Oakenfold has always been my favorite...back in the day.

anything comparable nowadays?

For a real flashback, go listen to some 80s music. The B52s, Prince, Peter Gabriel, The Police...

Oakenfold isn't making new stuff?

I don't even know...I've been out of the techno scene for about 8 years or so.

benni bennassi, bass hunter, are good paul van something-that-starts-with-a-d

Lol Thomas I am 23. If this is my midlife crisis then I jump the gun more than I thought.

Darwyn I miss Oakenfold, thank you for the reminder.

I've heard Benni Bennassi but from what I remember I wasn't a fan. Maybe the break was enough to get me back, I'll look into it.

Thanks for making me feel old.
You were ten (!) when we danced at the Love Parade!

Litrature on QUARTER-life crisis:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=quarterlife+crisis&x=0&y=0

Oh, Paul van Dyk (or was it Dykk?) Something like that....

There's also Cascada and Dj Sammy... Both are fairly old, though.

last techno outfit i liked was Infected Mushrooms from Israel.
im not an expert but i think the genre is going into decline a bit.
Amon Tobin is making pretty interesting stuff.

lol Thomas that is great. I had never heard of such a phenomena but I can assure you I don't fit into the category. I'm a college student who has a child and strong dynamic social life so I can rule out almost every symptom. Also, very financially knowledgeable, the only applicable one I noticed was "one can't find a job that is at one's academic/intellectual level" but everyone must go through that until they are satisfied with where their career is at. My career is just around the corner, the initial stages at least.

I am afraid now -that you discovered phpdip- your life is gonna take a dramatic turn... no time for your family, not to mention your career... waking up at 4AM wondering whether you put in that support order...

... and worst of all: Walking through the real world - convinced that you can trust NO-ONE.

I could have sworn I responded to this yesterday, lol. I've gone through a lot worse to have Diplomacy affect me. I broke free of WoW damn it! lol

I really hope I don't sound like a troll, but....

How can anyone actually like techno music? I am a huge lover of rock music. Not whiny modern emo-rock rock but proper, old-fashioned heavy rock music as typified by Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, UFO, AC/DC, Bad Company, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake, Deep Purple and so on. Having said this, I actually have a very wide range of music in my collection, including classical (Beethoven, J. S. Bach and Paganini would all have been heavy metallers if the electric guitar had been invented in their lifetimes), country (Johnny Cash and Woody Guthrie, not the crap pop-country that's everywhere these days), blues and beyond.

But I've never been able to understand what's to like about Techno - outside its natural dancefloor environment.

Could someone enlighten me?

Thomas, I was 20 and halfway through college when Sayjo was BORN!

Wow, Jamie... I didn't think Whitesnake could be used in the same sentence as Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Bad Company, and Deep Purple. Aerosmith or Zep or Van Halen, sure, but Whitesnake?

i love techno

Next thing ya' know you'll tell me Cinderella, Poison, and Ratt belong with The Who...

@Jamie,
I would say as soon a you use an instrument to make music you re using TECHNOlogy...

What would your hard rock be without *E*-guitars?
So I'd simply argue that Electronic music is simply the next step in a developement that has been going on for centuries (millenia?).

It gives the performer more options to compose and and modify what has been available to create a completely new experience.

In any case - if you are looking for an answer what to like about Techno, I need to ask you first: What do you mean by "like". What do you "like" about your current music?

@Draugnar/

I'm with you - makes you feel old doesn't it?

@ThomasB - What I like about rock music (at least most of what Jamie listed) is the skill of the musicians involved. Most Techno is simply programmed synthesizers so that live performances are "push a button and fake it". The real rockers actually play their instruments like *GODS*. They are to us mere amateurs like Edi Birsan is to the average Dip player or Bill Gates is to the typical millionaire CEO. they are so much more than the rest of us. Therefore there music is something we strive to be able to perform. Techno can be performed by anyone who can program a synthesizer.

Now, in Techno's credit, it still takes talent to write something that doesn't sound like Ross Geller's crap on 'Friends'.

Latest good techno? techno is not good at all in my opinion. i agree with with draugnar, real rock music takes a lot of skill. i think its just way more powerful than any other genre of music. rock is the only genre of music i listen to

Hi Draugnar,

My wife made the same point... Jimi Hendrix... blabla... guitar... blabla... like a god...

I couldn't follow at all. Maybe globalization (and youtube) has desensibilized me to people with manual skills... but if I see Michael Phelps swim fast or some circus artist or somebody playing an instrument well, in 9/10 cases the result is a yawned 'so what?!'

If somebody creates something new and great (swimming style, music or even DIPstrategy...) that excites me.

But merely executing some riffs (or whatever)? It's just a function of how much time you re willing to spend on something and how much talent your were endowed with (by luck). Sorry nothing ingeneous as far as I am concerned.

