EDM on Wall St.

I have to admit when I saw the Forbes series on DJs, it irked me a little but it made a lot more sense than a Wall St. Journal article that recently emerged.
The Forbes article kind of made sense to me as electronic dance music is becoming an increasingly marketable genre, much to the dismay of purists. http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2012/03/09/house-music-has-become-a-global-phenomenon/ When I think Forbes I think about all the millionaires, and now billionaires it profiles, and so to ignore the fact that there are producers/DJs that make millions would be flat out denial. Deserved or not is your opinion, but it is a reality and so that is how I made peace with justifying Forbes profiling the likes of Afrojack, Armin Van Buuren, Avicii, Benny Benassi, Chuckie, David Guetta, Fatboy Slim, Kaskade, Laidback Luke, Paul Van Dyk, Steve Aoki, Swedish House Mafia, and Tiesto. Mixmag released this article stating some of the top DJs net worth: http://www.mixmag.net/words/news/are-djs-getting-richer-than-footballers

But then this article emerged, and irked became full on disappointment and anger. The Wall St. Journal's Rock critic Jim Fusilli decided to write a piece, and include an accompanying video interview of his "findings"/opinions on "The Dumbing Down of EDM." http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303830204577446842134707610.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#articleTabs%3Darticle What business does a rock critic have talking about dance music anyway? He calls what plays on the radio "meek and calculated"and basically accuses Calvin Harris and David Guetta of relying on other artists instead of their own production value. He makes it sound like Fatboy Slim is disparaging Guetta but why would Norman Cook appear in Guetta's "Nothing But the Beat" documentary? He makes playing for arenas seem like there is a vacuous nature to the experience. I can't say I've been to too many big events, but my experience at Electric Zoo in 2010 comes to mind and I loved it. I know that the big arena events are fun, and there is meaning to the music.

He basically pits Carl Cox against anything branded as "EDM." To consider Carl Cox as "underground" is evidence that Jim Fusilli has no idea what he is talking about. Carl Cox of the 90s as underground? Sure. But since Cox has become regarded as a techno great, his name is not emerging it is established.

Talking about Richie Hawtin, the article says this:
A few old-school DJs, who once spun vinyl albums that they carried around in crates, see a bright side to the rising popularity of EDM. They believe a significant portion of the audience will soon tire of pop-electronics and migrate to something more spontaneous. Richie Hawtin, who referred to himself as a DJ with a classic approach, called it "cross pollination." "I'm optimistic," he said. "This new generation of producers are getting a new generation of people into the sound of electronic music."
But then in his video he mispronounces Hawtin's name and makes it seem that Hawtin thinks contrary to what was written, saying that he thinks his music might be too sophisticated for his audience. Since when did this type of elitism emerge from Hawtin? I doubt that he truly said that...sounds like a bad case of the "telephone game." where he was misquoted.

Fusilli says in the video that creativity is being killed by this movement. Last time I checked, more and more producers are increasing their game in efforts to be more creative and stand out. But hey, maybe they know something on Wall St. that I don't...
When asked who he likes, he mentions "Nico Jaar." Guessing from his pronunciation of "Hawteen" I'm going to guess he didn't even know it is spelt "Jaar." Jaar is the indie darling of electronica that most reference when they want to seem cool. I'm not saying he isn't talented, I'm not trying to disrespect Jaar, its Fusilli that I don't think is informed enough to write this piece. He goes on to say he likes Porter Robinson. The young American protege makes very commercial "EDM" but Fusilli gives him a free pass. He says Carl Cox is still spinning "old school"...what does that even mean? He's still playing Deetron from the early 2000s and no new material? Nope.

I was so upset I took to Twitter with a hot head and went on a rant. It resulted in no reply from Fusilli but he did block me. So now I've been blocked by a Wall St. Journalist and the legendary DJ Sneak. All in the name of trying to make everyone get along and embrace diversity in the dance industry. Oh well.

After reading the first 15 comments left by readers, I was reassured that a majority share the same sentiment as me. Everyone has different tastes, and there is something for everyone. Most disagreed with his approach and I could not be more proud to see fellow lovers of dance music speak up to the increasing trend of bashing the way dance music is heading.

At the end of my rant, I quoted the lyrics of Karizma featuring DJ Spen's track "4 The Love" because at the end of the day, isn't dance music all about the L-O-V-E?