Orbital – Orbital (1993) & Snivilisation (1994)
[Album 818 & 819 / 1001]
“There is the theory of the Möbius: a twist in the fabric of space where time becomes a loop, where time becomes a loop, where time becomes a loop…”
– Orbital, Time Becomes
I seem to be stuck in a time loop with Electronic Dance Music (EDM).
I’m not sure how/when this twist in the fabric of space occurred…but it’s as if I’m in the emotional equivalent of the movie Groundhog Day.
Regardless of the amount of time spent with Orbital (or any of the other EDM artists I’ve encountered thus far), my appreciation & enjoyment levels are remarkably consistent.
I seem to always have eerily identical reactions:
The individual tracks & layers are interesting at first, but grow repetitive after several minutes/loops/repetitions.
The tracks featuring a female vocalist (here, the ones with Alison Goldfrapp) are inevitably the standouts.
With lengthy album running times (this pair clocking in at 65 and 75 minutes, respectively), it’s a tad more than I necessarily need.
As a listener, I’m not really progressing or regressing.
I’d like to think that it’s not because I’m being closed-minded; instead, might it be equally plausible to say that “a twist in the fabric of space” has caused my EDM reviews seem like they’re stuck in a loop?
…..
Verbalize the Positive
I’ll enjoy Groundhog Day every time I watch it!
1001albumsin10years 
I have a similar reaction, Geoff. Bought one of those budget CD sets, mainly to get these two albums and to see what all the fuss is about but eventually concluded you need drugs to fully appreciate EDM.
So perhaps full appreciation will have to elude me for now, Bruce!
Never got in to EDM myself, but Groundhog Day is a completely different story. Even got my kids to watch it and enjoy it. They don’t seem to enjoy EDM either.
I haven’t showed the girls Groundhog Day yet – but perhaps this February 2nd they’ll be ready for it!
Ha! I am sure they will be.
I’m closed-minded enough to avoid EDM. I’ll spend 75 minutes watching Ground Hog Day again instead!
My mind is wide-open to repeated Groundhog day viewings!
It is too bad Ramis and Murray didn’t get along better. Who knows what we would have got from them if they had.
For a brief period in the 90s, I was into some of this stuff, not too deeply, mind you. I never got into this lot though.
I may yet immerse a bit more deeply – I certainly didn’t veer quite this far away from guitar bands though in the 90s!
Yeah not really my thing here lol. But everyday lately seems like Groundhog Day! So I guess I did learn something then.
65-75 albums is a lot of music to digest. Sometimes a band can get away with it. One that comes to my mind is Metallica with ‘And Justice For All’ as when that dropped in 88 it was the exact opposite ‘sound’ of the time. Dry sounding, not much Bass lol and lots of guitar and drums spread out over two records.
Pretty amazing actually now that I think about it.
I have a feeling we’ll be living the groundhog day experience over the holidays here, Deke – it may be tough to tell December 19,20,21,22,23 apart!
Well after today i’m off for 2 weeks so I’ll take Groundhog Day lol
Enjoy your time off with Wendy and the Ladies!
And likewise with Sue & the ladies, Deke!
The poor man’s Orb. Although I do quite like that Mobius strip track AND I would say they are absolutely superb as a live act, really excellent.
I have the Orb one with David Gilmour because David Gilmour.
Was always more of a Dougie Gilmour enthusiast, myself!
That really should have been a penalty to Gretzky, eh?
Some have suggested that, yes!
I’ve seen that clip many times. It was a penalty. Was the fix in? Will we ever know?
when concerts resume, I may have to explore to increase my appreciation!
I never used to think much about this stuff, but it can grow on you. A good gateway is bands like Massive Attack or Portishead (heck, even OK Computer), to get you into the feel gently, and then this stuff doesn’t seem so far off as a next step. Listen to some of the tracks JHubner is posting often, too, and some of it starts to stick!
Encouraging to read there’s still hope of growing – and if it can be in the same universe as OK Computer, it can’t be all that bad!
Well I figured on something with a bit of the blips and bleeps to help adjust before plunging headlong… I dunno, I could be way off base too!