Most of the people replying to this dance thread listened to music during the time house and techno music appeared and club culture exploded in popularity, in Europe at least. I’m really interested in some younger people’s perspectives on techno, people for whom this kind of much has never been new, strictly. Because it strikes me that a lot of my reactions to it are based on trying to recapture that residual amazement and bafflement and excitement from when it first showed up on my (rock-oriented) radar.
I think this is the key difference between, say, Simon Reynolds and Tim Finney, as critics. Tim’s style is very Reynolds-influenced (as is mine!) but for Tim there’s much more of a sense that dance music is just there, part of the musical atmosphere: the ‘vibe’ and its migrations seem incidental to his criticism, but essential to Reynolds’.