Remember that lame space nightclub we visited last night? Well, now we’ve gone underground, where everybody knows the real club is. Oh, you didn’t know that space had an underground? Well, maybe this club isn’t for you, then.
I’m always curious at the reasons why we don’t attach to certain kinds of music. We all have our own preferences, and it usually boils down to familiarity. When we come across music that is strange and new, we can react in myriad ways. When egos flare high, we tend to dismiss unfamiliar music as inferior, due to its inability to stimulate us on a sophisticated level. Other times, however, our unfamiliarity is met with a certain reverence—or at least respect—for what we trust is surely more valuable than what meets the ear. People can experience both of these reactions when listening to music, and sometimes they’re hard to distinguish—look at the viral success of artists with “ironic” fanbases like Justin Bieber or Souljaboy Tell’em.
What does any of that have to do with this music? At first I didn’t respond well to this album, but realizing that I was only unfamiliar with the genre, I gave it the extra effort of a few more plays. For some reason club culture in and of itself carries a certain value, enough to make you want to enjoy the music just to fit in to that crowd. Which brings us back to the underground space club, a place so cool that it transcends conventional science regarding cosmic real estate. If you don’t get it, then you just don’t belong here. The planetarium is waiting for you upstairs, you nerd.
Mike Frasier Music 