The Synthetic Sound: Further Mooging

Dear Elizabeth,

The moog, despite its clunky design and now dated technology, is perhaps the most influential musical tool of the electronic movement. Developed by the American Robert Moog, the instant popularization of the analog synthesizer in Germany marked a distinct shift in the way Germans viewed postwar technology. (To learn more about the heavy industry and military technology prevalent in WWII, I suggest checking out the research of fellow MEH bloggers JED, Natewozere, and Sam.) The moog is far from militant; it is, simply, a machine for synthesizing and innovating sounds. The Berlin School's extensive use of the moog was not only a method of expression but also a way of emphasizing technological nonviolence after WWII. Tangerine Dream, especially, used the moog to produce peaceful, ambient sounds--sounds which no one could have imagined coming from a machine.



Naturally, the moog was quickly replaced by digital synthesizers; the Trip Hop movement centered in Bristol skipped the moog completely. However, the idea of spreading a philosophy through innovating sound persisted and allowed for future artists to expand the impact of electronic music throughout Europe (and the world).

The Synthetic Sound: A Sociogeographical Examination of Electro in Europe

Finally, I have returned to the blogverse with a unique research offering in collaboration with P. Diddy Kong and Elizabeth. Introducing our work on Europe's relationship to the "synthetic sound," or electronic music. Our research questions are not just about techno, however; we are much more interested in why electronic music has gained so much social acceptance on the European scene. In order to understand the popularity of electro, we will each be studying a region in depth. I will be looking at the climate in the United Kingdom, with specific focus on Bristol, where the genre of Trip Hop was born. Mr. P. Diddy Kong will be studying France, and Elizabeth will be focused on northern Europe (Denmark, Sweden, possibly Germany). The anthropological landscape, cultural identity, and history of each place will be taken into consideration as well as the countries' relationship to technology, music, and poltics--the elements that influence the art itself. We hope to come to a cultural understanding about why electro became such a phenomenon in Europe (at the very least).

Welcome to the Blogging Trinity!

Dear Elizabeth and Mr. P Diddy Kong,

Welcome to our "blogging trinity"! (Mr. Diddy Kong, since you are an atheist, we are perfectly willing to refer to this group as a "trio" or "threesome" instead. :P) I am looking forward to writing this experimental research paper with all of you.

On to Lenin's legacy:



In Lenin's Hanging Order (1918), he commands the Bolsheviks to mobilize against one of the largest, most problematic classes in Russian society: the Kulaks. The Kulaks were a wealthy group of peasants, usually landed, with more education that the liberated serfs and strength in numbers. The Kulaks had benefited from the existence of the Tsarist state and would be opposed to its destruction; they had enough resources to actively fight a Bolshevik revolution. Thus, Lenin decreed that the entire class should be disposed of as soon as possible; the nobility and intellectuals would soon follow. The violence of the Bolsheviks would become a commonly used tactic in the USSR and modern-day Russia. Although there is no longer a Kulak class, the intellectual targets have remained the same over the years. The above report on Deutsche Welle illustrates the progression from Lenin's order to the modern day.