In response to Michael's tirade on old Phil Sherburn and minimalism, I too was moved by the Pitchfork article, having spent much time emotionally tormenting myself over nostalgia of the Detroit techno me that once was and the LA me of today. I whole-heartedly agreed with the notion of feeling removed from the 'scene' and therefore losing any sort of connection to the music, to the point of almost questioning my core convictions. How come everyone else seems to be enjoying techno just fine while I am not?

As a sort of penance, I drove immediately to Ameoba Records and purchased my first compact disc in well over a year. It was Fizheuer Zieheuer, the 37 minute Villalobos epic annointed 'Techno Record of the Year' in the article and I proceeded to spend the next half hour driving around downtown Los Angeles (which can feel suprisingly like downtown Detroit) listening to the track. And the verdict? It's fantastic, it's inventive, it's catchy, and it's about 12 minutes too long. I've enjoyed it several more times and am please that's there is still some minimal techno out there that can tickle my fancy.

That said - it's no where near as good as the new LCD Soundsystem album, which leaves me breathless each of the probably 20 times I've listened to it.