I love electronic music. I remember the first techno CD I bought at the tender age of 14 — Messiah’s “21st Century Jesus” — and I would listen to it on repeat constantly. Well, that and Sarah McLachlan’s “Fumbling Toward Ecstasy” — and yes, I realize that’s a very strange combination, but, hey, I was a strange kid.
I feel that I must constantly defend my love of techno. People just don’t understand its musical contribution or how anyone can listen to such repetitive beats. No matter what I say, I can’t convince the vast majority of my friends to give techno a chance. So when I saw this xkcd.com comic strip this week, I had a good laugh, as it quite accurately summarizes the problem I encounter when talking to a friend about techno.
jessica vitak, phd 
I understand the appeal of techno in the passive sense of listening, but have a hard time “actively” listening to it. Is it the same case for you, that it just makes for good background, or is it something you actively engage into?
@nick Techno is certainly an engaging form of music for me. I spent many a year in my late teens and early twenties as a “raver,” meaning that I went to a lot of raves and spent 10+ hours dancing to the music. To this day, the music carries a very deep meaning to me, much beyond the rhythm and the beat. All you have to do is watch me in the computer lab to see that I am actively engaged in the music.
Hey vitak,
I understand this problem very well, and I can identify myself with you. Most of my friends laugh at me when I tell them I listen to techno, but personally I could never listen to rock, hiphop or pop. I have learned not to argue with them, this leads to nothing. But in my mind I actually feel slightly superior in my musical taste. I know that my love for techno is not because of the fancy videoclips and hot popstars you see on MTV. Techno is not about image, it is about the music =).
Techno music is indeed repetitive, but for me that does not equal boring. I think you need to learn to listen to techno, and absorb the repetitive beats you’re hearing in your mind, and discover the emotion and underlying sounds that techno has.
If one listens to techno with the prejudice that it is repetitive , this prejudice will constantly be confirmed. Only when you can turn this prejudice off, you will hear the beauty and learn the true power of techno.
Also, there is a wide variety of techno. There is indeed techno that doesn’t have much to it, and should only be used as background music. However, artist like James Holden and Oliver Huntemann are definitely true music, and are in no way inferior to other styles of music.
And vitak, I am a raver too =) not so long yet, I’m only 17. I started listening to techno at 15 and went to my first rave at 16. And there is just something about raving that some people will never understand. Just like techno music.