Don’t look back in anger

Having spent way too much time perusing end of year charts/lists/polls, there’s one thing I’m still not sure about. Well, there’s plenty, but too many to go into. My primary concern is, where are all the electronic albums? Was it a really bad year for techno/electro/electronica/etc in terms of output or standard, or both? The same few names keep cropping up again and again. I was a big fan of Matthew Dear, Pantha Du Prince, Gui Boratto, The Field, Apparat, and Modeselektor. It seems so were alot of people. But I expected to come across a few hidden gems, or some albums I totally forgot to check out. I’m struggling with the Burial album, and can’t see the big deal with it. I just can’t relate to it in any way. Somebody posted a question on Drowned in Sound recently asking to recommend some good electronic records, and all the replies mentioned the artists above, but little else. So I’m wondering, is that all there was out there last year to really excite, or have I turned into one of those people that likes indie music, but only delves into the electronic scene sporadically to pick up a few of the big name albums? I didn’t think I was, and Sinead definitely doesn’t, as she still accuses me of only listening to plinky-plonky music.

So, ladies and gentlemen, all suggestions and recommendations are greatly appreciated. Please leave a comment.

And on the subject of electronic music, Karlheinz Stockhausen – one of the godfathers of the genre – passed away on December 5th. Widely regarded as one of the most important and innovative composers of the 20th century, his work is regularly cited as a major influence by artists as diverse as Frank Zappa, Miles Davis, Bjork, Kraftwerk, Sonic Youth, Can, Aphex Twin, and Herbie Hancock. The Beatles even included his face on the cover of Sgt Peppers…

I still remember the day – about 12 years ago – I was working in Freebird Records. Some guy came in and sold a bunch of Stockhausen albums on vinyl, second hand. At the time I knew nothing about Stockhausen, so I flogged them to Alan from Decal about an hour later. I learnt a valuable lesson that day. Enjoy Boyler!

A few years ago a friend of mine bought me a book called Star Culture. It is a rather fine collection of interviews from Dazed & Confused. Here is a link to the transcript of Bjork’s interview with Stockhausen, it’s worth a read.

Below is a brief overview of his career and a rare interview. It’s worth watching just for Stockhausen’s answer to the very first question, about 2 minutes in. Stunning!

Karlheinz Stockhausen: August 22nd, 1928 – December 5th, 2007, RIP.