Dillinger Escape Plan have a new album coming out this year titled Option Paralysis and although it's most likely going to be awesome, I found the theme/concept of the album to be of particular interest. From the DEP myspace:
“The title Option Paralysis represents being in a situation where you have so many choices you can’t decide, and end up being frozen,” says founding member Weinman about the mindset permeating the band’s fifth full-length album. “Back in the early days when I started to discover music, go to shows and find out about new bands, there were ‘filters’ from various circumstances – geography, economic status, etc - which deeply affected how a band sounded and what they stood for."
""Now, everyone is going through the same filter—namely computers and the internet—and everyone has the same circumstances: Everybody’s seeing the same thing for the first time at the very same time, simultaneously all over the world. That very system is negatively affecting art and has created a situation where everything is influencing itself and art is not based on struggle, personal scarcity or unique and personal inspiration."
"This cultural revolutions is a big part of what determines our mission. We’re not listening to any of the bands around us for some kind of input as to what we should sound like. At this point, we’re using our own accomplishments as a measurement of what we need to do next.”
...
But after 12 years of deliberately challenging themselves, as well as the preconceived notions of critics and the strict genre-specific zealots of the world’s underground music scenes, the big question remains: What is the mission of the Dillinger Escape Plan? It’s a question Weinman addresses with equal parts melancholy, unwavering determination and humor. “I’ve been trying for a while to have someone explain that to me,” he says, laughing. “Seriously, Option Paralysis represents why we’re here and why we’re still making music. We started at a time when there wasn’t all this access to the larger world. Our only goal was to make a small dent in the scene that we were in. The fact we’ve made it this far and that we’re still relevant is really special to me. I feel that it is extremely important for bands like us to continue to represent the ethic and attitude that was present during a time that doesn't exist anymore."
http://www.myspace.com/dillingerescapeplan
And from a recent interview:
What are your views on the current state of music?
“There’s so much media out there that nobody knows what’s important anymore. The whole indie record label culture and indie band culture is gone now, it’s still out there if you really search for it but it’s not how it used to be and it’s really surrounded by a lot of message boards and Myspace pages that tarnish the whole thing. Back in the day there were record labels that you trusted, loved and you bought everything on it and you discovered a lot of great new music because of it. You listen to every single song back to front a million times, it’d be worn out to death before you moved onto another record. You’d read everything in the booklet, you’d read all the lyrics, you’d read all the notes, you’d discover something new. It was unpredictable. Now even the most musical nerds are reduced to being no different to the person we know just listening to the radio.”
http://www.rocksound.tv/features/article/the-dillinger-escape-plan2
Any thoughts? Does Option Paralysis actually exist and if it does, is it "negatively affecting art" produced today? Or is it all just the inane rantings of a bunch of jaded thirty-somethings who are now ten years past their prime?
“The title Option Paralysis represents being in a situation where you have so many choices you can’t decide, and end up being frozen,” says founding member Weinman about the mindset permeating the band’s fifth full-length album. “Back in the early days when I started to discover music, go to shows and find out about new bands, there were ‘filters’ from various circumstances – geography, economic status, etc - which deeply affected how a band sounded and what they stood for."
""Now, everyone is going through the same filter—namely computers and the internet—and everyone has the same circumstances: Everybody’s seeing the same thing for the first time at the very same time, simultaneously all over the world. That very system is negatively affecting art and has created a situation where everything is influencing itself and art is not based on struggle, personal scarcity or unique and personal inspiration."
"This cultural revolutions is a big part of what determines our mission. We’re not listening to any of the bands around us for some kind of input as to what we should sound like. At this point, we’re using our own accomplishments as a measurement of what we need to do next.”
...
But after 12 years of deliberately challenging themselves, as well as the preconceived notions of critics and the strict genre-specific zealots of the world’s underground music scenes, the big question remains: What is the mission of the Dillinger Escape Plan? It’s a question Weinman addresses with equal parts melancholy, unwavering determination and humor. “I’ve been trying for a while to have someone explain that to me,” he says, laughing. “Seriously, Option Paralysis represents why we’re here and why we’re still making music. We started at a time when there wasn’t all this access to the larger world. Our only goal was to make a small dent in the scene that we were in. The fact we’ve made it this far and that we’re still relevant is really special to me. I feel that it is extremely important for bands like us to continue to represent the ethic and attitude that was present during a time that doesn't exist anymore."
http://www.myspace.com/dillingerescapeplan
And from a recent interview:
What are your views on the current state of music?
“There’s so much media out there that nobody knows what’s important anymore. The whole indie record label culture and indie band culture is gone now, it’s still out there if you really search for it but it’s not how it used to be and it’s really surrounded by a lot of message boards and Myspace pages that tarnish the whole thing. Back in the day there were record labels that you trusted, loved and you bought everything on it and you discovered a lot of great new music because of it. You listen to every single song back to front a million times, it’d be worn out to death before you moved onto another record. You’d read everything in the booklet, you’d read all the lyrics, you’d read all the notes, you’d discover something new. It was unpredictable. Now even the most musical nerds are reduced to being no different to the person we know just listening to the radio.”
http://www.rocksound.tv/features/article/the-dillinger-escape-plan2
Any thoughts? Does Option Paralysis actually exist and if it does, is it "negatively affecting art" produced today? Or is it all just the inane rantings of a bunch of jaded thirty-somethings who are now ten years past their prime?