Music for the Novel Legal High Generation

[drplatypus]

Morning, Bluelighters!

I've been asked to sum up the War on Drugs in music and discussion for ABC Canberra later this week (Thursday), and was hoping to get some suggestions for anthems that consumers associate with the post-mephedrone era... I'm getting older and my cultural memory kind of stops around 2005-2010!

I'm not even sure they exist, given the diversity of the market, at least not in the same way they did wayyyyyy back in the late 80s / early 90s (the last time I danced to anything 'carefree'!)

Any suggestions will be gratefully received- I have a carte blanche, and if I can find it, I can play it. Bluelight will also get a shout out too.

Mods, sorry if I've posted in the wrong place- please move me! And can someone tell me how strong Bluelight global numbers are now- I remember hearing numbers around 50,000 5 years ago, but wouldn't know now!

Cheers! DrP

 

[laugh]

afternoon sir,

i recently heard something about bluelight now being the most popular/largest drug site overtaking erowid amongst others. think bluelight is also currently the largest its been in regards to active users and members. one of the mods could specify and confirm im sure.

dubstep shite sounds like a bloddy war zone, perhaps a link/segway there..

 

[lovepsychadelics]

afternoon sir,

i recently heard something about bluelight now being the most popular/largest drug site overtaking erowid amongst others. think bluelight is also currently the largest its been in regards to active users and members. one of the mods could specify and confirm im sure.

dubstep shite sounds like a bloddy war zone, perhaps a link/segway there..

Dubstep! Thanks to shitheads with 0 technical skill other than being able to turn a fader down, (ie skrillex) is the new dance craze sweeping the nations of the world and allowing kids with the rhythm of a seizure victim and the musical knowledge and taste of Pat Boone the ability to go to a club and basically become industrially deaf to over the top baselines with minimal melodic or rhythmic structure. As big a craze as "bath salts" and just as relaxing to soak oneself with either product of rampant consumerist commercialism.

The day's of the 80's and 90's era dance music are well and truly over and it's sad. However if your a new generation, social media is my life, narcissistic 2010's 5 mg meth "ecstasy pill" popping and "ice" smoking twat go for gold. Also most of these kids outside the USA have no idea what RC's/legal highs are and those in the states just call them "bath salts" because they have no idea what they are consuming except the packet was called "jitter monster" and had a really cool picture on it.

Just play some of that Canadian tweaker "dead mouse" or whatever the kids seem to like that tweak head's shit and most DJ's have ripped him off in some fashion including "Paul Van Dyke". Alternatively you could just drop some Infected Mushroom/Miss Kitten and the Hacker/Fisherspooner/Vitalic/Diplo and someone like me would love you for it. Just all the tweaked out kids wouldn't and probably wouldn't have a clue. Hope you have fun!!!!

 

[poledriver]

X 3 on the fuck dubstep shit.

The day's of the 80's and 90's era dance music are well and truly over and it's sad.

Too true.

 

[Halif]

Yeah, I know, like...where's the originality gone?!

At least least there's that Tepalom guy doing some interesting things and uhhh... Souncloud... and... ummm...

<pssst that Tep guy is actually me, and I'm shamefully plugging my own sounds>

I've never done this before (consciously), and I don't think the Novel Legal High Generation is going to get anything from it, but I may as well mention it so that I can beat my personal best of 6 plays in one day!! Oh, what a day, it was!!

 

[coelophysis]

Favorite Fischerspooner album?

 

[Captain Brewster]

Alternatively you could just drop some Infected Mushroom....

I'm happy with that.

 

[gimpan]

Dubstep! Thanks to shitheads with 0 technical skill other than being able to turn a fader down, (ie skrillex) is the new dance craze sweeping the nations of the world and allowing kids with the rhythm of a seizure victim and the musical knowledge and taste of Pat Boone the ability to go to a club and basically become industrially deaf to over the top baselines with minimal melodic or rhythmic structure. As big a craze as "bath salts" and just as relaxing to soak oneself with either product of rampant consumerist commercialism.

