ok, so i don’t normally engage in writing pointlessly negative stuff, but i was asked to by someone and did. for various reasons it didn’t run in the end so i’ve decided to stick it up on here. normal service will be resumed next week.
you have to feel sorry for those american kids. two decades or so ago their immediate ancestors unquestionably invented house and techno, and in the ensuing years produced some of the genres’ greatest ever records, even to this day. yet now, in 2012, even in the internet era where everyone can know everything and not a single bit of recorded music is more than a few clicks away, those poor kids are getting their electronic music education from… deadmau5.
the canadian may have broken through with some fresh and clean sounding tracks in the post-minimal years, but since then has continued to grow ever more erratic and disinterested in the scene to the point where this year he has gone so far as to publically out himself in numerous self-obsessed tumblr posts. basically claiming that all he – and thus, he assumes – the entire dance world does when performing is press a few buttons, it kick started a public slanging match with a guy called gerald and generally turned much of the world against the mau5.
the reason he is reduced to being a mere button pusher, the man posits, is because of how spectacular his show is; of how intrinsically linked the music is with the lights, thus leaving very little room for improvisational error. which, of course, is pure rat shit: ever heard of amin tobin? or mouse on mars? exactly.
as if that wasn’t enough, he‘s also lashed out at madonna on more than one occasion this year, screeching to rolling stone magazine that “if [the pop princess is] going to come into my world, at least do it with a little more dignity” – a statement which sends alarm bells into overdrive on two occasions. firstly, “my world” as if zimmerman is the creator of house, and secondly “with a little more dignity.” presumably the same sense of dignity you were employing when labelling madge “a fucking idiot” back in march, eh joel?
surely the ultimate insult to anyone whose dance music experiences stretch beyond a pissed up puke-a-thon at the local oceana, though, was deadmau5’s latest studio album (and not least because of its laughably puerile attempt at a post modern title “> album title goes here
even the proggy melodies fail to catch your ear, instead weighted down by a sense that deadmau5 no longer cares; that he’s just churning out this shit knowing full well it will be lapped up by those who know no better. the man himself claims not to make pop music, which is true, because even desperately anthemic cuts like ‘the veldt’ ends up sounding like the pissy electro we all quickly got over ten years ago, whilst the ‘there might be coffee’ (and many other such examples) sound like the hi-vis, lo-worth skits that tv types think will sex up their drier than arid shows about moving to the costa del sol. all this despite the fact he has built himself a new studio this year, pimped to the bollocks, apparently all for nothing.
still, such production drudgery hasn’t stopped zimmerman from continuing to tour the globe in 2012, playing sell out shows in any country you care to name. he’s also continued to connect with the fans he seems to distain so much with a new series of ustreams direct from his studio where, thank heavens, you too can pick up ‘tips’ (!) on how to produce the sort of limp and lifeless dance music by numbers as has he this year.
my problem is this: if deadmau5 feels so uninspired by his live show and the scene at large, why not do something about it? why not take a risk and try new things? never has there been a time in america’s history when the public have been so engaged with electronic dance music. he has the opportunity to spearhead a revolution, to put to good use the skills we know he has from his ‘faxing berlin’ days. at the same time as deriding the world around him, then, deadmau5 knows it’s all too healthy a cash cow to really revolt against.
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nice..The Guardian did a great review in it too
Dead Mouse is dead to me.
Very well put. frank and to the point. exactly my feelings, as a former fan of deadmau5, i do feel a little betrayed and abandoned by joel’s complete lack of conviction for something that i used to love.
the bit that surprises me is that people have ever seen this fella as anything more than (at best) credible pop music. a man with a giant cardboard mouse head is unlikely to be an underground sensation i suppose. the strangest thing about it all is that he has admitted that he is going through the motions, people will overlook a lot of things (quality in this case) But being told you are being taken for a ride is something nobody likes to hear.
i enjoyed this read very much, hahah couldnt have said it better myself,
also i just wanna say, in 2008 i was on the same bill as Deadmau5 and played before him, he was adamant nobody was to be on stage while he plays, now, i saw first hand he wasnt playing anything live at all!
in fact when you think about it, how can you use any kit at all when you have a stupid mouse thing on your head??
I read your propositions for the electronic community, and laughed my ass off because it’s all what i think.
But seriously, I don’t get all the hate on deadmau5 and i don’t think ill ever get it. i don’t get why people who claim to know his work never talk about his non-media covered productions, like all his minimal work (try “sunspot” or “plus”…)
i think this guy is mainly an angry opinionated basement nerd with a lot of talent. He rants about pretty much everything he doesn’t like, even with 2m+ fans, while still being open minded. that’s a better skill to me than being a standard drug riddled techno producer. is that why people hate him so much? He’s maybe one of the most open minded producers on the scene. Being an elitist idiot like it’s cool to be if you claim to listen to techno is the only reason I see.
True, he must make a fuckload of money from his annual shitty prog track. I don’t think it’s that easy to forget the financial side once you’re at that height, but i don’t think he’s forgetting his roots nevertheless. I don’t think you can feel that if you don’t make music, which you honestly don’t seem to do
To those who will read this and imagine me as a fake chris crocker ravekid sick of all the hate on his idol, you can deeoply go fuck yourself. i love techno, but i more importantly love music, and sometimes i really think i’m the only one who doesn’t give a fuck how “mainstream” is an artist as long as i like what i’m hearing.
peace.
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