“is that music?!?….I’m NOT that old, I can get into this!!!”
One of my fondest earliest memories of starting my research was accepting an invitation to hear a band perform in Oakland, CA. I asked my host, “What kind of music is it?” My host, a Berklee College of Music grad, paused and then gave an intriguing answer, “Well…it’s noise.” That description ushered in a crash course introduction to Burning Man and its art scene, a memorable immersion depicted in the first paragraph of Appendix I of my book.
Since then, participating at Burning Man has provided many introductions to cultural trends, some of which have become mainstream. (Other art forms, like the Aesthetic Meat Foundation, have not yet become mainstream.) Each year, a fellow campmate likes to ruminate about what’s in and what’s out at Burning Man based on our mutual observations. This past year, we agreed that dub step seemed to be on its way out. For those readers who haven’t tried dancing or listening to dub step, here’s Key & Peele’s take on this musical genre (warning: squeamish viewers may want to pause around 2:23 or so):
Carmina Burana music chaser after the jump.