I'm writing a paper for a project on the different music trends in the United States and other countries. Anyone know of some good online sources or articles that might explain more about why electronic music is unpopular in the United States, but is pretty popular in European countries? I tried Google, Wikipedia and other staple sites and couldn't find much :(

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[url]http://cops.com[/url] :lol:

I'd check major players like [u][url]http://emdef.org[/url][/u] or [u][url]http://dancesafe.org[/url][/u]. If those don't help, you may find links to other sites that will

Re: Need help finding sources

You could also talk about the rave act or of the other bills that kinda killed dance music. Where other european countries don't really have this stupid laws.

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i know just the article you should read. but i don't remember who wrote it or where it came from. it was posted on ms by dreamgirlie but i think the thread got lost in one of the switches...

maybe someone else can remember what i'm talking about :lol:

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You could also maybe pm nietzche. He is pretty knowleadgable about this kinda stuff as well.

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If you could find that article I would very much appreciate it. I wish take all your opinions and put them in the paper, but I need to be able to cite sources :(

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[quote=picklemonkey][u][url]http://emdef.org[/url][/u][/quote]

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Anything more recent? That site hasn't been updated since 2003.

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good point, but the popularity of electronic music stems way back past 2003 :)

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Well obviously the popularity of EDM has been around since before 2003. However, I think it would be more efficient if I talked in the paper about what is going on today in the electronic music scenes in the United States and European countries. For example, are there any other pieces of legislation being brought to Congress recently that limit electronic music's influence on society? Stuff like that.

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I think you should be looking under references leading to MDMA. The whole reason the US focused on our music is because there was a surprising influx of this drug in the early 90's which prompted the DEA to take action as soon as possible. For most people, they associate our music with Ecstacy only. That might help as a starting point.

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Just do a photographic report.. like a collage or a montage or something. They'll get the point.

[img]http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/tsaalto/hardcoredancer.jpg[/img] [img]http://photos.yafro.com/pics3/i/20050415/23/8/9/0/890eefdc7badb007a66763d3108f64af0_full.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.mouseplanet.com/notebook/raver.jpg[/img] [img]http://img113.exs.cx/img113/2844/39fatgirlmosh4lv.jpg[/img] [img]http://antonoff.ru/images/style/23.jpg[/img] [img]http://antonoff.ru/images/style/22.jpg[/img] [img]http://img171.echo.cx/img171/964/aaksized9hq.jpg[/img] [img]http://img171.echo.cx/img171/2548/00002097ct.jpg[/img] [img]http://img100.echo.cx/img100/8641/dscf00394el.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.zion.sk/smazky/gallery/0000003.jpg[/img] [img]http://img246.echo.cx/img246/9059/abdsized6mp.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.zion.sk/smazky/gallery/0000244.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.friskyuk.co.uk/Images/gurn/Original%20Files/20.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.slinkykids.com/images/gurners/nick-17-9-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.friskyuk.co.uk/Images/gurn/Original%20Files/32.jpg[/img] [img]http://img246.echo.cx/img246/1980/abrsized1qd.jpg[/img] [img]http://img246.echo.cx/img246/6762/admsized4pz.jpg[/img] [img]http://img135.echo.cx/img135/2827/ultr030097no.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.zion.sk/smazky/gallery/0000002.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.slinkykids.com/media/photos/oh/04052001/images/DSC00188.JPG[/img] [img]http://www.lovefamily.de/gallery/Lovepark2001/full_pics/LoveFamilyPark_08July2001_Pic068.jpg[/img] [img]http://img135.echo.cx/img135/7378/adhsized9pq.jpg[/img] [img]http://proud.id.au/atwwtkp/Pichaz/Imgp3518.JPG[/img] [img]http://images4.fotki.com/v44/photos/5/57764/498427/DSC03339-vi.jpg[/img] :lol: [img]http://www.gurn.net/gallery/images/slamminvinyl/040214/HardcoreHeaven%20028.jpg[/img] [img]http://img35.echo.cx/img35/3814/freakyraver6ab.jpg[/img] [img]http://img35.echo.cx/img35/8947/protectedraver5al.jpg[/img] [img]http://img35.echo.cx/img35/2703/colorfulidiot2sl.jpg[/img] [img]http://img35.echo.cx/img35/295/plur1gk.jpg[/img] [img]http://img35.echo.cx/img35/6537/afterparty5gq.jpg[/img] [img]http://img129.echo.cx/img129/3487/nunchucks1gp.jpg[/img] [img]http://img129.echo.cx/img129/5697/indianboy1ii.jpg[/img] [img]http://img129.echo.cx/img129/8223/beads0fd.jpg[/img] [img]http://img129.echo.cx/img129/2695/callems0hp.jpg[/img] [img]http://j3s.net/partypix/ryanhose.jpg[/img] [img]http://img151.echo.cx/img151/6050/31binkydancer3js.jpg[/img] [img]http://img241.echo.cx/img241/4127/mud1tm.gif[/img]

...etc. That basically explains why it's unpopular in the states. don't know if it's like this everywhere else, but all of those pictures definitely sum up what pisses me off about parties :mrgreen:

