electronic music (thing)

It could be said that electronic music is far enough away from other forms of music that it could be called a different medium altogether. Let's see what Marshall has to say, (btw, this was written in 1964):

(the difference between automation and older industrialization) "is, as compared with the older machines, the difference between an oboe in an orchestra and the same tone on an electronic music instrument. With the electronic music instrument, any tone can be made available in any intensity and for any length of time. Note that the older symphony orchestra was, by comparison, a machine of separate instruments that gave the effect of organic unity. With the electronic instrument, one starts with organic unity as an immediate fact of perfect synchronization. This makes the attempt to create the effect of organic unity quite pointless.
Electronic music must seek other goals."
from Understanding Media.

So true.
Whereas one is confined with other musical instruments to the role of a unit in a mass, and makes a relatively small range of sound, the synthesizer and effects processor open up a massive new range of sound.

So what's the BIG difference between electronic music and other forms of music?

Well, as a medium, electronic music allows the composer a greater creative freedom, having a much fuller range of sound to select from. This permits a much more intuitive method of composition. Electronic music therefore, requires much more listener participation, and has as-yet-mostly-uncharted potential to be more emotive than music has ever been before.

That's why I like it.
and no, I'm not talking about techno.