Tag Archives: culture

The Last Coffee Crisis

Coffee futures continue to rise without an end in sight, meaning we are due for our own coffee crisis (my local coffeeshop has already stopped selling two origins). Not among the many coffee crises of the past about which I did know, I just learned of one in East Germany during the late 1970s. From the decade-old-Wikipedia entry on the history of East Germany:

Due to the strong German tradition of drinking coffee, coffee imports were one of the most important for consumers. A massive rise in coffee prices in 1976/77 led to a quadrupling of the annual costs of importing coffee compared to 1972-75. This caused severe financial problems for the GDR, which perennially lacked hard currency.

As a result, in the summer of 1977 the Politburo withdrew most cheaper brands of coffee from sale, limited use in restaurants, and effectively withdrew its provision in public offices and state enterprises. In addition, an infamous new type of coffee was introduced, Mischkaffee (mixed coffee), which was 51% coffee and 49% a range of filler including chicory, rye, and sugar beet.

Unsurprisingly, the new coffee was generally detested for its awful taste, and the whole episode is informally known as the “coffee crisis”. The crisis passed after 1978 as world coffee prices began to fall again, as well as increased supply through an agreement between the GDR and Vietnam – the latter becoming one of the world’s largest coffee producers in the 1990s. However, the episode vividly illustrated the structural economic and financial problems of the GDR.

You can find more information in footnote 17 on page 15 of Hans-Werner Hess’ Collapse of a Closed Society: The End of East Germany. I have not found more solid sources or information in my quick searches thus far.

The Beeb on DnB

I listened to the most recent episode (20080504) of Radio 1’s Drum & Bass Show with Fabio and was struck by the heft of the self-reflective conversation and the sharpness of Fabio‘s and Pendulum‘s attacks on the dnb community.

Much of the conversation centered around the dnb’s reaction to Pendulum’s upcoming release In Silico, concentrating on fans’ criticisms (for the album being too rock ‘n’ roll). At first, the conversation came off as a little egocentric, but it quickly became apparent Fabio was fitting the discussion within the framework of what is probably the largest debate within electronic music: the state of dnb.

For the most part, I thought it was admirable for Fabio to so seriously question the state of dnb and whether it was “inspiring” or had “energy” anymore. Furthermore, he criticized the dnb community for being too narrow minded and not keen on pushing things forward. While these accusations are commonplace, especially from the dubsteppas, they are not usually heard within the dnb scene. Equally admirable was the semi-conclusion Fabio (and with which Pendulum tagged along) reached, which was that dnb’s health doesn’t really matter so long as there are still tracks that kill it.

Just as surprising, albeit in a negative way, were the sharp barbs Fabio and Pendulum had for dnb fans. The snide remarks included comments about fans inability or unwillingness to pay attention to the sound (and instead just ‘aving it up, thinking all drums/patterns are the same) and fans’ closed mindedness. Yes, I applauded the criticism of narrow mindedness , but narrow mindedness is the conscious rejection of alternatives, perhaps in the context of keeping dnb ‘pure’. Declaring that fans are close minded is not only entirely too simple, especially for someone who has been around as long as Fabio, but condescending. Does Fabio really think fans are unable to differentiate and appreciate the various types of dnb? Surely the exodus from dnb to dubstep demonstrates they care!

The entire conversation was even more condescending by drawing a distinction between DJs and fans. Fabio even claimed fans are unable to tell when there’s been a bad mix. Was he serious? Sure, DJs are more knowledgeable about (and invested in) dnb, but to create an us-versus-them divide is counterproductive and misses a major point: If dnb is not evolving, then it means producers and DJs aren’t pushing the sound in new directions. Blaming the fans is not just an easy way out of the debate, but also demonstrates how out of touch one is from the scene.

My opinion is that dnb has lost the majority of the energy it had “back in the day”. But that–as Pendulum hinted to at one point–it might be me changing and not an issue with the scene. For example, there is plenty of incredible dnb action out there (e.g., the ish on Hospital Records and Vampire Records), although there is an enormous amount of rubbish and pop-icized dnb, too. And when I do tune in, my mind is still blown when I hear tracks like Hazzard‘s Machette or Killers.

De-Geekify Tech and Law

One of the largest problems we face is a lack of organized lobbying on behalf of the everyday tech industry. The amount of ignorance–and not malicious intent–is stunning and contributing to dangerous trends. Here’s a quick round-up of some of the most recent mind-blowing examples of what I mean:

  • The US Air Force issues DMCA take down notices for a promotional video: Um, it’s a promo video guys. And don’t forget the government can’t copyright anything.
  • The FBI has unlimited access to cell phone data: There is an assumption underlying the debate about US wiretapping authority that the US government can either have unfettered access (That’s why the telecoms need immunity!) or none (Those who want to limit government wiretapping abilities are terrorists!). Have that many people forgotten we have process in place that allow the government access when established criteria are met and that both companies and the government should be punished when they do not operate within those processes and meet those criteria?)
  • TSA Specs for a Safe Bag for Bringing Laptops on Planes: Here are some terror-fying Soviet-like design specs for a bag the TSA would approve so you don’t have to drag your laptop out of its case upon search.