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[b]"Oh No I Shit My Pants"[/b] [img]http://www.zion.sk/smazky/gallery/0000002.jpg[/img]

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[b]"Oh Dude Im Gonna Be Sick, I Cant Believe You Shit Your Pants"[/b]

[img]http://www.slinkykids.com/media/photos/oh/04052001/images/DSC00188.JPG[/img]

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[b]"I Love Bitches Who Shit Their Pants!" "Let Me Get A Wiff!"[/b]

[img]http://www.lovefamily.de/gallery/Lovepark2001/full_pics/LoveFamilyPark_08July2001_Pic068.jpg[/img]

:twisted: Damn I must be really bored

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[b]Dayam! WTF did you have for dinner baybe?![/b]

[img]http://img129.echo.cx/img129/2695/callems0hp.jpg[/img] [img]http://img35.echo.cx/img35/6537/afterparty5gq.jpg[/img] [img]http://img35.echo.cx/img35/295/plur1gk.jpg[/img]

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Stupid kids.

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Um, can we get back to the main topic please? I seriously need to find credible sources with rationality, not pics of stupid kids high off drugs and doing stupid shit.

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[quote=DaStottman]Um, can we get back to the main topic please? I seriously need to find credible sources with rationality, not pics of stupid kids high off drugs and doing stupid shit.[/quote] If you want to write your paper, use the RAVE act, Peter Jennings' Ecstasy Rising special, Barbara Walters' rave experience, and random newpaper articles explaining how kids are overdosing and dying at all night techno parties... because the reality is electronic music isn't popular here because all of the electronic music-associated media shows nothing but drug addicts, and most people don't want to relate to that. Look at those pictures, and quote what the people are doing in your research paper. The music isn't popular because people show up the the rave concerts with pacifiers in their mouthes, fuck against the walls, and and normlly don't give a shit about anything but their highs, and most people don't want to be associated with that.

just don't complain because we aren't doing your research for you. I gave you my suggestions and you didn't like what I had to say. :roll:

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Well then, I guess my question would be why doesn't this happen in Europe? Why doesn't the media portray electronic music events as drug havens and stereotype people who listen to the music as druggies?

Edit: Thanks for my new avatar titles :roll:

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probably the same reason that people in the states are being thrown into prison when they possess marijuana, or the same reason that people are fined a quarter million dollars when they're caught sharing a movie or mp3 in the states

research papers aren't meant to be easy, man :)

[quote=DaStottman]Edit: Thanks for my new avatar titles :roll:[/quote] We didn't put it there.
[u][b][url]http://www.mercurynation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28838[/url][/b][/u]

Re: Need help finding sources

I know they aren't meant to be easy. I found all my info about the history of EDM and descriptions of the styles, but when it comes to this contrast between electronic music scenes in the U.S. and Europe I literally could not find a single source that simply analyzed the differences. I found stuff about legislation (RAVE Act, for example), but I want to go more into the social aspect of it rather than just the political.

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then maybe you should be going out to parties and the class hallways to interview people? you can't get more social facts than by going out and getting sociable. [list][]do you think raves have a bad name? []have you ever been to one? why? []if not, would you ever go to one? why? []what do you first think of when you hear the word "techno"? []what do you first think of when you hear the word rave? why? []do you like electronic music? (techno) why? [*]why don't you like raves?[/list] etc. I'd be interested in reading it if you did. you won't find out why people don't like the music unless you ask them.

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It's a little bit of a tangent, but this is pretty recent: [url]http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-04-21-ecstasy-smuggling_x.htm[/url]

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[quote=picklemonkey]then maybe you should be going out to parties and the class hallways to interview people? you can't get more social facts than by going out and getting sociable. [list][]do you think raves have a bad name? []have you ever been to one? why? []if not, would you ever go to one? why? []what do you first think of when you hear the word "techno"? []what do you first think of when you hear the word rave? why? []do you like electronic music? (techno) why? [*]why don't you like raves?[/list] etc. I'd be interested in reading it if you did. you won't find out why people don't like the music unless you ask them.[/quote]

That's a good idea. I should poll my class or something. I'll still need sources that I can cite in my paper, but this would probably be very helpful.

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I once posted a piece written by someone who ran Twilo that might be helpful. I'll see if I can find it again and post a link to it.

Edit - below is the text. Looks like we lost it on one of the server moves in the past. I had to grab the cache from yahoo since it no longer on any website. Hope its helpful, it gives you some good ideas to think about:

[quote]Why Dance Music Doesn?t Get Played On the Radio

By Twiloboss Edited by Kill tha DJ 5/17/03 From Twilo.com

Electronica (and it?s many offspring) has been on the turntables in clubs all over the world since the late 80?s, which, by dance music standards, makes it ready to be out of fashion. But not only is it not out of fashion, it is even not widely in fashion yet and by all estimates will probably never be, at least not as that phrase is ordinarily used. It is ?cool?; it is played in every dance club in every major metropolitan area on earth but still cannot crack the glass barrier surrounding the pop charts. Here?s why?

