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Better Living Through CircuitryRating:
Release Date: 21 November, 2000 Retail Price: $24.95 OUR Price: $21.99 You SAVE: $2.96! Cast: |
Better Living Through Circuitry Reviews
background on PTV, everything E was looking for in music
Psychic TV, let me tell you who this band is, Genesis P-Orridge the main person/singer/musician of PTV. Genesis started/invented industrial music in 1975 with his other band Throbbing Gristle. Before TG Gen was a Hell's Angel and in a performance art group called COUM where one of his performances included withdrawing a syringe full of blood from his scrotum then injecting it into his arm and that's just the beginning to read more check out the book Wreckers of Civilization. When Genesis began his new group Psychic TV in 1980 he also started a cult called Temple Ov Psychic Youth or TOPY which was a expansion of the 60s cult The Process which evolved from Scientology which L. Ron Hubbard created based of his experiments in Aleister Crowley Occult Magick with rocket scientist Jack Parsons. Anyways The Process was even linked to Charles Manson and you can read more about this in Adam Gorightly books especially the one not available on amazon called Death Cults. Anyways Psychic TV created the rave scene in the 80s by braking into warehouses and throwing parties. During this time Psychic TV released 23 albums in 23 months because 23 is a magickal number for which PTV were inducted into the Genius Book of World Records. Genesis also at one point took all of his money and sent giant bronze penises to all the major record labels with their names engraved into the penises. To skip ahead Genesis was forced into Exile and had to leave England and he came to the U.S. Anyways this living legend who was friend of both Timothy Leary and William S. Burroughs is about to put out a new album but the best introduction to this band is probably Beauty From Thee Beast: The Best of Psychic TV or the dvd Psychic TV - Black Joy
Genesis is actually interviewed about rave/techno culture in this really good video
A great explanation of the U.S. rave scene
Being an 'active member' of the rave scene I was very happy to see that a documentary was made about it. Finally, someone was able to expose a culture that, to many, still remains unknown (maybe they choose not to know what goes on). Thanks to such 'mainstream' techno artists as Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, Crystal Method, and Moby, electronic music sparked an interest in people who would otherwise be unfamiliar with names like John Digweed, Sasha, BT, and Roni Size. Now with the advent of radio airplay, and even MTV, there is a wider audience that this music has reached. There are, still, many DJs and producers that remain almost anonymous to anyone other than ravers; people like Rank 1, Oliver Lieb, or Future Breeze. That's a good reason why "Better Living" works so well. Not only is the average Joe exposed to this culture but he or she is also given the chance to hear from people who have experienced raves and can share their experiences.
I bought the DVD because when the movie came out it was only in selected theaters across the U.S. My expectations were high because I knew that a film like would not be limited to just talking about the scene today. With the help from a transvestite (who appears one too many times) the viewer is given the chance to understand how the music made its way over here from England with the development of the 'acid house' movement in the late 80s. From then DJs and producers took that style and added their own flair which developed into the many styles that make up electronic music (featuring a great interview with Carl Cox).
The DVD has some cool features like a couple of clips that have some previews of computer generated graphics, more interviews with Roni Size and DJ Dan, among others, and a party flyer montage. Some great highlights are interviews with some of the leading electronic producers today like BT (who rarely gives interviews), Roni Size, Scanner, the Crystal Method (with a great explantion of an underground storage facility a la studio), and Frankie Bones' superb interview. Even superego DJ Keoki has a bit while watering his garden. I also liked the computer generated visuals that appear between segments. Although, the downside of the film is some really ditzy e-ed out kids who act a little too childish (which is why some people hate ravers). But with that aside, the overall feel of high energy and excitement are made apparent by the great shots of the dancefloor and seeing DJs like, BT, DJ Spooky, and Carl Cox showing the crowd some of their abilities.
If you are familiar with the scene this movie will appeal to you on many different levels. But even if techno music seems like something you can't even understand, this movie sheds quite a bit of light about what the rave scene is about and what is means to the people involved in it. Definitely check out this little gem.
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