-The Sad Old Seven-

Finally Artemi has managed write a good few home truths about the abysmal state that EM has finally become.

Although Kraftwerk have kept on kinda recycling their back catalogue, there was talk of a new album this year from them (possibly a rumour) after the disappointing T.D.F Soundtracks album. Although Bartos kept the old spirit of the Werk alive through his own imitable way.

Schulze has crossed into the dance market too because of what was happening in the German techno-scene and being outdone by newer producers ie: Pete Namlook and Sven Hath etc.

Vangelis - ditched his trademark CS80 sounds and orchestral synth playing styles for the pursuit of more orchestral sounds as Artemi pointed out.

Jarre - Needs to retire, as he another musician being outdone by his fellow frenchman namely Daft Punk and Air. And has embraced the dance/trance scene with open arms and known of course for his playback concerts and pyrotechnics.

Well Artemi's write-up was far better than the other two poor submissions previously...

Great column, Artemi! And very sad, too... Thinking of that makes an em musician of today feel like he's an orphan

The point with the stars above mentioned is not that they changed the kind of music they made, but the fact that their music is no longer as good or creative (with some exceptions, of course) as it used to be.
While it's obvious that one can't possibly be innovative all his life (it'd be totally crazy to expect that), the general feeling is that for most of these stars music has simply turned into a job, as opposed to a creative urge.
Creative direction and personal exploration are mostly missing.

Even if we think of other artists that are not expected to be creative but simply commercially successful, we can find examples em stars should follow...
Think of Madonna, for example: she's been in the business since the 80's, and she's been constantly renewing herself while maintaining her own style. You never know what she'll come up with next, but quality and direction are always there. And she's just commercial music...

If the em stars had done the same, we would all be happier, I guess.

C'mon, why waste time with all the synths and the darn boring stuff, let's set up a boy band and make some serious money!! Syn, can you dance and lipsync at the same time?

Thank you very much on behalf of Glenn and me...

It is obvious that there are still people who measure the quality of a column (or any opinion for that matter) to how much they agree with the content.
Well, get you head out of yer A*se matey, that's not how it works...

By the way, congrats Artemi. You wrote a good column, and I agree with most that you say in it. And I think that the part I don't agree with (that KS produces "real EM" today) is an interesting subject for debate rather than a stick to swing at you...