Bottom line: If you sit at home and listen to a CD or MP3s I care for what comes out of my speakers... not what some guy did to get it out of an instrument.

Draugnar/IMurk,

Though-Experiment:
So if it took MORE skill to mix Techno music than to play a guitar like a Rock-Star.

Would that mean you'd prefer Techno all of a sudden?
There must have a different reason for your preference that you haven't stated (or realized about), yet.

But would yourather here some pedestrian, barely a studio musician play the guitar solo at the end of Purple Rain, or Prince himself? I could encode that entire solo into a decent synth so that it played it back beautifully, but it would still lack the soul put into it by the artist aka the symbol aka Prince (love to rag on his name thing, but he is an awesome guitarist).

But, that's not to say I don't like some techno and trance. Movy's "We Are All Made of Stars" and his interpretation of the James Bond theme are excellent, and there was some great trance/techno in the original 'xXx' movie.

oops, Moby's

Pedestrian vs. Prince:

I couldn't care less about the guy performing. What matters is the music reaching my ear.

I don't think that my appreciation of music goes via the rational part of my brain. Thoughts like Who performed it? How much skill does it take? etc... don't come into play.

It is rather a sensation that has a direct impact on my mood (similarly to food for which my flavour experience isn't really influenced by how or by whom it was prepared)...

And in both cases complexity is perceived as interesting (which means pop is quite dull), not overwhelming.

Eventhough I am not sure I would guess that appreciation of Techno has to do with the ability to add more and more layers of complexity and thus create new and rich sound experiences.

Ah, but for some of us, it's like the difference between Glenlivet and Dewar's. Both are Scotch Whiskey, but I can taste the difference. I can taste the difference between a Filet Mignon cooked at Jeff Ruby's Waterfront and one cooked at Outback. By your logic, Pepsi, Coke, or Tab: it doesn't matter to you.

The musician who performed it makes it better by essence of them being better. Their expertise make the sound have soul. I may not know who performs certain songs, but I know that I like one artists version better than another because it sound better to my ear. Techno doesn't have that. It's programmed synthesizers. Who pushes the button for it to play is irrelevent.

@ThomasB - I didn't say I didn't like techno. I actually do. My preference for rock is because it has soul in it. Each and every performance is different. I love classical music and jazz for much the same reason. Not only is the music pleasing to my ears (and some techno is too), but each and every performance has nuances that make it distinct. this isn't so with Techno. You know exactly what you're going to get everytime you hear the song, whether it be in a club or on your CD. I burn out on CDs because the music is always the same, but going to live shows... there is nothing quite like it.

You missed my point:
Your whiskey will taste the same if the label is removed from the bottle. Unless of course you care for the coolness-factor the brand provides...

I don't dispute that there are things that are improved by complex production processes - others are not.

You stated earlier that "what you like about rock music is the skill of the musician".

That's what I disagree with.

Now, you say that the music is better (thanks to enhancement of the passionate musician).

Here we have no disagreement, at all. If the "soul" in a song is what makes your musical taste-buds go wild, why not.

@Draugnar: "...Whitesnake?"

Not late 80's poodle-perm Whitesnake, but late 70's Whitesnake with Micky Moody, Bernie Marsden and Neil Murray still in the band.

@ThomasB: "I would say as soon a you use an instrument to make music you re using TECHNOlogy..."

Technically yes. So are you saying that you define 'Techno' music as any music made using man-made or electrical instruments? I would assume that most people who regard themselves as fans of 'Techno' music would disagree with you. When I say 'Techno' I assume most people will understand that I mean a form of electronic dance music.

"It gives the performer more options to compose and and modify what has been available to create a completely new experience."

True, but in saying I don't like Techno, I don't mean that I don't like the way it is being composed, specifically. What I don't like is the sound of the finished product. It doesn't excite me or catch my interest.

"What do you 'like' about your current music?"

I'm happy to answer that one. What do I like about rock music? Well, first of all I simply like the sound of rock guitar. This is an entirely personal and subjective thing, and I understand that other people may not feel the same excitment as me when they hear a great guitarist playing. And it's not just a question of technical skill - truly great rock guitar playing relies greatly on a kind of 'feeling' that is very difficult to define. Michael Schenker and Eddie Van Halen have this quality in abundance.

I like the way that rock music can tell a story, and that a great vocalist - like Dio or Robert Plant - can put so much emotion into a song. That's one thing I usually find lacking in techno - sometimes there is a very limited vocal in techno, but it is rarely used to tell a story and convey emotion in the way it is integrally used in rock and pop.

I also love the energy of live rock music. As has been said above, going to see a techno act perform live does not strike me as a very exciting prospect. Whereas going to see a band like AC/DC perform live on stage.... Well, that's a totally different prospect.

