Generation Ecstacy

Part I of Essay
It’s been ten years since the English seized on Detroit techno, Chicago house, and New York garage as the seeds of what’s generally agreed—over there, at least—to be the most significant music since punk, and they’re celebrating with a slew of historical studies. Simon Reyn ....

Part II of Essay
.... personality and narrative in favor of sensation—he comes up with a portrait of hi-tech millennium that resonates well beyond its subculture confines. There are those who might find a book to analyze music that often aims for the effect of a sledgehammer to the head a mite pretentious. Yet the radicalism of dance music lies precisely in it's "meaninglessness," which, paradoxically, requires intellectualization in order to get at its significance. This problem is particularly acute for Reynolds, who wants to both valorize everything about tech ....