Some food for thought
I think I am going to try to make this a monthly editorial series here on The Twin Cities Underground instead of 5 things I currently excited about. If it doesn't work out, I'll go back to doing the other monthly series. So here goes...
Over the weekend, I came across this article on Side-Line about the state of the industrial music scene. Asides from the whining from Side-Line (which is par for the course from people who I think don't know how to inform their audience without blurring the lines between news and editorializing), I will concede that the author does make a point about how many of the bands in the scene are starting to sound too much alike and perhaps lacks innovation. Unfortunately the author just complains. She does not offer any solutions instead she just bitches and moans which is really why I can't take SL remotely seriously any more. They don't really contribute to the scene in my honest opinion.
The argument that the author of the article have made also could apply to other musical genres. It just isn't about the industrial scene. In high school and college, I listened to a lot of punk music but that genre evolved to a point where I have come to dislike it a bit (i.e when Green Day hit the scene). Once Green Day arrived and its clones started popping out of the wood work, I knew I was done with punk music. In regards to industrial music, a lot of bands today may not be on the cutting edge as Throbbing Gristle and Skinny Puppy when they first started, I still think there are a lot of bands who are making compelling music. Truth be told, I am more interested in discovering artists and bands that would appeal to my ears and would want me to share with those who read my blog and visit my FB page. I don't think the scene is totally out of innovation. I think there are some really interesting bands but they just don't have the same amount of name recognition and visibility like bands such as KMFDM, Lords of Acid, and Ministry has. The only thing is that you have to really do the work and search for those bands. For example: Shinto records is a great local record label who distributes music of various artists and bands that ranges from darkwave to goth-rock. Here is the link to their bandcamp store. I can definitely guarantee you that the artists they help distribute their music is anything but bland and boring.
As a music lover, I try to listen to other musical genres so I don't get too bored with the stuff I listen to on a regular basis. In the last several months I have rediscovered music from the 1990s like Lush, Curve, Garbage, Belly, Concrete Blonde, and The Jesus and Mary Chain. This year I have found myself buying quite a few albums from local bands like Brute Heart, Is/Is, Claps, and A.Wolf and Her Claws. This I haven't done before or at least in a long time. I feel sorry for the author of the Side-Line article because in the time she has taken to write that ridiculous rant, she couldn't even offer anything worthwhile to contribute to the scene but insteads tells artists/bands to do better at their job. I may be cynical and often snarky like any other hipster but as I get older, I have grown weary of the inner music snob in me. I don't want to find the next Throbbing Gristle or Skinny Puppy. I just want to hear some damn good ear candy. Life is too damn short about worrying about finding new innovative music.
Over the weekend, I came across this article on Side-Line about the state of the industrial music scene. Asides from the whining from Side-Line (which is par for the course from people who I think don't know how to inform their audience without blurring the lines between news and editorializing), I will concede that the author does make a point about how many of the bands in the scene are starting to sound too much alike and perhaps lacks innovation. Unfortunately the author just complains. She does not offer any solutions instead she just bitches and moans which is really why I can't take SL remotely seriously any more. They don't really contribute to the scene in my honest opinion.
The argument that the author of the article have made also could apply to other musical genres. It just isn't about the industrial scene. In high school and college, I listened to a lot of punk music but that genre evolved to a point where I have come to dislike it a bit (i.e when Green Day hit the scene). Once Green Day arrived and its clones started popping out of the wood work, I knew I was done with punk music. In regards to industrial music, a lot of bands today may not be on the cutting edge as Throbbing Gristle and Skinny Puppy when they first started, I still think there are a lot of bands who are making compelling music. Truth be told, I am more interested in discovering artists and bands that would appeal to my ears and would want me to share with those who read my blog and visit my FB page. I don't think the scene is totally out of innovation. I think there are some really interesting bands but they just don't have the same amount of name recognition and visibility like bands such as KMFDM, Lords of Acid, and Ministry has. The only thing is that you have to really do the work and search for those bands. For example: Shinto records is a great local record label who distributes music of various artists and bands that ranges from darkwave to goth-rock. Here is the link to their bandcamp store. I can definitely guarantee you that the artists they help distribute their music is anything but bland and boring.
As a music lover, I try to listen to other musical genres so I don't get too bored with the stuff I listen to on a regular basis. In the last several months I have rediscovered music from the 1990s like Lush, Curve, Garbage, Belly, Concrete Blonde, and The Jesus and Mary Chain. This year I have found myself buying quite a few albums from local bands like Brute Heart, Is/Is, Claps, and A.Wolf and Her Claws. This I haven't done before or at least in a long time. I feel sorry for the author of the Side-Line article because in the time she has taken to write that ridiculous rant, she couldn't even offer anything worthwhile to contribute to the scene but insteads tells artists/bands to do better at their job. I may be cynical and often snarky like any other hipster but as I get older, I have grown weary of the inner music snob in me. I don't want to find the next Throbbing Gristle or Skinny Puppy. I just want to hear some damn good ear candy. Life is too damn short about worrying about finding new innovative music.
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