Bit Players of Capitalism, Unite!
I sold some records on ebay last week, and when I emailed the lucky winners, I slyly appended a link to the Unfinished Novellas in my email signature. I figured, hell, somebody picking up an LP by Brian Wilson, the Pretty Things, the Melvins, or Squarepusher might be interested in something I have to say. You know me, the gratuitously self-promoting narcissist.
I was right. This morning I received an email from the buyer of my Pretty Things – Real Pretty double LP (which conveniently features the band’s two outstanding, post-garage, psychedelic records, SF Sorrow [otherwise known as the first rock opera, predating Tommy] and Parachute in one package [I only sold it b/c I now have both records in their stand-alone incarnations]), offering up some flattering commentary on my blog, asking how long I’d been into psych music, and exclaiming how, though he’d been into it most of his life, he did not realize just how many bands there really were! (Honestly, not so long ago, neither did I.)
Bada bing, bada boom, in the blink of an eye the Anti-Rove’s friendsta list gets bumped up one. No longer mere partners in commerce and bit players in the game of capitalism, we now have at least a tangentially more meaningful connection.
Now this is what it’s really all about. Whether it’s reconnecting with old friends or meeting complete strangers who happen to share an affection for a particular musical style, record, or anything else, the web is slowly but surely binding us closer together.
Though a bit overwhelming to consider at first, I think that most of us welcome this phenomenon. Of course everyone has a need to disconnect, to get away, to hide out, to make oneself scarce from time to time; that is one dimension of human nature that will surely not change anytime soon. But the idea that one’s circle of friends need no longer be bound by the geographic limitations of, say, a small hometown in bumfuck, or by the affinities of one’s co-workers, is an enticing one indeed.
N/P Nuggets: Luke Vibert’s Selection (curious music for curious people)
I was right. This morning I received an email from the buyer of my Pretty Things – Real Pretty double LP (which conveniently features the band’s two outstanding, post-garage, psychedelic records, SF Sorrow [otherwise known as the first rock opera, predating Tommy] and Parachute in one package [I only sold it b/c I now have both records in their stand-alone incarnations]), offering up some flattering commentary on my blog, asking how long I’d been into psych music, and exclaiming how, though he’d been into it most of his life, he did not realize just how many bands there really were! (Honestly, not so long ago, neither did I.)
Bada bing, bada boom, in the blink of an eye the Anti-Rove’s friendsta list gets bumped up one. No longer mere partners in commerce and bit players in the game of capitalism, we now have at least a tangentially more meaningful connection.
Now this is what it’s really all about. Whether it’s reconnecting with old friends or meeting complete strangers who happen to share an affection for a particular musical style, record, or anything else, the web is slowly but surely binding us closer together.
Though a bit overwhelming to consider at first, I think that most of us welcome this phenomenon. Of course everyone has a need to disconnect, to get away, to hide out, to make oneself scarce from time to time; that is one dimension of human nature that will surely not change anytime soon. But the idea that one’s circle of friends need no longer be bound by the geographic limitations of, say, a small hometown in bumfuck, or by the affinities of one’s co-workers, is an enticing one indeed.
N/P Nuggets: Luke Vibert’s Selection (curious music for curious people)
posted by Jonathan Wright at 10:04 AM EMAIL POST
