Sometimes I think that the current state of the nation’s radio is unavoidable. Let’s face it, radio favours immediately approachable music, instantly likeable bubblegum rubbish that the listener can hear on one occasion and get off on. It is an uphill struggle for DCR, most discernable music lovers will know that the best music is rarely immediate, it grows in time and with repeated listening eventually smacks you in the face and makes you feel that you have discovered something truly wonderful. The music speaks for itself.
I am pretty disillusioned with a lot of the popular music and journalism around at the moment. I’m getting tired of journalists telling me what I should listen too (ref. recent NME cover title “15 bands to get excited about” (but then I am using the worst music magazine of them all as an example; I mean, the Strokes, album of the decade? Bollocks)). Hype kills the music it’s hyping!
I find a lot of the current crop of bands frankly boring, and just too approachable. The XX for example, yes their album is good, but what’s it going to provide after 10 listens? I’m bored of buying albums and them sitting on my cd shelf gathering dust after the initial hit has worn thin. To me it’s bubblegum music that’s a little bit cooler than the norm, but ultimately not satisfying. Listen to this inoffensive stuff too much and you’ll never want anything else!
Of course there are always exceptions to the rule; Bon Iver’s album for example, I loved immediately and will not tire of; clubs thrive on music that you will likely hear once, by an artist you probably never have heard of but yet at that moment it means everything. Immediacy can be nice, believe me I have pop soft spots (I think Nelly Furtado’s ‘Say it Right’ is a great track, seriously have a listen on Spotify).
Inevitably I must bring the subject to electronic music and what some refer to as IDM. The music of Autechre, one of my very favourite artists, initially sounds like noise, probably the very definition of unapproachable, totally not radio friendly. But now, after many many listens, I find a lot of their music incredibly moving, almost to the point of bringing tears to my eyes. And here is the point of this blog: sharing this music with others is incredibly difficult; the music effectively provides its own barrier between it and the listener and it requires a hell of a lot of listening to get through it. It’s not bubblegum sugar-coated radio friendly music it’s the opposite and it’s all the better for it. How can radio present this? I would like to play more on the Electronic Tonic but then I doubt people would listen. In a way it is frustrating to love something so much but it being so hard to share, and in fact, commonly with IDM, people won’t even give it the time of day – declaring hatred before knowing. Even the term Intelligent Dance Music pisses people off (and rightly so!). I use IDM as my own personal example, heavy metal lovers I don’t doubt feel the same about the music they love.
I would like to add that this opinionated babble is solely mine, and not necessarily that of DCR or indeed anyone else. Nobody’s musical opinion is right or wrong and that’s one thing that makes music so great. It’s passion at the end of the day.
Electronic Steve x
stephen@differentclassradio.co.uk
By the way, if you’re unfamiliar with Autechre try LP5 an incredible piece of work. Also check out Gantz Graf but it must be watched with the video for full effect (and loud)!
