnuts), then early jungle
(REINFORCED yo) and now today's diverse riddms. 

so people who have lived through some (or all) of these transitions can 
listen to jungle beats and say "yah i know that beat" or "yep that makes 
sense."

but one last point: some people dont have any sense of hip-hop/breaks
history and they get it right away...be it the complex beat-cutting of
jump-up or fungle, the smooth textures of "ambient" jungle, or soulful pop
crossovers (like EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL and BJORK).  it's an individual
response, like everything. 

bye!!  PLUR!!! 

*groan*

today's lesson brought to you by 
++ 
e d