Im confused. House music is something everybody seems to be listining to, from the yuppie club going teen, to the more sophisticated party goer. Theres this whole sense of mystery, sexuality, confusion, sophistication. From "dude house music rocks" to "What a killer house set". Everytime i ask somebody what house music is i get the standard "How the fuck could you not know look" along with some technical vomit about the genre. But what is house music? why is house music called house music? who started it? why are there so many sub genres? Im a newbie when it comes to this and it irritates me when i dont get a simple answer from the people who make a living playing this genre.
Wikipedia comes to the rescue and finally i have an ounce of clarity. Ive taken my first step towards understanding the genre
- The origins of the term "house music" are disputed. The term may be derived from the name of a club called the The Warehouse, which was one of the nightclubs that became popular among the teenagers living in the Chicago area in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Warehouse was patronized primarily by gay, black and Latino men,who came to dance to DJ Frankie Knuckles' mix of classic disco, European synthpop, new wave, industrial, and punk recordings.
- Chip E.'s recording "It's House" may also have helped to define this new form of electronic music.[4] Chip E. claims the name came from methods of labelling records at the Imports Etc. record store, where he worked in the early 1980s; music that DJ Knuckles played at the Warehouse nightclub was labelled in the store "As Heard At The Warehouse", which was shortened to simply "House music".
Larry Heard, aka "Mr. Fingers", claims that the term "house" reflected the fact that many early DJs created music in their own homes, using synthesizers and drum machines, including the Roland TR-808, TR-909, and the TB 303 Bassline synthesizer-sequencer. These synthesizers were used to create a house music subgenre called acid house.
Juan Atkins, an originator of Detroit techno music, claims the term "house" reflected the exclusive association of particular tracks with particular DJs; those tracks were their "house" records (much like a restaurant might have a "house" salad dressing
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_music)
Well that wasnt complicated. Its funny how people seem to like to complicate the simple to give them and what they do that much more sophistication. I like the genre, learing and uncomplicating it is also a lot of fun.
......DeepU