The day's of the 80's and 90's era dance music are well and truly over and it's sad. However if your a new generation, social media is my life, narcissistic 2010's 5 mg meth "ecstasy pill" popping and "ice" smoking twat go for gold. Also most of these kids outside the USA have no idea what RC's/legal highs are and those in the states just call them "bath salts" because they have no idea what they are consuming except the packet was called "jitter monster" and had a really cool picture on it.

Just play some of that Canadian tweaker "dead mouse" or whatever the kids seem to like that tweak head's shit and most DJ's have ripped him off in some fashion including "Paul Van Dyke". Alternatively you could just drop some Infected Mushroom/Miss Kitten and the Hacker/Fisherspooner/Vitalic and someone like me would love you for it. Just all the tweaked out kids wouldn't and probably wouldn't have a clue. Hope you have fun!!!!

Looks like you've got a good life of reminiscing ahead. To everyone shiting on modern music; you have to realise that as you get older popular music changes, stop fucking whinging.

 

[Juvenile]

Music for the RC crowd? Well I think Bro Step and the explosion of Meph etc kinda occurred together. Probably just a coincidence though.
Or did a MDMA drought really cause people to like that stuff?

 

[AcidAttack]

When it comes to stuff like music, or even politics, religion, well everyone has their own opinion, shit will just go around in circles, its hard to change someones opinion, here is a tip, never speak of religion or politics at a party, a fight will ensure.
To be fair, different music are for different drugs, i like dubstep on say, MDMA, ketamine or speed but not a big fan while on say acid.
I can listen to anything from 40's woman singers, 60's rock, country/western, heavy metal, to jungle/gabber/hardcore/breakcore

I like dubstep because of all the weird noises (reminds me of going through the rabbit hole if ya know what i mean) plus ive always loved those old spooky sounds, like orchestra sounds from old movies.

Its just the progression of electronic music, first there was trance, then like house, hardstyle to jungle to speedcore, dubstep is just the mix of house and the harder electronic music, its about time the harder stuff got more recognition then just hardstyle.

 

[lovepsychadelics]

Looks like you've got a good life of reminiscing ahead. To everyone shiting on modern music; you have to realise that as you get older popular music changes, stop fucking whinging.

Vitalic, Diplo and infected mushroom aint dubstep. They sure as shit were not around when I was raving/clubbing in the 90's. Dubstep is it's own unique crock of shit. That said I do enjoy listening to the Bloody Beetroots and a bunch of other TALENTED artists... Skrillex anit no talent so fuck him and all the other parodies!
Perhaps you should realize that in 4-5 years dubstep will be just another genre that was and there will be something new cooked up by some twat for their 15 minutes. What will Skrillex be doing, well if I was him I'd invest my millions, ride the fame wave while it's still high and milk every fucking dollar I could.

 

[Black Rabbit of Inle]

And can someone tell me how strong Bluelight global numbers are now- I remember hearing numbers around 50,000 5 years ago, but wouldn't know now!

 

[lovepsychadelics]

Love the Bloody Beetroot's it's the fact they can make a tune and it's not just a one trick/one style pony it's a mixed bag. They blend and merge different genre's so stop whining yourself and maybe broaden your musical horizons. There are many different forms of electronic music out there and I love the stuff today as much as the stuff of yesteryear so no offence but fuck yourself gimpan and maybe do a little research into the whole history/culture and roots of dance music and then you will understand what I mean by not just one trick ponies. TBH I even like a few dead mouse tunes but they do all start to sound remarkably similar very quickly.

Oh and Hardstyle is just a progression from gabba/speedcore with 180-200+ bpm tunes. Hardstyle is fairly low end of technicality when spinning the wheels of steel. A good mate is playing in Nam at Piknic Electronik and I still remember him starting off years ago and I pulled out a Lisa Lashes vinyl from his collection and said "what the fuck?". Those were the day's of "Hard House". Also "Happy Hard" was around in the early 90's and some may remember "Here's Johnny"... Vomiting noise emits from bathroom... One of the reasons I got into dance music was/is Leftfield and they/he are/is still as relevant today as they/he was then. Also who can not love the madness that is "Prodigy"? I guess at the end of the day it's up to each individual to make a choice about the music they love but will today's tune be still remixed and a dance floor filler in another decade??

