FTA NEWS: From the Annex is going WERA-LP 96.7FM Arlington

We are taking the "The Rusty Junglist" podcast and making it into a weekly 2 hour show on WERA-LP 96.7FM Arlington called "From the Annex".

I'm super stoked to join the team over at Arlington Independent Media / WERA-LP 96.7FM Arlington.

On this note if your promoting an event in the DMV drop me line. I do my best to will be keeping my eyes out for events but I don't want to miss your.

If your a producer making Jungle, Drum & Bass, Reggae, or really any sort of bass music. Send it my way. If I like it I will play it.

Economy + Popular Music = The Rise of Electronic Music (again)

So I've been MIA from the blog for a second because I've just bought a house and I'm dealing with the mental nightmare of being an adult, navigating the process, packing my old house and managing the love of my life who is currently a little over loaded with her job and everything else.

Thus I've been exposed to a lot of popular music recently. Generally my slim diet of NPR / Fox News and Hospital Records podcasts keeps me charging through life like a bull in a china shop. But when your calling banks, realtors, contractors you often get posted on hold so I've been listening to a barrage of top 40 tunes. This is better then smooth jazz but I've been curious to see of there was any research on our current economic status. and our new found love for 1990's techno repackaged as pop music? Also how did dubstep capture the attention of the American rock and roll youth?

I'm been pushing this idea around for a hot second. Looking at how popular music right now is a wash in minor cords and trying to run down popular tracks that were released during our last economic down turn.

However yesterday while I was listening to NPR while digging records for my next gig I caught a report on now the Economy effects popular music! I damn near broke my neck bolting over empty boxes to get over to the stereo to turn it up. Paraphrasing the report because I can't find the report on their site (grumble). Popular music is focusing on the escapism and super luxury life styles. The basic ingredients of 80% of house / club tracks. Which explains the rise of the electronic sound. They had a few points on why dubstep has taken America by storm but I've forgotten already. Ba Ha.

So I'm still curious about my own theory on major VS minor keys during economic times of trouble.

Some additional thoughts on this topic can be found here. The Futurist a "magazine of forecasts, trends, and ideas about the future" had some interesting thoughts on the matter.[www.wfs.org]

What do you think?

In the mean time if you have any suggestions on how to move a epically large record collection cross town I'm all ears. hahahaha

The Librarian

RANDOMNESS: The Future of Rave

This is a topic I've had simmering in the back of my mind. Sure I do my small part for the Ragga Jungle sound but the future of rave really lays in the sound, currently that means Dubstep (Dum, Dum, whah,whah,whah,whaaaaaah). But tomorrow that will be something new and different. Our "electronic music" is not constrained to the limitations of a singular instrument meaning that our sound has the ability to continue to grow and expand infinitely if we keep pushing it.

Currently Dubstep has restoked the fire of Rave. Hell, I've noticed the trickle down effect Dubstep's popularity has had in my blog, djing career and the attitude of the larger public towards electronic music.

 

So then what kills mes Dubstep is not evil (I'm going to get some flack for this) it just what is hot right now. So when the internet delivers me these cyber bullying campaigns against the rise to popularity of dubstep I get annoyed. All this hate takes me back to my rave up bringing in the Mid West. Living with the shadow of House and Techno looming over the scene and myself being a jungle head, I caught a lot of similar flack. "I can't dance to jungle" or "...there is just so much bass, I can't stand it." Thinking back its those comments I'm really glad I did not live in an era when lightning quick internet could snowball such resentment so quickly.

 

Whatever your take on Dubstep is the one thing I think we can can agree upon is that its keeping the sprit of Rave alive, and usher in a new generation of Ravers. While talking to Jessie Splitt on this topic he told me that this "next generation" is already starting to branch out and explore the other genres of dance music the supply at Turnstyle. This I'm excites me, no matter what their entry point is to the scene, its really about where they push the sound that matters.

Haters are gonna hate but shut the hell up and go dancing you OLD jaded ravers!