In the second part of Wired News' special report on the digital reinvention of music, five essays examine genres that are emerging, expanding or reviving under the influence of technology.
Electronic Music, Meet the Recording Industry
by Janelle Brown
Big labels are determined to take advantage of the vibrant youth culture that's gravitated toward electronic music. But with a format that doesn't fit their expectations, they're just not quite sure how to do it.
Kings of Jungle
by Ian Christe
Jungle music - pulsing, insanely fast, and not afraid to be goofy - is moving fast from a mutant culture to a mainstream phenomenon.
Sonic Worlds for Walkman's Children
by John Alderman
It's no coincidence that the appeal of immersive soundtracks comes at a time of epidemic lust for powerful stereo equipment and a desire for artificial environments.
Recombinant Do-Re-Mi
by Steve Silberman
The hot new genre of "world music" is all about influences, absorption, appropriation, cultural promiscuity, and creative miscegenation. Is this really so new?
Death Metal: Born-Again Heavy Metal
by Ian Christe
Heavy metal has lost its glamour, and its mainstream support. What's left is far more interesting: An extremist successor driven by romantic yearnings and nihilism.
