FundamentallySound Blog

What happened to electronic music in America? Antonin, in Paris, said he wonders if America needs it right now. I wonder the same thing. Given the extreme abundance of it in Europe and Japan these days, it seems like America functions mainly as a clever factory, churning out cute G4's for artists in other parts of the world to actually use creatively.

There was a time, around 2001, when American laptop kids were becoming international superstars and people were making music like this (Lesser, from Gearhound, on Matador). But maybe now in America, we're just too busy with more important matters, like Ryan Junell trying to get Bush out of office by making political art. It just seems many artists in America are still sort of catching their breath from the last three heinous political years.

And now it seems I'm right back in that American world of tight security checks, bitter political divisions, and a curious mix of apathy and rage. Whatever comparisons one might make between the current state of America and early Nazi Germany, and there are so many factually accurate comparisons to be made, being here *feels* more like a loosely regulated anarchy than anything else. Or maybe that's just San Francisco.