Complex and Unreal

I'm going to start a series of entries entitled "Good Words" to showcase words that ought to be used more often. Today's words are recuperation and detournement.

Recently N brought over the Christmas 2007 copy of the magazine Real Simple (subtitled 'life made easier'). When I finally got a moment to look at it I was appalled- what the hell happened to this magazine? This is what America is all about- rampant consumerism, advertising, and deep denial. Ouch. Aside from the matte finish cover Real Simple is no different than an updated Redbook. Advertisements by the Gap, Cadillac, Wal-Mart, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Banana Republic, Eddie Bauer and Target as well as perfume, credit card, cell phone, insurance, computer, automobile, and petroleum companies. By my count, there are over 260 people on staff creating this bloated horror. Two hundred and sixty people to put out a magazine- real simple!

And the staff have names like Ruth Kauders Rothchild, Jackeline Valencia, Ashley Tate, Kristin Appenbrink, and Sharon Tanenbaum. Oh my! Managing editor Kristin van Ogtrop pretty much sums up the spirit of the magazine in her opening “Thoughts”. She lets it be known how great her job is, how difficult it was to choose which products to fit into a 65 page Christmas gift guide, how she likes reading people who “like Real Simple the way it is”, how she wants to make sure that products will be immediately available, and how she is off to do her shopping. Thanks Kristin! Keep it simple!

Real Simple magazine is a parody of simplicity. To the degree that "simplicity" is a radical idea, Real Change has been an agent of recuperation. Some Americans try (rather unsuccessfully I might add) to grapple with the concept of recuperation here. The opposite of recuperation is detournement. Here is a Lord of the Rings video that has been detourned (and parodies "free trade").

Bubbles, Blogs, and Bar Codes

This evening I attended a library science info session for potential grad students at the University of Washington. They allayed some of my fears about computer technology; it also appears that my having a blog is a good indication that I can make it through the program. After I arrived home I pulled up some librarian blogs and found this video about there being a "technology bubble". Now I have no way of knowing if there is a technology bubble or not. But the video mentions how everyone has a blog now and this resonated with something I've been thinking about lately- that everyone is talking and no one is listening.

This thought is not new. I remember Fred Woodworth (author of the long-standing anarchist publication The Match!) voicing this idea years ago(by the way, Fred's self-printed publication deliberately carries no bar code, which makes it very difficult to access. To get a copy write to: Fred Woodworth, c/o The Match, Box 3012, Tucson, Arizona 85702. No price is listed but I would advise sending him at least $7-10) Fred still believes that all technology comes at a price; the more "advanced" a technology is, the greater the price. And I believe that the faster we adopt new technologies, the blinder we become to the overall price tag. One pricetag is the erosion of the immediate (see immediatism).

I'm guessing this is a big reason why I see individuals abandoning their blogs: they've become disenchanted with speaking to no-one. At least with face-to-face communication it's communication, dialogue. I feel I'll be all right with this blog for a while because it's just a take-off on my daily writing anyway (and writing is a lonely endeavor).

I read on one of the librarian blogs that one new trend in libraries is to allow the patrons to add content. I think that is a great concept. But I think we need to reawaken ourselves to living things, first and foremost those living around us. Without inquiring into the "other", we narrow ourselves terribly, blinding ourselves in the process. It's a vicious cycle. Those in any kind of bubble find it hard to perceive the predicament they are in precisely because they are in a bubble. Only by striking out in new directions can we stumble upon the keys to our self-liberation.

I like this little music video because it's ostensibly about a tech bubble but it strikes out into "other" territory.

Where is the Music that will Bowl with my Mind?

You know what I hate most about most modern, American "alternative" music? It's distinct lack of humor. If I state this in public I immediately am reminded of They Might Be Giants or The Fresh Young Fellows. The sad truth is that these bands are not very funny. No, sorry, but TMBGs and TYFFs are what I would call "clever" bands. The music is whimsical, even jovial- but gut busting? No. Which brings me to Mente.

Mente was one of the few Boston bands I ever saw that never failed to make me laugh loudly and often. This despite the fact that they could barely play their instruments(they claimed they were the worst band in Boston if not the world). They regularly asked their audiences to guess whether their songs consisted of one, two, or three chords. They wore wigs, platform shoes, ridiculously bad glam outfits, oily glued-on mustaches and used every annoying rock star move and pose. Both their lyrics and their music were funny but that's not what pushed them over the edge into comedy gold. The real reason was this: like Spinal Tap in the UK, they a) totally believed in themselves, no matter how bad they were, b) pretended to be really stupid, and (most importantly), c) no matter where they were they never broke character.

I think it may be this last element that makes really funny bands so rare. I'm probably wrong about TMBGs or TYFFs. They were in all likelihood, utterly hilarious live. Maybe the appeal of a band like Mente is that they were local, that half of the music was about New England, or that the audiences were small and often knew one another. If that's the case, may the funny bands walk amongst us once again. Why must all the live music be serious or arty? Why must the humorous music be relegated to music videos and compact disc? I don't know- is Tenacious D funny? Gwar? Probably the last funny band I can remember is Killdozer. Are there any funny rock Gods walking among us anymore?

Check out Mente's music here. Recommended songs: Sex Poodle, Lincoln, Bobby Orr ("the greatest hockey player to ever strap on a pair of friggin' ice skates"), Scrod('second only to god'), Look Out World, Hoverin', Big Car, and Endlessly Rocking (containing a Walt Whitman reading/freakout).

The Clamdiggers and The Satanics were two spin-off bands of Mente. Two members of Mente went on to form The Upper Crust.