When I bag dubstep I shouldn't bag it all cause there are some good artists doing their thing as I mentioned it's just will they be around in another 10 years to modify their style enough to captivate a whole new generation of clubbers? When I bag hardstyles it's cause most of the guy's I've met in my time can beat-mix but that's about it and most are as original as the concept of the wheel. That and most are tweakers with the musical tolerance of other genre's that rival the Nazi's tolerance of race. The girls doing it though are usually a bit more open minded. My money is on Bloody Beetroot's, that and I just love their more punk aesthetics. The majority of dubstep= great on meth and great for those who can't dance. Music and art is my life and I recognize true talent when I see/hear it...

Also love Black Flag, 59 times the pain, Agnostic Front, Bad Brains, Sick of It All, Guttermouth (wonder if Mark remembers his visit to Coff's Harbour in 98?) 3 tabs of acid (superman tabs for those of that era) will do that... What was I doing in Coff's? Same as most people who move up the coast from Sydney, taking a break from hard drugs and partying lol. Pity I missed their tour in August. Mark is a massive fan of Australian meth BTW "As good as back home" to quote. Also note: do not supply this man with hard drugs as he will single the individual out from the crowd (as he did the guy who got the acid for him) and thank them for getting him so fucked up he can't sing... or even stand.

 

[Halif]

One of the reasons I got into dance music was/is Leftfield and they/he are/is still as relevant today as they/he was then. Also who can not love the madness that is "Prodigy"? I guess at the end of the day it's up to each individual to make a choice about the music they love but will today's tune be still remixed and a dance floor filler in another decade??

Not that it really matters, but we might be of the same age because I also got into electronic music of all types through some of the groups you mention.

Leftfield, Prodigy, Underworld, Orbital, The Orb, and others I was very excited by;

however,

I have to admit that it was a friend of mine who got me interested in some of the more interesting and progressive artists/groups around the early-mid 90s: Squarepusher, Richard D James (who went by too many names to list, most popular being Aphex Twin), Autechre, Future Sound of London....

It's hard to admit to myself now that the first time I heard Aphex Twin at a friend's house (think he was playing one of the 'Analogue Bubblebath' sets) I didn't think much of it, and asked him to change the CD to something with more <120bpm kick/snare predictable pattern hypnotic> easy to 'get a hold on'.

A few years later I had delved into this genre - which still is hard to define - so deeply and passionately that I thought I had heard the technical limits being maxed out by Venetian Snares.

I guess at the end of the day it's up to each individual to make a choice about the music they love but will today's tune be still remixed and a dance floor filler in another decade??

That's an interesting question, and one I've kind of been testing recently by listening to the stuff that blew my mind when I was 14, or when I was into smoking hydro weed every day, or just seeing how it has 'held up' over the years.

It's hard (or pointless, really) to compare electronic music made 20 years or more ago to recent stuff, because of the changes in sound technology. Production values aside, I still think 'Music for the Jilted Generation' was and is a great album. It's got atmosphere and a rawness of sound that comes at the beginning of a shift in musical styles/tastes. I think it's still interesting and impressive to this day.

I still love 'Experience', too, although it sounds dated and cheesy in parts. Very much the sound of a particular era, and not as timeless as 'Jilted', IMO.

And then... well, although I liked it at the time, I have to admit that pretty much everything The Prodigy did from "Fire starter" went awry.

Keith Flint just looked/looks like a bit of an obnoxious knob, and I don't know what he did for the group other than make a spectacle. That move toward pretentious toughness felt forced and ridiculous. I wish they hadn't done that. I don't know why they felt the need to do that.

Just my opinions, obviously (I mean, what the fuck else would they be? But I feel the need to put that disclaimer there in case somebody associates their very being with their taste in music, and is offended by my words).

 

[lovepsychadelics]

I agree by Fat of the land it was all over, hated that album. But the crazyness of jilted was what made Prodigy. 1997 Big day out and it was kinda yeah over it but still saw them at future a few years back just for the hell of it and Keith looks like a fat middle aged man. Remixed Depeche Mode (2011) fucking kick ass BTW and is an example of a group being able to be to collaborate with other newer artists and make tunes that are relevant today as they were in the 80's. I really loved the remixed version of "personal jesus" just grand.

