Free Generation Ecstasy:Into The World Of Techno And Rave Culture Ebooks To Download
In Generation Ecstasy, Simon Reynolds takes the reader on a guided tour of this end-of-the-millenium phenomenon, telling the story of rave culture and techno music as an insider who has dosed up and blissed out. A celebration of rave's quest for the perfect beat definitive chronicle of rave culture and electronic dance music. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Hardcover: 454 pages
Publisher: Little Brown & Co (T); 1 edition (July 22, 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316741116
ISBN-13: 978-0316741118
Product Dimensions: 1 x 6.5 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,484,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #9 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Musical Genres > Ethnic & International > World Beat #2495 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Musical Genres > Popular #4137 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Popular
Generation Ecstasy is probably the best book-length study of electronic music available right now. It is comprehensive and discusses just about every sub-genre of elctronic out there. Reynolds even makes a few categories to suit his own critical purposes. While certainly well worth the read, the book has serious flaws.In an effort to disavow his own bourgeois status as music critic and conoisseur, Reynolds routinely sides with the more "populist" sub-genres out there. Jungle and gabba are good. Trip-hop and IDM are snobby. Hardcore and house get the thumbs up, 'intelligent drum and bass' and illbient get the thumbs down. While he often has a point, this siding with what 'moves the masses' turns too easily into apologetics for the culture industry (the mass manufacture and consumption of musical cliché). Under the misguided notion that if a certain class or ethnic group consumes a certain type of music it must be good stuff, Reynolds gets pulled into the knee-jerk dismissal of more "marginal" creativity. At certain points in his book I get weird echoes of Edmund Burke attacking the French Revolution and insisting on the necessity for incremental change within the hallowed lines of tradition. Whatever happened to radical criticism? Reynolds should know that "what sells" is not necessarily the destiny of a genre. The future of music is often (but admittedly not always) heard in its avant-garde. I think Reynolds' pseudo-populism goes hand in hand with his annoying habit of tracing electronic music back onto the grids of music he already understands.
If you told me in 1992 that in 2006 I would be reading a book about "Rave" culture in the local public library I don't think I would have believed you. But..here I am.AT the time of this writing it has already been at least 8 years since this book was published and I think we can see how the author's takes on the phenomenon has held up.Good points:The author has a great understanding of the esthetic strengths of the genre,i.e. what makes these songs and their various presentations work.He has a good knowledge of the artists, events and venues that helped to shape it (leaning mostly from a UK perspective, while very relevant, isn't the whole story).He has a great understanding of the techincial aspects of the music and how cheap and malfunctioning gear is sometimes used and how these songs really often take a good degree of skill and effort to produce despite popular public misconceptions to the contrary.I particulary loved his observation that a tepid corporate pop production like Celine Dion uses much much more expensive state of the art equipment than your techno record.The author also has a great understanding of the, in my opinion, wonderous and vibrant philosophical concepts that went into this music and scene, and emerged through and because of this music and scene both expected, intended and unexpected and unintended. I would love to go on about them but I will spare this forum.Bad Points:I am sad that this author thinks that ecstacy and many other drugs were so important to this movement. I found this element to make for more boring music and conversation. It was also a cause for tragedy.
Generation Ecstasy:Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture Rave Culture: The Alteration and Decline of a Philadelphia Music Scene Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture Electronic Dance Music Grooves: House, Techno, Hip-Hop, Dubstep, and More! (Quick Pro Guides) Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk (Painted Turtle) Journal Your Life's Journey: 3D Abstract Techno, Lined Journal, 6 x 9, 100 Pages Techno Rebels (Painted Turtle) A Photographer's Guide to Body Language: Harness the power of body language to create stronger, more meaningful portraits and create an experience your clients will rave about Rave On: The Biography of Buddy Holly Rave America: New School Dancescapes The Book of Tapping & Clapping: Wonderful Songs and Rhymes Passed Down from Generation to Generation for Infants & Toddlers (First Steps in Music series) The Book of Lullabies: Wonderful Songs and Rhymes Passed Down from Generation to Generation for Infants & Toddlers (First Steps in Music series) The Book of Wiggles & Tickles: Wonderful Songs and Rhymes Passed Down from Generation to Generation for Infants & Toddlers (First Steps in Music series) The Book of Bounces: Wonderful Songs and Rhymes Passed Down from Generation to Generation for Infants & Toddlers (First Steps in Music series) Generation Dead (A Generation Dead Novel) Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy (Fully Revised and Updated Fourth Edition) Glenn Gould: The Ecstasy and Tragedy of Genius The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo Drugs Explained: The Real Deal on Alcohol, Pot, Ecstasy, and More (Sunscreen) Ecstasy : The Complete Guide : A Comprehensive Look at the Risks and Benefits of MDMA
