House Is A Feeling

If you haven’t checked it out already, then go and read this interview with Theo Parrish. It doesn’t really matter if you love his music or have never heard it, it’s one of those interviews that has enough ideas to bounce off. In these times of house and techno holy war (with a small d) I often feel like a biblical scholar reading this kind of thing.

By that I mean that I look through comments made by artists percieved as “hardline” for quotes and ideas that are incompatible with that perception, or that dissect the tramlined partisan views that can bog down house and techno discussion. In the above Theo Parrish piece, I quote thee this piece of holy verse:

“You’re regurgitating, you’re not talking about anything current. Some people just want their “house” award, recognition for being the housiest one of all. What’s funny about most of that is that these biters wouldn’t be able to steal and these 20-and 25-year old “house purists” wouldn’t feel so haughty if it weren’t for technology making it easy to claim an experience they otherwise couldn’t. Hell, there are plenty of amazing people playing now. Go experience them. Get some floor time. That’s really what it’s about – getting out and going to the nearest place where there is good music, a good atmosphere and enjoying yourself. Keep your blend critiques and enjoy some people first. Then decide if it works for you. Then ask what’s wrong. Then decide: What’s your take on what’s going on? What do you want to call it?”

Of course, in the rest of the piece Parrish indicts plenty of other ideas too. I’ve just been selective. If anything comes across in the end it’s that he does things his own way. That’s a trait for which artists are permanently slapped on the back, even though for plenty of musicians spinning tough talk is as easy as chewing gum. There’s a decent amount of substance to Parrish though.

It never ceases to amaze me how much more interesting these “legends” are than the way they’re presented by their disciples. As a teenager, and still to some extent, I was constantly switched off Detroit acts by the way in which their hardcore fans served them up. It always seemed to be about what they weren’t. They weren’t commercial or they weren’t cheesey or they weren’t middle class white kids or they weren’t whatever. People want to know what an artist is, not what they aren’t. Then they’ll listen. No wonder techno acts end up with self hate complexes with fans like this.

While I’m linking here’s a really great piece from Philip Sherburne in the Wire where Carl Craig listens to some records and talks about them. Where so much dance writing is as short as an Irish club night, this piece is 48 hours in Berlin. Well, maybe 2 hours there. It’s practically a bore if I lament the fact that so few dance artists give up their time to do these kind of pieces, but it is a shame.

PS: Any English readers ever been to Birmingham? If not, don’t.