No. 1 No recognizable performer The popular music industry in (America) is driven by the cult of personality. Only in America could a producer create a pop group like the Backstreet Boys or N?Sync from an ad in the paper and make that group a household word; group members with nothing in common either as to background, talent or anything else other than a craving for fame and bucks. Don?t even get me started on ?American Idol?. Electronica dj?s do not ?perform?; they create either by manufacturing their own music and/or taking the electronic music of others and mixing it into something new and different. DJs such as Moby or the Chemical Brothers, in an effort to become ?personalities?, have given in to the music industry establishment and have attempted to turn their craft into an act. So every time we see Moby, for example, he is compelled for reasons either foolish or unknown, to be photographed mid-leap. Why? No one knows. Moby, an electronic musician, is now a jumping circus act. Howard Stern, the pundit of all things goofy and great on radio, made the intelligent observation that when he attended a Fatboy Slim ?concert? on Long Island, he was ?amazed to see everyone standing around watching some guy spin records.? Not exactly like watching the now faded Michael Jackson doing the ?moon walk?.

No 2. No way to do a tour For obvious reasons, without a recognizable performer no record company can organize a tour. Tours drive record sales by presenting the performer as a personality. Believe me, if no one knew what KISS looked like they would have sold fewer records than the Tulsa Tuba Band. Americans love visuals. They love the melodrama of the rock concert whether it?s Madonna with cone-shaped tit covers or the idiotic pyrotechnics of Aerosmith. The music is never enough by itself it seems. Everyone can remember either stupid concert productions or even more stupid music videos, the bastard child of concert tours. I am not proud to say I actually paid money to see Milli Vanilli once upon a time?

No. 3 A media generated connection to drug culture 60 Minutes II, did a pience on the usage of ecstasy and its connection to raves and therefore its connection to electronica. They stated with considerable fear and panic that ?40 people have died from E overdoses in the past 5 years.? I would venture to say that more people OD on aspirin or alcohol than on ecstasy. All drug use is bad and unhealthy and certainly dangerous. I?m certainly not advocating or making light of drug use. But to single out ecstasy as if it is some new communist plot is absurd. Ever hear of anyone killing a family while driving under the influence of E? Or breaking and entering to support an E habit? Alcohol ruins more lives in a single weekend than ecstasy did in its whole five-year 60 Minutes run. And if you want to see some real drug/alcohol abuse, check out any rock or rap concert. The media periodically go through their file cabinets to stir up some old story that they can dress up in new clothes. Remember saccharine and how the media had everyone dying from cancer by drinking Tab? Guess what? It was all pretend. The unfortunate by-product of the perceived connection between the drugs and the music is the fear that the thought-police will be monitoring every electronica event, enough of a wet blanket to dowse any firestorm of interest that popular music might develop. Raves do not help matters either. Greedy promoters invite 14 year olds to attend events notorious for drug use. Now children are dragged into the media net. Recent developments in New Orleans where rave promoters were indicted under federal ?crackhouse? laws are a natural and expected result whenever children enter the scene. The RAVE act is another manifestation of this reactionary attitude toward electronic music.

No 4. Songs are too musically complex. Anyone who actually LISTENS to electronica and has any musical savvy recognizes how complex the music actually is. This music is much more akin to classical chamber music and its layering of rhythms and tempo than any other pop antecedent. While electronica may be dance music, it owes only a little to disco or dance rock. In fact, its roots lie in the electronic ?classical? music of the 1960?s. This complexity (like that of chamber music) unfortunately works against its popularity. Complexity tends to mystify and turn off the masses, not intrigue them. Analyze the lyrics of country music, virtually all of which focuses on lost loves and/or lost fortunes; or examine rap lyrics which mysteriously mirror country and focus on gaining ?love? (booty) and gaining or flaunting fortunes. These mundane, unoriginal and repetitive lyrics echo unoriginal and simplistic chord structures within the music. Popular music, most of which is remarkably derivative only of itself, is the lowest common denominator of musical taste, craftily structured to appeal to the most likely record-buying people. It is business disguised as art. Electronica swims against the current of long established record industry rules and by doing so condemns itself to be forever out of the mainstream.

No 5. The songs are too long. For the reasons stated above, the complexity of electronica requires time for the musical themes to be adequately developed. Long ago, record companies made the determination that the American public?s attention span cannot exceed three minutes. (Similarly, movies tread on thin ice if they exceed 2 hours in length, sitcoms, 30 minutes.) Thus all popular music (with some very few exceptions) is encumbered with this unwritten but nonetheless ironclad boundary. Electronica simply does not lend itself to this sort of artificial compression any more than a Mozart concerto would. In short, any of the great classicists like Beethoven, Brahms, or Bach writing and composing today would be selling about as many records as Deep Dish, a lot for electronica but a drop compared to the ocean of Justin Timberlake or Christina Aguilera?

Electronica will always be a fringe musical phenomenon until the public becomes educated in its qualities and enlightened as to the facts surrounding it. And educating the public has never been any easy task.[/quote]

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That Twilo guy's piece is exactly the type of thing I'm looking for. Thanks so much! Anyone know of some other articles with a similar message but have perhaps other viewpoints?