anyway, back to belleville, what has always struck me is that the peeps who seem to most want to defend and promote the simplistic line of ‘detroit started techno’ rarely actually come from detroit. so why do they need the myth of detroit origin? to be honest, i can see why a lot of original detroiters need the detroit myth. many are being left behind and need to assert their continuing relevance. moreover, i think that there is a really important socio-political (and most likely racial) dimension, which is closely tied up with the nature of detroit itself.

time for some genealogies i say…

…ex-Melbournians One Watt Sun re-did the album after the original producer Fanatik J apparently turned in a steaming pile of doings (well, that’s one side). Keith went along with the re-do, but the tide turned, and eventually, you get all these people dissing and blaming ‘the nobodies’ who re-did the album. Have a read:

An interview with KK where he plays down the whole thing:
http://www.ravemagazine.com.au/content/view/7228/30/

A hatchet job that sparked the whole controversy and clearly sympathises with the original producer (and describes the Avalanches as “one-hit wonders”):
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/music/kool_keith_cd_scam_exposed/Content?oid=291467

And the Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_of_Dr._Octagon

I interviewed DJ T the other day, and he’s been reading some book about the ‘polarity of thought’ (didn’t catch the title) - where humans turn the mess of experience into either/or - who knows, could be Kirkegaard.

But it’s interesting - I guess we’re all complicit in wedging, and even taking positions contrary to our genuinely held opinions in order to shake the lil dialectic.

Re: forum. Fair enough. Points made & points taken. I just piped up in the first place because dismiss the whole forum as “rubbish” is a bit black & white and dismissive. I’m not saying the forum at RA is great, but neither is it garbage either. It’s somewhere in the middle. Good bits & bad bits.

A bit like this KS mix. Or a bit like the entire output of Michigan. Or Europe. Or the retro-purist Don Williams set I heard the other day (which would have benefited from a fedde le grand track or two)

I blame George Bush for making us all so uncomfortable with these grey areas in life

Admittedly it’s much easy to buy into a prepackaged ideology and go to war against “euro cheese” or “Detroit purism” or whatever. Creates a nice argument, a debate. Esp. if you add in a few hot button topics like race and nationality. Certainly gets you noticed. Dogmatic inflexibility is respected even

But the messy contradictions of alternative stories need to be in there too. So the myth can change. From a musician’s POV, I also wonder how much the genuine pockets of creativity around are related to these received myths

Guys, you both gots to chill… so, who wants to talk about the Triplets of Belleville?

‘joining in’ and ‘joining RA’ are not the same thing. the central motivation behind starting the ssg blog is precisely that i wanted to start contributing in a positive and sustained manner.

also, one other thing jeremy - did i ever say “oh wow i am genuinely surprised this thread is actually interesting. well done everyone.” or are you just putting words in my mouth? (i dont remember saying that).

i’m very willing to admit i have a critical (primarily in the sense of reflective) stance to RA but i certainly don’t have a ‘blatant anti-RA attitude’. while i disagree with some things, on the whole i think i think RA plays a very positive role in the scene and as you rightly said, it has definitely come a long way.

also, i completely agree with what you and jacob are saying - there are people who join in to improve things and those who sit back and bitch. but i dont agree with the conclusions you draw from this. ‘joing in’ and ‘joining RA’ are not the same thing. the central motivation besides starting the ssg blog is precisely that i wanted to start contributing in a positive and sustained manner.

Like Jacob says, there are people who join in to make things better, and there are people who sit back and say “this sucks”.

Tami says: if you don’t like it, don’t visit. Simple. So just lose the blatant anti-RA attitude, it’s tiresome. and we’re supposed to be your friends