new-futurism -- crunk for the radical tourist or...?

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So I got curious about this Kodwo Eshun character whose name kept getting mentioned. So I went and found out about him and his books. I mean the man actually can write about music, but his more out-there stuff seems to be pure exoticism which takes the worst elements of "rave culture" hype (which Reynolds avoids doing by focusing on the music) and blends it with Warwick and semiotext(e) gibberish. So, does this style of "new world of machines, here we come" millenarianism actually turn anyone on, or is it just post-facto justification for enjoyment of legitimately pleasurable experience -- reifying fairly time-honored cultural aspects into some sort of massive social transformation?

― Sterling Clover, Saturday, 14 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'll vote for post-facto justification for enjoyment of legitimately pleasurable experience. Sounds like bullshit.

― , Saturday, 14 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Simply the most interesting writer on music in the 90s. Now it's obvious his style is not for the faint-hearted but I'm just glad somebody writes like that (and most of the time he's more exciting to read on dance music than Reynolds who sometimes seems to have trouble shakeing of ye olde class-wars). So yeah it's a turn on *and* post- facto justification (I mean what's wrong with making a little sense of music you like, otherwise it's "yeah we were hammered, the pills were good, the Dj banging, see ya next week."). Also "More Brilliant than the Sun" is filled to bursting point with cool insights, record lists, rants, facts and myths. Anyone who comes up with the reversal of Whitey-stole-the-blues into Dusseldorf is the Mississipi Delta of Techno has my attention. Now everybody: "We are the robots!".

― Omar, Sunday, 15 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think it is an astonishing book - you can follow him as he gropes for reason - twisting strands of thought -I don't agree with all the choices - Underground Resistance (pants)- but it makes you want to re- listen. I like Simon's writng too - vive la difference ! I only read car manuals usually (wink) so I'm not up on Dionne's writing

― Geordie Racer, Monday, 16 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

hmm, the Wookie piece is good, but i felt disappointed by More Brilliant Than The Sun. I think its great that someones trying to do what he does but i found the book difficult to connect with, whereas Reynolds' Energy Flash was unputdownable.

the whole 'new machines/futurism' stuff in 'More brilliant...' feels a bit 'boys science fiction'. and there seemed to be long periods where he didn't really say anything.

― gareth, Monday, 16 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Cliche about Lester Bangs containing strand of insight: he wrote like rock and roll music sounded.

Emergent cliche about Kodwo Eshun containing strand of insight: he writes like the music he writes about sounds.

Um.

I love the book. Something I particularly love is the way he pays attention to the packaging, labels, mythology etc. Context context context.

A really interesting question would be about the idea of "afro- futurism" which Eshun likes but I'm struggling to phrase it the way I want to. On the one hand: afro-futurist ideas liberating 'black music' from endlessly referencing 'the street' and also containing lotsa exciting political ideas about liberation in general. On the other: afro-futurist ideas as a re-application of voodoo/witchdoctor/shaman/mystic stereotypes with technological gloss. Most likely a bit of both....

― Tom, Tuesday, 17 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

one year passes...

Hi all,

I have a page on Black Science Fiction with some definitive pointers and sources here: http://www.jahsonic.com/BlackScienceFiction.html

Yours
Jan

― Jan Geerinck, Thursday, 31 October 2002 11:10 (twenty-two years ago)

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