music
sep 19
2007

Electronica

I was actually thinking about proposing an article at the end of 2007 called "The Year of Electronica," in which I make the argument that some of the best albums of the year are direct descendants of that horrible word no one has used in a decade. LCD Soundsystem, Justice, Klaxons, Simian Mobile Disco, Chromeo, Datarock, and, if you stretch it a bit, Kanye, M.I.A., Battles, Mark Ronson. But then Slate published it. Dammit. (I like my examples better, and I would have slipped in that Kanye quote about creating a new kind of electronic hip-hop.) Noted: Idolator quibbles with some historical points.
7 comments

Mark Ronson?

posted by taylor at 2007-09-20 15:11:37

You're questioning the quality, or me stretching electronica to absurd ends?<br /><br /> <br /><br /> (That Ronson album is awesome.)

posted by Rex at 2007-09-20 15:14:42

dance punk.

posted by nope at 2007-09-20 23:26:21

I should have added a note that said: it's really easy to disassemble this thesis. The only way to write is to be suggestive, not historically deterministic.

posted by Rex at 2007-09-21 01:29:43

I think stretching the term to absurd ends is pretty accurate. It's a dumb term that should never have been invented to begin with, straight up music-journalist b.s.

posted by Dino at 2007-09-21 16:36:46

I think if I could kill any form of criticism today, it wouldn't be YouTube comments or Digg threads -- it would be "anti-music crit music crit." <br /><br />

posted by Rex at 2007-09-22 05:38:25

Good one! <br /><br /> That might be a good place to start, but it would do nothing to eliminate meaningless words like "electronica", would it?

posted by Dino at 2007-09-22 08:26:07