I'm only scratching the surface here but I hope I'm beginning to explain what I love about rock music.

Techno has a lot of soul. It just takes a different type of listening to hear it. Have you ever been to a rave with a DJ? They don't just put on a beat and pretend to be making the sounds they go with the flow, they mix, alter, and effect the dance floor along with the emotions of the people. I love most music, to me, people who don't like techno are the one's who never tried due to resistance or it didn't speak to them. The first one is the person's fault but there is nothing wrong with a person who doesn't like it for the second reason. Those of us it does give a unique sensation to, we are luckier than thou ^_^

Hi Jamie,

RE TECHNOlogy:
my point is that Techno (electronic music) is part of the normal musical progession

flute - piano - e-guitar - sythesizer

RE Like about music:
That deferes the question to : What do you like about the sound of a rock guitar?
Is it as simple as liking a the flavour of chocolate? Or does it cause emotions in you? Memories? Note that lot's of electronic music uses E-guitar sounds.

RE Stories/ emotions in rock
I am a non-native speaker. I doubt that my country-men got the lyrics of the Beatles (yellow submarine, maybe...) or Stones... Didn't prevent them from being hugely popular.

Hence, I would disagree that "telling stories" is integral to rock/pop. For a lot of people vocals are just another instrument, with the occasional Trigger-word put in. There are exceptions... the popular ones, though few go beyond the most profane kitsch...

RE AC/DC concert: Both hard-rock concerts and raves have that effect on people.

RE Energy:
Same with 'energy': It's not specific to rock. My driving turns live-threatening beyond a certain BPM level and fast music generally gets you out of the bed - no matter whether it's rock or Electronica

Sayjo, have you listened to Trentemøller? especially the album "The Last Resort" (it's from 2006)

@Sayjo - I can't say I've been to a rave, no. I'm 43 and ravers view me as a possible narc. Plus the scene isn't my thing. But I can see where your coming from in that I used to club back in the late 80s (the days of Power Plant and such), so I get how the DJ can intervene and I've seen it in the media so I grasp what your saying. To you, the DJ is the soul of the music just like to me, Sting puts the soul into an acoustic solo rendition of "Message in a Bottle" and the conductor puts the soul into a performance of "Carmina Burana".

For me, rock inspires. I simple 'weeping' guitar like the opening of "Brother's in Arms" (Dire Straits) or a haunting, almost ethereal bit of music like some of Evanescence's music can make me pensive, thoughtful, and even relaxed, while a good driving drum solo or awesome e-guitar wail (think Rush's "Tom Sawyer" or "Red Barchetta" for drums and the opening bars of "Hot for Teacher" for awesome guitar) can get me going even when I'm in the dumps.

im not saying that i would like techno if it took skill. im not saying that you should like rock more because it takes skill. im just saying that for me, it adds a whole new level of appreciation.

Techno takes a lot more skill than you realize based on that statement. The same level of appreciation goes for Techno, one you don't seem to have and those of us who also enjoy other forms of music have what you are refering to as well. Or it just seems like your are just envious of a good guitar rip as opposed to appreciating the emotion and skill required to portray it. Techno has the equivalents ... Good techno, innovative techno, like any other music, has everything you could want.

@alamothe: Nope that was after my Techno years but I am getting it as I type. Thank you for the suggestion, I'll let you know what I think.

@Draugnar: lol, narc ^_^ Good music is good music. Pop music and the commercialized crap pushed out to make fast money isn't music, it is noise. Every genre, every style, has good music. The good music is what inspired the Genre the style, the evolution. Pretty much Thomas has it, progression, change, these are all natural. Doesn't make it wrong or bad, just.... **ecstasy sigh**

@Sayjo - agreed on the good music is good music. Generally speak, I hate rap and country but will listen to most anything else. But even that rule has it's exception. the Fugees did a great cover of Killing Me Softly and Gansta's Paradise is an outstanding piece of music. Likewise, I can lsiten too (and watch, drool....) Shania Twain and Faith Hill quite easily.

@Sayjo: "you ever been to a rave with a DJ?"

I acknowleged that when I said in my first post in this thread: "...I've never been able to understand what's to like about Techno - outside its natural dancefloor environment."

I understand how people enjoy dance music / techno at raves, clubs etc. What I don't get is people buying techno CDs to listen to at home.

@ThomasB:

"RE TECHNOlogy:
my point is that Techno (electronic music) is part of the normal musical progession
flute - piano - e-guitar - sythesizer"

I think you're assuming far too broad a definition of 'Techno', Thomas. I enjoy a lot of music which uses synthesizers. When I say "I don't like techno" I never said I don't like synths. I am saying I don't like the dance music style known as "techno".

I like Daft Punk and Basement Jaxx, for example. They make heavy use of synthesizers. But they are not techno. I hope I've made it clear what I'm on about.