When we tell the story of modern music culture, we tend to start with the internet. We talk about Napster upending the industry. We discuss how MySpace, SoundCloud and TikTok democratized distribution. We talk of the algorithm as a tastemaker.
And of course, all of that matters, but, if you are trying to understand why music sounds the way it does this very day, and more importantly, why younger audiences respond to intensity, speed and immediacy the way they do, you have to rewind further. You have to go back all the way to the days of the mall, back to the sound of the dance pad.
