Electro Shock! [Paperback]

Greg Rule (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999

This compelling book explores the innovative performers of the past three decades who have used synthesizers to create new music that inspired and influenced the masses. The book treats fans to conversations with some of the biggest electronic hitmakers since the '70s: Chemical Brothers, Trent Reznor, Aphex Twin, and others. Each profile spotlights the artist's most prized electronic gear with a photo, historical details, and specifications. Includes an essential electronica listening guide and 50 black & white photos. 240 pages, 7 3/8 inch. x 9 1/4 inch.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Parents and friends of the young, on the lookout for something else to worry about, may be interested in increasing their knowledge of techno music as delineated by Rule and company. In a stylistic gambit perfect for the subject, Rule pairs capsule descriptions of and interviews with some of the leading purveyors of techno and "Product Spotlight" features detailing the wonderful toys used to create the electronic music. Among the interviewees: Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, and techno's founders, Kraftwerk. All the instruments' profiles (of the ARP 2600, N.E.D. Synclavier, Sequential Prophet-5, et al.) are interesting, though more for the maven than the casual fan. But you can't talk techno without talking technology, and reading this book confers a fine rudimentary understanding of what and who makes an exciting rock genre tick. Of current grim interest: Sascha, of KMFDM (Kein Mehrheit fur die Mitleid; i.e., No pity for the majority), an alleged favorite of the Littleton, Colorado, teen shooters, is another of the interviewees. Mike Tribby

Review

"An exciting key to understanding the latest electronic music makers and their sounds." -- Bookwatch, July 1999

"In a stylistic gambit perfect for the subject...this book confers a fine rudimentary understanding of what and who makes an exciting rock genre tick." -- Booklist, June 1999

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879305827
• ISBN-13: 978-0879305826
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,396,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Electro Shocked My Socks Off!, March 8, 2000

By 

Clint Rule (Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Electro Shock! (Paperback)

This is an excellent chance to learn about the music, gear, and artists behind the phenomenon known as electronica. Everything from the the primordial creators of the genre to it's wide-spread, present-day personalities.

Rule's interviews are always informative yet personal, thus allowing the reader to learn not just the hard music facts but the personal details just as well. The equipment reviews are equally entertaining and informative. Rule goes above and beyond the usual instrument critiques by releasing its birthplace, birthdate, measurements, price, availability, lengthy description, and often an interview of a person(s)who played a part in the production of the unit.

As both an electronica fan and musician, I was able to extract knowledge and entertainment from this book. I experienced no "tedious reading" while exploring this book--it was a grand safari. I reccomend this book to any one that remotely enjoys electronica or would like to more about the genre.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A limited introduction to electronica, August 10, 2001

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Electro Shock! (Paperback)

This is a rather conservative reading of the electronica canon -- Bjork, Aphex Twin, The Chemical Brothers and Trent Reznor are all more or less household names, and while, sure, it's a small pool of readers that would be interested in a more esoteric selection, as an overview of the genre, this is a pretty limited and timid survey. Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode are included as representatives of the old school -- no one remotely less commerical is given consideration. Most of the book is made up of interviews with his idols, but even these are less than gripping, being mainly preoccupied with fetishistic technical detail (-- what kind of filters do you use? --what range of equalization do you prefer? etc.) I had hoped, since the book was geared towards the pioneers of the genre, that it would deal more with its philosophies, rather than its techniques: Why choose to work in a medium that is deliberately mechanical and artificial? How does the human element come into play? How assiduously do the artists include or mask its presence? Sadly, these are issues that this book doesn't address in a meaningful way. Rule takes it as a given that the aesthetics of the genre are accepted and need no exploration, and thus he seems to have missed several golden opportunities in his face-to-face meetings with the very artists who might shed some insight into what makes this potentially remote music so compelling to so many people.

2.0 out of 5 stars Basic, Commercial, January 18, 2008

By 

J. Bruins (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Electro Shock! (Paperback)

I, for some reason related to my enthusiasm for the subject, was really excited to read this book. Unfortunately, it essentially reads like a compilation of promotional material about products and a number of artists. Nothing original here. If you're reading this, you obviously have an internet connection and access to much more information than is in this un-original text.