Friday, February 26, 2010

Simon V. Kodwo



Just stumbled upon this brilliant interview that's 10 plus years old between Simon Reynolds and Kodwo Eshun. Sounds like we're still struggling with some of the stuff they're talking about over here in American music criticism, though I would say that the internet has reduced the problem to a certain extent (thanks, in no small part, to the globalization of sites like Pitchfork, PopMatters, Resident Advisor, Dusted, et al.).

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Breaking Beats and Posting Precarity



Excellent piece by Kieran Sande on the triumphant return of the (wisely administered)breakbeat. Viva! Though its demise was certainly called for (simply put, through overuse, the breakbeat had been broken), its return in incremental doses has been quite sweet.

In addition, here another fascinating post by Mark K-Punk. If the politics of British television mean nothing to you, there are still some interesting points to be gathered from this article, such as the job precarity of unpaid/low-paid work in both commercial and cultural fields (something I know all too well about), accusations of elitism for not talking down to an audience (something that's been levelled at me for sure), and the difference between a (governmental/institutionalist) paternalism that challenges and one that allows its children to roam free in the hinterland of late capitalism (something that causes me a great deal of anxiety as someone who is actually becoming a father- how does one not risk becoming Big Other when trying to reign in restraints on a culture that rewards slack obedience with absolute leisure?). More on this later, I hope.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

My New Column at PopMatters



I'm extremely excited to announce a new column at PopMatters shared with Alan Ranta called The Difference Engine, a monthly repository of theory, critical inspection, news, and other insight into electronic music. The first column is up now. Read it here. It's an overview of sorts of electronic ontology and an explanation of the grounds for the column.

Also, be sure to check out my review of Oneohtrix Point Never's brilliant double disc collection Rifts. Pure coincidence that this similar-themed review published on the same day as the column. Check out that review here.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Pop Ambient 2010

If Pop is about moving forward and Ambient is about standing still, Pop Ambient is about...



here's me on Kompakt's delightful 2010 collection

Four Tet Re-Up

Just noticed that in the post below, there was no link to the Four Tet review.

Well, here it is.