Off-Topic
Meh. Don't care how complicated it is - really of no interest. Steve Vai is technical, and boring as shit to listen to after about 10 minutes. No soul to the music - just complicated sounds. That's where people get way too lost on being technical and complicated. Problem with that electro shit is that no one wants to listen to it for too long after it's released. It all starts to sound the same, and in 20 years, no one will be out covering it in pubs. I'd take a group of 15 year olds having a go at trying to play to a crowd than some nob DJ playing that crap.
That's the problem... the bogan mentality that all electronic is automatically shit by the very virtue that it is created electronically and that because it is it can't possibly be a legitimate artform. Granted, yes, a good portion of it does fit this category... but it's not the only way and hasn't been for a very long time. There's plenty of electronically-generated music out there that's standing the test of time incredibly well, and that has just as much meaning or soul as a drunk fuckwit standing on stage whinging about a war he was never a part of and can't possibly comprehend the significance of whilst the yobbos in the crowd at the local RSL croon along with totally inaccurate lyrics with him.
Same argument applies for Rap/Hip-Hop. It gets bandied around that these are automatically talentless genres by virtue of the commonplace subject matter that the outsiders are exposed to, so they never bother to take a deeper look. I'd be compelled to say that a big majority of what's heralded as the epitome of musical genius by the older generation is rather unimaginative, uninspired, lacking in soul, and primarily driven by an excess of psychotropic substances. By the very virtue of being up on stage and tootling around on the frets like a pretentious arse one is not automatically granted the power of brilliance - and yes, this applies to some of the biggest names in music through history.
I'm not saying that everything is going to be Stairway To Heaven, but then again, on a purely objective level, Stairway To Heaven was pretty wank as well.
I don't think it's a bogan mentality (as a bogan, I'm offended by that :p ).
I can think of electronically created music that is quite good, but plenty of it is rubbish. I'm yet to hear anything electronic played at a club that has lasted too long, as has taken a whole lot of talent to create - perhaps beyond one or two people compared to an entire band. That said, the few people I've heard actually try to argue this point have actually created this type of music, so there is a bias based on the effort involved in creating it.
For people out looking for entertainment at the local, watching some self involved knob standing behind a keyboard and laptop really isn't as entertaining as seeing a band. Electro/techno/whatever doesn't really allow the entertainer to interact with an audience in the same way that a half reasonable band can.
Rap is mostly shit - mostly due to rubbish lyrics as much as talentless people trying to make money out of not actually being able to sing. I can think of a couple of reasonable rappers - more so for their lyric writing than their actual vocal skills.
Of course, all of this depends on what your angle on the music is as a musician. If you're into studios, and more into technical playing and reliance on classical training that's all well and good. If you're into walking on to a stage and actually having to entertain the people standing in front of you, then your ass needs to know how to play what they want to hear, and chances are they couldn't give a rats arse about much else. I'd play some Slim Dusty before I'd play Stairway. Actually, that's happened before. Long story.
It does seem to be particularly prevalent in the bogan fraternity, thus my typifying of it as such - though I will admit that it does seem to be absolutely applicable to just about any non-homosexual in this country above the age of 30. Go figure.
I can genuinely say there's no bias for me when it comes to this sort of thing, as I've been involved in creating just about every type of music under the Sun - up to and including both Country and Classical - and draw no particular allegiance to any particular genre. That being said, if it's played in a club, you can say with almost absolute certainty that it isn't of the classic electronic music as I'm referencing... it's not the type of thing that kids on Eckies can easily bumble about on a dancefloor for hours whilst their braincells jump out of their ear canals. Knowing how to manipulate sound, irrespective of instrument, is only part of the creative process and that process does still apply whether you're playing it on circuit-bent keyboards, turntables, samplers, or a Les Paul '59 Custom, a-là Jimmy Page. Hell, even Daft Punk compose the majority of their work on guitars prior to re-imagining them electronically... it's surprising the number of highly successful electronic artists who've progressed from an analogue music background (Daft Punk are 2/3 of a former punk band for instance).
It's interesting you say about crowd involvement. I've been to shows of all kinds of genres... and the most I've seen a crowd involved with the musicians and the musicians involved with the crowd was actually on Wednesday night when I saw Crystal Castles. I say this having seen bands up to and including Eagles (who, for the record, are essentially my favourite band). Once more, if the electronic you're listening to is played by self-involved wankers, it's not of the class I refer to and shouldn't be used as a judgement for discussion. Although, they had a touring drummer so does that make them a live band? ;)
Plenty of good Rap... you won't ever hear it though. And I will tell you that the majority of it does not involve any references to attainment or superfluous stupidity that the commonplace does. "Guns, blunts, forties, and bitches" is easy to sell to idiots... not very easy to sell to the intellectual crowd. By which I mean those who can count to seven without the assistance of their phalanges and are capable of pronouncing words of more than three syllables. Whilst most have terrible vocal abilities in the traditionalist sense, a good number can actually sing when pressed... Frank Ocean for instance springs to mind here as one of those. Odds are, if you're hearing from them through usual channels, they're not worth a shit and you're only hearing about them because someone spend some cash to get them publicity.
Standing up on stage is fabulous. I do miss it, it was one of my greatest joys in life for quite some time there. Nothing quite like being told that you've got one song left in your set before they need to shut the stage down and then launching into a song that runs for 38 minutes. Punters love it. Recording technicians who have to master the same thing and cut it down to sub- 5 minutes however do not. Whodathunkit? :)
I miss having a prick of a lead guitarist who'd take a minute solo out to 10 minutes just because I'd be playing so pain in the arse bass riff that is making my hands cramp like a motherfucker so he could keep pushing me through the pain barrier (or force me into a bass solo if I just couldn't push on). We used to pull that shit off well once.
I played two country sets for a band once. They were billed before us, and their bass player lobbed off to go deal with his drugged out daughter who was in the city - deal was if they didn't play, we didn't play. Who the fuck plays that many songs in B? Seriously. I've never played so many palm mutes in my life as I did that night. I knew about 3 of those songs, and due to a really narrow stage, and their crazy ass layout, I was stuck on the other side of the drummer all by myself. Hard for a bassist to get some bearing when you can't see a guitar (or hear it properly).
I played two country sets for a band once. They were billed before us, and their bass player lobbed off to go deal with his drugged out daughter who was in the city - deal was if they didn't play, we didn't play. Who the fuck plays that many songs in B? Seriously. I've never played so many palm mutes in my life as I did that night. I knew about 3 of those songs, and due to a really narrow stage, and their crazy ass layout, I was stuck on the other side of the drummer all by myself. Hard for a bassist to get some bearing when you can't see a guitar (or hear it properly).
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