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Your nostalgia
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
In many musical subcultures, it's quite frequent to see people talk about "the old days" and how the music or the scene was better "back then" -- "back then" usually refers to the time when the person speaking first started liking the kind of music in question. There are a few prominent variations on this nostalgia theme in discussions about dance music:
1. Vinyl nostalgia: lots of people romanticize the image of the DJ behind two Technics turntables, holding up a 12" and dropping it on the platter; or the idea of sorting through racks of records at a shop; the size and tactile features of records, and their weight and cover art; or simply the analog, crackly sound of the records themselves.
2. Unpopularity nostalgia: looking back fondly on a time when electronic music was less popular; when the main sources of information about events were fliers, word of mouth, or small mailing lists; when it was harder to find out about new tracks, hard to get them (no filesharing or Beatport), and nearly impossible for people to dissect a recent set into IDs a few days after hearing it; when the only people into the music were weirdos and geeks instead of clubby trend-whores.
3. Quality nostalgia: looking back fondly to when releasing a track required a much bigger investment from labels and artists, since releases were only on vinyl and production equipment was more expensive; to when computers and synths were more unwieldy, difficult to use, accessible only to the very dedicated; to when DJing was a bigger investment of money (expensive vinyl) and time (sorting through stores); to when there was less money involved, so that people who got into DJing and production really had to love it; to when the bar for "making it" was much higher.
4. Party nostalgia: people looking back to when they were new to the scene; when a higher percentage of the music seemed fresh and innovative to them; to their first parties when it seemed like they were joining a select club or secret society; to when there was a more positive or energetic atmosphere at parties; maybe to when the drugs were "better."
So, what I want to ask is: Do you guys ever feel nostalgic with regard to any of these things (or others) about EDM or your experiences of it? Which ones?
Also, I'll save everyone the bother of posting this:
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| rewind_plz |
| Nice read, nice post. :) |
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| Sykonee |
1. I have no vinyl nostalgia. First purchases were tapes and CDs, and when it came to the point of whether I should start buying vinyl or not, I decided against it. Simply put, I already had too much of an addiction over CD collecting, and I knew if I took my first hit of the Black Crack, I'd NEVER be able to quit. Sometimes the best way to avoid addiction is to not start at all. ;)
As for the whole "only real DJs play vinyl" debate... *shrug*. That's a debate I really have no care over, as it has no bearing on my listening habits.
2. Unpopularity nostalgia? Well, sure I do prefer trance music from before its popularity was as high as it was, but I also have a soft spot for THE most popular form of dance music EVER: eurodance circa 90-96. There's very little dance music out there that did the kind of chart damage the likes of Snap!, Haddaway, and 2 Unlimited did.I liked the stuff then, and I like the stuff now. So this argument doesn't hold much water from my perspective. :D
3. I'm not certain what you're getting at with this quality nostalgia argument. Sure, it was more difficult to produce and release music back in the day, but look at what the 90s gave us in the process: Orbital, Leftfield, Chemical Brothers, Future Sound Of London, Massive Attack, The Prodigy, Oliver Lieb, etc, etc. If you can show me the same number of examples of producers of similar caliber in this era of reduced quality control, I'll buy into your argument, but I suspect you won't.
4. Frankly, I find the parties I go to now are far better than the ones I went to when I was first starting out, but then I've grown far more particular about the types of parties I attend and generally more, er, 'scene savvy' (for lack of a better term) than in my youth. |
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| SYSTEM-J |
| I don't really get nostalgia. I started listening to electronic music seriously around 2000 and by 2001/2002 I'd already realised that the best stuff had been released before I started listening. I do hear tracks from that era and get nostalgic memories from them, but I don't think the period I started listening in was in any way the "best" era. |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| quote: | Originally posted by Sykonee
3. I'm not certain what you're getting at with this quality nostalgia argument. Sure, it was more difficult to produce and release music back in the day, but look at what the 90s gave us in the process: Orbital, Leftfield, Chemical Brothers, Future Sound Of London, Massive Attack, The Prodigy, Oliver Lieb, etc, etc. If you can show me the same number of examples of producers of similar caliber in this era of reduced quality control, I'll buy into your argument, but I suspect you won't. |
Oh, I wasn't arguing that quality control had no effect, or that nostalgia was a bad thing. I was just pointing out some types that exist and wondering if people saw themselves in any of the characterizations...
I have felt all of these at various times, so it would be kind of dumb of me to argue that people were wrong to feel them.
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| IpLaYWiTLiGhTs |
I miss partying in the abandoned warehouses and such. Party was more intimate, vibe always went off. Guess it was the "risky" excitement of it too.
The heroes back then were the local DJs, the veterans. You could always depend on your favorite to throw down a killer set instead of hearing some of the locals now who play like they don't give a or just aren't as knowledgeable. Sadly, most of the DJ's here from the earlier years have turned into promoters. Can't say it's a complete loss because they know quality talent to bring down, but I really miss the way they could play.
Other than that I'm not looking back. Viva learning, growing and the future. |
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| LionsLair |
| Nice thread, gotta run for now, but will try to gather up my nostalgia, |
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| Project-K |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
I'd already realised that the best stuff had been released before I started listening. |
My thoughts exactly. The nostalgic effect may be true to some extent, but how do you account for so many people who started listening to music much later and aknowledge that the 'old stuff' is better?
For instance, I much prefer 70s rock to anything produced beyond the 80s, yet I was born in '86.
I think music is always changing because culture is always changing and experimenting with new trends. Because of that, every niche genre has had it's own little golden era. Rock was the 70s, techno was the late 80s, trance was the early 90s... |
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| hkaliher |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
I don't really get nostalgia. I started listening to electronic music seriously around 2000 and by 2001/2002 I'd already realised that the best stuff had been released before I started listening. I do hear tracks from that era and get nostalgic memories from them, but I don't think the period I started listening in was in any way the "best" era. |
same, i started in '01 and most of the stuff i still listen to is from then or earlier. i get nostalgia from when i first started listening because there were soooo many good tracks that were new to me but now that sense of discovery is gone |
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| elFreak |
Nostalgia is more about growing up imo. You beging to relate less to new trends and have other priorities in life that can sometimes get in the way of your passion. I went to my first party in 1996, and those days were priceless to me. It isn't nescessarily that the music was better, or the parties destroyed the ones today, but a period of my life where i was younger and had more freedom.
When you grow older, its just normal to hold dear some of the principles and ideologies of your youth. The further you get into adulthood, the more you change and develop as a person. These nostalgic qualities we hold dear are nothing more than keeping a piece of those carefree times. It is nothing new , your parents did it, their parents as well and so on and so on. Human nature tends to steer us to believe that what is good for us, is what should be good enough for the next generations. I suppose it could be a fear of change or feeling less connected to the pulse of what is happening in the world.
To the younger members of the board, all i can say is come back to this thread when you approach 30 and you will see what i mean. I already hate anyone under 21 without breasts.:p |
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| iced_donuts |
| quote: | Originally posted by hkaliher
same, i started in '01 and most of the stuff i still listen to is from then or earlier. i get nostalgia from when i first started listening because there were soooo many good tracks that were new to me but now that sense of discovery is gone |
Ah this sums up how i feel pretty much, most of my favourite trance tunes were released before I started listening , theres the occasional one now that gets me, but its hard to find quality trance tracks amidst all the electro & hard house etc out there :) |
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| Floorfiller |
| I just want to listen to some good beats... |
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