I threw prodigy in cause they still toured here just a couple of years ago and people seemed to still love them both young and old. I also second that Keith is a bit of a twat. Aphex Twin is one of my all time favourites and went to Future 2 years ago just to watch his set live another example of a DJ/producer that is still relevant today as yesteryear. Danny Rampling one of my favorites and on tour this year but not visiting us down under . Squarepusher , Orbital (Halcion lovely, got all there stuff) The Orb, Everyone you mentioned I loved/love. Also used to get to go on the odd visit to UK back in those days . USA as well although UK had become more Clubs the USA still had mostly illegal warehouse raves and electronic dance music was not that commercial over there until the end of the 90's early 2000. Strange as Chicago/Detroit are the birthplace of house music and electronic dance music in general as it progressed from disco into house. Still there were clubs but not like UK/Europe. Certainly not like "Space" Ibiza or what was "Gatecrasher" although there are places like that these days in the USA.

BTW I love Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene just to give you an idea and "Trans Europa Express" by Kraftwork. In the same breath I also loved 80's thrash metal like Slayer, Metallica (Master of puppets their best) and UK punk Clash, Specials etc and US punk Screeching Weasel, Bad Brains... Kinda weird being a kid growing up in the 80's and loving those very different genre's... Also cause of my gender... At least I didn't have a Brett Michaels poster on my wall.

 

[poledriver]

What was I doing in Coff's?

Did you ever goto a castle party? (out past bellingen near thora and darkwoods I think it was) I saw tipper play there was pretty fun.

I used to like listening to carl cox alot. went to a rave he played in syd in 92 I think it was and loved the 3 deck mixing and build ups and all his antics and also saw him at home nightclub for a 3 hr set and at a couple of sydney festivals, and once in melb. Anyway he has been dj'ing since the mid 80's and released his first single in '91 I think it was and still releases music, remixing, albums, singles and also still dj's.

I used to love E'ing out or speeding and dancing away to the big black sweaty cox.

 

[oldirtybizza]

The Orb, Leftfield? The OP mentioned post mephedrone era not post Reagan era! Any excuse to remember the golden years ay.

Dunno what people are complaining about though, this is a great time for music , not only do you have the whole back catalog of existing tunes which you can now access at the touch of a button but also the means of producing electronic music has become accessible to pretty much everyone. of course that means there is more shit music available along with the all good stuff that's coming out.

I believe the current anthem is that one goes da da da da {Vocoder} da da da da da WUB WUB WUB

 

[poledriver]

this is a great time for music , not only do you have the whole back catalog of existing tunes which you can now access at the touch of a button

That just makes it boring and less exciting to me. Some mates with a billion terrabytes of dance music that they listen to like 0 times. awesome. But they have everything! And at the touch of a button too.

Was way better without all the technology, less mobiles or none, no internet etc, you'd actually go out and hear new music whilst off ya face and then hear it another week end and go yeah that shit is niiice.

 

[tentram]

some noisia wouldnt go stray. first time id seen a dancefloor full of people off guts doing the brisbane stomp was at a gig of theirs in the valley. nice lads as well.

 

[Oldred3s]

Man all you people ragging on dubstep and putting skrillex in the dubstep genre don't know what the fuck dubstep is!!!
Dubstep, REAL dubstep originally didn't have a name, people just refered to it as dark garage and then it became dubstep.
Go and listen to some kryptic minds, digital mystics, harmonic 313/ mark Pritchard, lorne,
Peverlist, burial, early benga, hectagon, youngsta, kromsta, kode 9. These are the acts that are real dubstep not just some wankers that jumped on a scene and ruined it with shit sounds.
Dubstep comes from 2 genres. Dub reggae and 2 step garage. Then came all this wanker producers that used a syncopated drum beat and raped it with hectic mid to hi range wobbles and "drops". Real dubstep is all about sub bass and half time beats with minor wobble. Before raggin on a genre learn what it is.
Any cunt that calls skrillex dubstep doesn't know a pussy from an asshole.