Hydrgnc

Jul 4

“I want to be part of the resurgence of things that are tangible, beautiful and soulful, rather than just give in to the digital age,” he explains. “But when I talk to people about this they just say, ‘Yeah, I know what you mean,’ and stare at their mobiles. The general vibe I get is: ‘Quit being a drag. We’re progressing here.’” Jack White talks to Will Hodgkinson about his new band, the Dead Weather | Music | The Guardian

Jul 1

“The problem is simple. Marketers don’t understand channels where you have to talk and listen at the same time. Like one of those maddening not-full-duplex speakerphones where you can’t interrupt somebody, this is what drives customers nuts. Think about it. None of those talking channels allows a response. None of those listening channels encourages actual feedback from the company… The people in charge of talking are in the marketing department. The people in charge of listening are in the research or service or sales department. They hardly ever talk to each other, let alone have full-duplex conversations with customers. This won’t fly in social technology because the minute you talk, people expect you to listen. And if you start to listen, you’ll be tempted to talk. It’s a full-duplex channel that befuddles one-way-marketers.” Why marketers have trouble with full-duplex social technology

Jun 29

BBC NEWS | Magazine | Giving up my iPod for a Walkman

Kind of interesting, kind of cute, kind of predictable. For a greater appreciation of historical context and cultural importance, Scott should delve a further 30 years back in time and try a follow-up week of swapping his Walkman for a Dansette turntable and a stack of vinyl LPs. Viewed from that perspective, I suspect he’d find that the apparently significant differences between the Walkman and the iPod amount to little more than incremental tweaking.

(I’m not intending to be witheringly sarcastic here, I’d be genuinely interested to see how his views on the Walkman might change if he actually did this.)

“Rock’s once-frantic pace of development has long since slowed, partly thanks to the second-hand nostalgia that [Lester] Bangs predicted: it’s now an old and self-referential form, seemingly fated to repeat itself. This change, I think, is one expression of the great cultural calming that began with the end of the cold war, when even the more interesting aspects of popular culture began to lose their insurrectionary charge. The days when music could completely embody the sociopolitical currents of its time - when, in essence, rock was popular culture - have gone, perhaps for ever. The breed of neurotic loudmouth that gave us not just Lennon, Bowie, Rotten et al, but the most notable writers at Creem and the NME, seems to be pretty much extinct.” John Harris asks whether the best writing about pop music hails from a different era | Music | The Guardian

Jun 28

“A healthy art arises from life and always returns to it. It may offer paths of escape, but for good purposes — to heighten our appreciation of those moments when ordinary people become extraordinary, confronting states of mind and feeling they might not otherwise have known.” We’ve been framed - Times Online

“The politics of our time are deeply embedded in this idea of individualism,” he continues, “which is far wider than Westminster, consumerism or anything like that. It’s how you feel. People think, ‘Oh, if it’s within me it must be true.’ But it’s not the be-all and end-all. It’s not an absolute. It’s a way of feeling and thinking which is a product of a particular time and power. The notion that you only achieve your true self if your desires, your dreams, are satisfied … It’s a political idea. That’s the central dynamic of our life.” Because you’re worth it? He nods. “Because you’re worth it.” He gestures out of the window, towards the Westfield Centre, Europe’s biggest and most eerily calming shopping mall. “That’s what Westfield is about. What you desire is the most important thing. But a great paradox of our time is that what you desire may not be coming from within you.” Charlie Brooker on Adam Curtis’ new documentary experience, It Felt Like A Kiss | Culture | The Guardian

Jun 27

fuguestate:

herpes structure, embroidered lace mounted on velvet (via Laura Splan | BEAUTIFUL/DECAY MAGAZINE)

Confirming the fact that I’m utterly obsessed with music, the first thing that this picture made me think was “great album cover”.

Lupen Crook and the Murderbirds - LEST WE CONNECT (via tommurderbird)

Another self-produced video (not mine this time), another fine example of what a little technology and a lot of imagination can produce.

Jun 25

Math Forum - Ask Dr. Math

One to the power of infinity equals one. Except when it doesn’t, apparently.

“We do anticipate seeing our friends’ activities, but what we really look forward to is what they think of our activities—we want to be “cyberstalked,” preferably in the form of replies to our self-published content. Nemeth says that “there are times when I update my status to induce a reaction.” Reactions are what drive us to add photos, update our status, and write on our friends’ walls.” Generation Y: We’re just not that into Twitter | Webware - CNET