Every Breath You Take

I was just watching an episode from the second series of Love My Way; it’s the one where Tom (Brendan Cowell) has a go at his brother Charlie (Dan Wyllie) for owning a Sting CD. To paraphrase, Tom states the obvious – Sting in the Police equals cool, Sting solo, uh, not so cool. Charlie bites back, arguing that the album in question is Sting’s first outside of the Police. Tom argues that it doesn’t matter; the CD would not have been around at the time, it clearly would have been vinyl. This, he contends, settles the issue, and he threatens to throw the offending piece out the window.

There’s something in this exchange that really emphasises, for me, the dynamic relationship between music and technology. This blog was established for my Technology, Media, and Culture class at university on the basis that it would provide a web log of my thoughts and experiences on an aspect of culture and its connections with technology. That I chose to focus on music looks, in retrospect, to be a bit of a cop-out. As a heavy peruser of blogs, music ones especially, I am aware of what is already out there and, while I have felt an urge to join the Mp3 revolution, for the benefit of my course I have attempted to avoid this line of posting (not to say it won’t happen in the future!). So far as technology goes, I have attempted to showcase the human aspect; in particular, the ways in which advancements frame our listening and consumption habits. How important is it to stay on top of things? At what point does society (or at least e-society) deem something uncool or outdated? Who exactly dictates these trends? When does borrowing become stealing and how does technology facilitate such acts? Questions no-one can answer, true, but they sure make for interesting discussion.

Class is winding up for the year and this is my summarising comment. What’s ‘round the corner? You'll have to wait and see.

Before You Was Famous

Marj Kibby, in her as-yet-unpublished article ‘The practice of music fandom on the internet’ (2006), reasserts the long-held notion that cultural capital is central to music fandom, and examines the ways in which intimacy and authenticity can heighten musical experiences.

She goes on to talk about how new technologies of communication, such as the Internet, have led to disintermediation in that they enable a connection between producer and consumer, musician and fan, without the need for an intermediary. And it’s true. Nowadays many ‘stars’ have blogs or treat their official web site in a less than official manner (check out The Whitlams’ Tim Freedman and his attempt to get back at the Chaser boys). As Art Brut say in 'Formed a Band': ‘It's not irony / And it's not rock and roll / I'm just talking / To the kids’.

It may be stating the obvious but is there any better way to feel a connection to music than to be somehow in direct contact with it? Like talking to your favourite artists or having semi-famous people reply to your blog. I don’t think there is, although sometimes, such as when it comes to friends’ band, it helps to have a little distance.

Funny I should write all this. Yesterday my sister pointed me to the MySpace front page, where it appears my girlfriend has become the face of the Laneway Festival. Now, there’s no way we’re going to miss that!

Big Pay Out!

With tickets to the Big Day Out music festival going on sale in just a few days I’m bracing myself for the inevitable torrent of slang-ridden MySpace bulletins cursing scalpers, and blaming everything from alarms clocks to online queues for denying one’s God-given right to acquiring tickets.

Spare me the sob stories. I’ve seen it all. Well, almost.

You see, in yet another attempt to circumvent scalpers and online reselling, the organisers of the festival have imposed a limit of two tickets per customer for the Sydney leg, held January 25 at Homebush. In the other five cities, punters will be able purchase up to four tickets at a time.

I don’t know just how good an idea this is. While the line-up this year is actually almost worth paying for, and I hate getting ripped off as much as the next person, it is a no-brainer that the festival will sell out and, yes, hearts will be broken, friendships expired etc. What I’m saying is, I much prefer a bit of people power!

An article published in the Sydney Morning Herald, entitled Fans sabotaging scalpers' auctions, claims “music fans, incensed at the apparent inaction by governments, event promoters and eBay in preventing ticket scalping, are taking matters into their own hands.”

Enraged fans, blinded by their own fury, are actively sabotaging auctions by placing fake bids seconds before they close. With very little legislation protecting us genuine fans from these dirty dealers – their actions being the very definition of un-Australian – obviously eBay, the bastion of free trade, is where we should vent our anger!

Seriously, what can be done? They’re talking about sending unique barcodes to buyers’ mobile phones but I’ve seen first-hand the trouble that even Moshtix - a relatively tame form of digital ticketing - can cause.

Is this a case of technology proving just as much a hindrance as a help? I even miss those middle-aged pommy geezers spruiking tickets outside the venue. Oh, the still exist. Somewhere in this digital world…

Money, it's a gas.

Today I felt a little frivolous and treated myself to a SpeckTone Retro iPod Speaker System (see below). Now, apart from its stylish veneer, it also sounds pretty good – but not too good, if you know what I mean. This guy knows ; it isn’t going to replace my conventional stereo anytime soon. It’s a little bit weak, a little too quick to distort.


That said, the Specktone certainly beats the old pair of speakers I’ve used for my computer for years. And in addition to an iPod dock – which charges and plays at the same time – the product also has an auxiliary input so I can plug in my computer.

It’s strange how the mediums in which we listen to music impact on our experiences. In the Apple store I tested the SpeckTone with three different songs – attempting to cover my musical spectrum. These were M.I.A.’s ‘Bamboo Banga’, The Notwist’s ‘One Step Inside Doesn’t Mean You’ll Understand’ and Spoon’s ‘The Ghost of You Lingers’, however, I realised afterwards that I should have tried something heavier as that’s where it struggles a bit. But I’m happy. The friendly storeperson was happy. The best thing was he recognised the music I was playing…and there began the start of a beautiful relationship (one I paid heavily for!). Music, bringing people together.

OK, the real best thing is that now my girl and I can now cook in the kitchen to our favourite tunes. It’s hard getting a good sound through thick brick walls, so that’s where the new purchase comes in. Now we’re cookin’ with gas!