Article Response: Bootylicious!

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It's almost 3 AM but I've finally finished this leviathan - my promised article on the bootleg 'scene'. It was written in a straight 5-hour burst so apologies for any typos, bad writing, and nonsense arguments. Though frankly given my usual methods these would all be present and correct anyway.

Tom, Monday, 25 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

What next? There is a lot of stuff I couldn't fit in, and reviews of plenty more tracks to come on NYLPM. And would a discography be helpful?

Tom, Monday, 25 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Very nice, Tom. I would say more now, but I think I will wait until morning, as you have temporarily inspired me to play with my software.

Nitsuh, Tuesday, 26 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Quite excellent, yes. Gives the sense of promise that could be there even as there is fear of being quashed. And I have to say:

You realise that whenever you hear "Hard To Explain" start you really want to hear Chistina Aguilera singing and not Julian Casablancas.

I never thought I'd agree I'd rather want to hear Christina A. than someone else, but you know...

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 26 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I never expected to see the day Soulwax being mentioned in a FT article. No mention of Post-Modernism. Haven't decided if that's thumbs up or not. ;-)

helenfordsdale, Tuesday, 26 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Huh. I actually accidentally saw those Soulwax guys DJ live when I was in London two years ago--I had no idea who they were; they just happened to be DJing at at some glam/indie/whatever dance club that my friends and I had picked at random. It was one of the most sublime DJing I had ever witnessed, though--and to watch that Skee-Lo mix done live on vinyl was quite incredible.

geeta, Tuesday, 26 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Nice job. I like the way over half the article is itself a bootleg heh heh. Also that it was written straight, as in "gotta catch the moment before it passes". Clearly, this article will be, if not irrelevant, then quaint nostalgia in about a month, and that seems to have been the idea.

Jeff W, Tuesday, 26 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yeah, read it now while it still makes sense!

Actually I wrote the whole thing without direct reference to all the stuff that's been on this board, but I did mentally cut and paste chunks of mine and other people's ideas. Thanks to Tim, Pete and Marcello especially for helping organise my thoughts.

Tom, Tuesday, 26 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Thanks for that. Still want to get hold of a couple of these myself. There will now be a small rash of articles in the mainstream national papers, then it will either blow up or blow out. All Our Bootlegs Are Belong Us.

Alan Trewartha, Tuesday, 26 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It was one of the most sublime DJing I had ever witnessed
Was it the first time you saw someone dj-ing? Don't get me wrong, it's fun, but sublime isn't something that comes to mind when thinking of Soulwax/ The Fucking DeWaele Bros.

helenfordsdale, Tuesday, 26 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You managed to put much of my responses previously into slightly more sober reflection. Its by no means an exhaustive history but it does capture the tension inherent in the current explosion between novelty, creativity and pop music itself. The small bit on the KLF/Negativland did leave me wanting more - how much of what the KLF did in this field was for "Kopywrite Liberation" and how much was pop nous. You also miss out the use of TV themes, other found sound as a basis for boots which I also think is interesting. But frankly at 3am I don't blame you.

Good stuff anyway.

Pete, Tuesday, 26 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yeah, now that monster is completed I can get to work reviewing other boots for NYLPM (as can the rest of us). The KLF - well while 1987 is a great album 'pop nous' isn't what I associate with it ('Chill Out' is another matter, and quite close in feel to the Osymyso track).

Tom, Tuesday, 26 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Nope--I actually see quite a bit of DJing, and I do some myself. I neglected to mention the "being very drunk" part, but still. They DJed for maybe four hours, and nearly everything they did was good

geeta, Tuesday, 26 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

A weirdly synchronous (but pretty good) article in today's Guardian by Dom Phillips.

Edna Welthorpe, Mrs, Wednesday, 27 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

But...! You missed out Sir Cliff!

MJ Hibbett, Thursday, 28 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I scanned the beginning of the article, but decided I wasn't quite reasy for that jelly. (Actually, I read it and it was great; I just wanted to reference "Bootylicious".)

Dan Perry, Thursday, 28 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I like the idea you were almost but not quite greasy for that jelly.

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 28 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You would. Pervert.

Dan Perry, Thursday, 28 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

How *dare* you! *slaps Dan and flounces off in huff*

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 28 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

first boot: "Give the DJ a Break" by Dynamix II. It has about 4 or 5 current-at-the-time dance sensations sampled into it.

Tracer Hand, Saturday, 2 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Right now my fav. hip-hop station (KMEL) is playing young-mc (?) over Slave 4 U, & I think this is a live mix. They do this stuff all the time, just not on "official" tracks with a scene. Its all in the mix, yo.

Sterling Clover, Tuesday, 5 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Mud in my face -- vocal track is actually eric b & rakim's "rhythm hit 'em".

Sterling Clover, Tuesday, 5 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

hey tom, did you see on boom selection that there's going to be a piece on bootlegs in next months wire? told you so. i'm very proud you got it out before they did. ;)

jess, Tuesday, 5 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

four weeks pass...
Finished reading the Wire piece an hour or two ago. Interesting (to me) on the antecedents of bootlegs, but rather snotty about the current wave, save for Richard X. By comparison the author (Peter Shapiro) is all over the Tigerbeat6 crowd. Art must win out over pop as usual.

Jeff Worrell, Tuesday, 2 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

peter shapiro's a funny one. on the one hand he's all about crass commercial entertainment (he put a 2 live crew 12" into that wire list of 100 records that should have set the world on fire), but just as often his reviews come over all snotty on the side of "shit was better in the day," esp. (of course) re. hiphop.

jess, Tuesday, 2 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)


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