philip sherburne

First of all, I'm thrilled that this week's Month in Techno column has generated so much discussion; that's just what I was hoping for. A few quick points that I wanted to clarify:

* Don't worry, I'm not such a sad sack as I may seem. (Though reading Michael Pollan's An Omnivore's Dilemma might have something to do with it; it's hard not to worry about the state of the world after reading Pollan's account of capitalist agribusiness. That being said, the book is essential reading, as is his excellent The Botany of Desire, and possibly [hopefully!] life-changing.)

* Despite the tone of the first half of the column, I'm not actually burned out on techno; 2008 has provided a bounty of fantastic releases, and spending three months in Portland gave me the opportunity to dig through my old records, which turned out to be an exceptionally invigorating experience. One of my personal manifesto points is to play more "old" records, something that's been hard to do over the last couple of years, given the geographical constraints of living in Europe but having the bulk of one's records in a basement in the US.

* I haven't been clubbing much this year, aside from MUTEK, which might have something to do with my reflective phase; then again, my experiences clubbing in Berlin in February had a lot to do with what I see as the problems with "the scene" right now. I don't mean for these to be empty complaints, but rather starting points for a discussion (an ongoing discussion, really, so I guess I'm not starting anything) about the quality of club life and what everyone -- artists, clubbers, promoters -- might do to make it better.

I'm happy to see that the column has sparked conversations in a number of places. You can read responses, and chime in on comments sections, in the following places:

* BURNLAB Lab Report

* mnml.nl forum

* Ronan Fitzgerald's blog

* Resident Advisor

Please feel to leave comments here, and if you have your own manifesto points, I'd love to hear them.