Menu
ELECTRONIC COTTAGE
  • HOME
  • REVIEWS
  • ARTICLES
  • COMMENTS
  • HOME
  • REVIEWS
  • ARTICLES
  • COMMENTS

Thoughts based on Wolfgang Dorninger's Cassette Culture lecture

8/10/2018

16 Comments

 
I watched the video of Wolfgang Dorninger's lecture on the cassette culture, which was part of the Cassette Culture Node Linz exhibition in June/July 2018. It is in German language, so I guess many of you can't enjoy it. This is a real shame because it is an extremely well researched, analysed and presented look at this era of Earth's culture.
Editor's Note: Some people viewing this page on smartphones might not be able to see the embedded video player above. Click on the video of Wolfgang's lecture link above. Even if you cannot understand the German language you should watch the video any way because it contains many great images from the Cassette Culture Node Linz exhibit.
Picture
I was part of this era but now hearing the facts being presented in such a well structured way definitely brought some new insight.

Some main basics changed completely since then and thus everything changed. A main statement in Wolfgang's lecture is:" If absolutely everything becomes easy, there is no more output of value." 

More or less everything in the underground of those decades was created from scratch - own basic ideas were inalienable if you wanted to create, record, paint, write etc. Today everything starts with a program that already defines many basics. The worst are *apps*, where people no longer know/understand what they are doing, what is going on, the app does it all for you. Those apps define your life.   

"Yeah but.." Yes there is sure always a *but* - I just want to talk about a reality we're living in. When I started using the internet almost every website of artists I visited was a unique creation - often a unity with the released material, whether Pop CD or harsh undergound tape.. Today all websites look alike. And you basically don't exist if you're not on Facebook/Twitter. What a loss of creation.

Which leads to the aspect of communication. Wolfgang has a very detailed part in his lecture explaining how communication did work in those days. What it did to oneself, to the process of working, developing, thinking(!) etc. He talked about 3 paged letters with detailed reviews and opinions, about the continuous flow of thinking, writing, sending tapes. (I heard the same from Darrell Draeger of Hermanos Guzanos, who came from a completely different part of the cassette culture, he talks of 4 paged handwritten letters with teeny tiny writing.) A worldwide tight network of deep thought and exchange. Today all this is more or less down to a *click* and a *I like*. What a loss of thought and inspiration.

Almost every release I remember from those days had a unique approach, in sound and production. whether guitarband or soundscape musician - almost every participant was individual! That was based on A) the simple fact that the recording means needed to be approached in a clever way to get your own 100% out of them (how to avoid hiss, how to boost 4 tracks to 12, etc) - and B) the idea of being *different* was part of the attitude. "I don't want to be like *Joe Walsh* I know there is a different way to play this kind of music - I am not one of them."

Today if one has a laptop, a simple studio program and several samples, one can *create* something that sounds like a *big* studio production. And too many want to sound like *Joe Walsh* today - so I get *Joe Walsh* clones 'till it hurts for airplay - all with super shiny newletters and guest musicians that already played with this or that *star*. Too many act like being part of a major music scene - in fact many aspects that made me flee the *music scene* in the 1980s are now a part of the *indie underground*.

I would like to put some real emphasis upon the fact, that in the past I always had the impression that there really was a will to "do something, go somewhere, change something, be part of a cultural revolution". I guess this was part of the culture in those days.

If you created some very harsh shocking noise in these years and made some unconventional statements that was enough to be really *different* and push culture! ... today? 

Today I have to admit I often get the impression everybody is sitting comfortably and playing the music / making the sound they like ... and that's it - a nice little world where all is fine - I'll post it and then collect likes.. Combined with the narcissism that became part of today's culture this is often pretty unpleasant .. to say the least.

I heard an interview with a long working Berlin photographer who said when being asked about differences between now and then that today everybody walks about as if being photographed / filmed all the time .. *noone* acts natural anymore - everybody is a little *star*. Well - selfies and smart phone movies created a new breed of clone.

What did *Social Media* do to in-depth culture pushing communication? What is behind the *I like*? Why do you like? what exactly do you like? How do you like? Can you still go deeper? If so, why don't you do so? Do you still have more words? If so, why don't you use them?
  
This way of communication is paralysing and dulling  .. and yes .. all this came to my mind listening to Wolfgang Dorninger's lecture about a time and a scene that was really different... I was there and it all came back with a BANG.

I think that we as artists need to look for *different* ways.
Picture
16 Comments
Chris Phinney
8/10/2018 07:37:13

Yes I agree what do you like or not like, if I had to hear a buncha Joe Walsh, oh my I most likely would go batshit crazy.

Reply
Rafael González
8/11/2018 15:26:55

I'm starting to hate the internet (I'm kidding). That time was wonderful, really ... Do you think it could happen again? I mean using the current technology to which we all have access. Or is it unrepeatable?

Reply
Chris Phinnney
8/11/2018 20:38:12

While I used to love the internet when it was first introduced it was the wild wild west so to speak & further on,I merely like it now because its become the way of communication,I stayed away from the internet entirely for 5 yrs, I exiled myself from it. So we know I dont partake in social media its data mining in my opinion, like button said enough. To me today the internet has its good points but one must wade thru a cesspool of garbage,in order to find something you want to read or look at, or listen to or participate in. I was on every mp3 site I could get on in beginning, Even in Israel which was in hebrew in which I knew enough to upload my mp3s there as well. I had my own domain Harsh Reality Music it was fun, I helped run the Domain for Tapegerm for 10 plus years actually we started it Bryan Baker,Scott Carr,J.Mundok my self we leased our own server as not to be on a shared one but a dedicateed one we had 3 tiers free up to 10 songs, gold which got you a lot of space for your music, for a price of course & full member which got you unlimited for a price, We had guest artists whose loops were used in compositions,some of them here at EC the guest artists.We had rules one had to go by othersise your track would not appear. You can check out archive. org & find many of the cds that were produced.We sold web space, all to pay for the server, Scott was in charge of technical support maintaining the server, Mundock bailed out early, Bryan & I did the coding, we started out with html but ended up using php coding. I got burnt out & quit due to personal garbage, Scott quit right after me for same reasons more burn out than anything plus health issues. I must admit it was all fun while it lasted. I deleted everything I had on net to listen to that I was in control of, When I isolated myself from the net. Anyways Tapegerm is still around but its not the same & I dont think it ever will be. Bryan changed it all graphic wise, he still runs it but its participation level is not near what it was & I dont think it ever will be.This bit of the past could go on & on but to answer your question Rafael I personally dont think it could happen again, I think its unrepeatable, when Joe sixpack could get on the net because windows did it for him instead of having to know what the hell you were doing the net got flooded & smart phones have made it even worse. Just my opinions & observations. Most of the music I listen to today comes straight thru EC so I dont have to wade thru the cesspool anymore lol I thank Hal for getting me back into it all as he did before EC.Hal & I have recorded so many albums of music I cant remember the actual number without going & looking & counting & to lazy right now to do that.:)

Reply
Rafael González
8/12/2018 04:06:38

Thank you very much Chris. Your answer is very illustrative. If those first years of internet are unrepeatable ... what about the 80's and 90's with their cassettes?

Reply
Chris Phinney
8/12/2018 12:46:24

Rafael The 80's & 90's with their cassettes are repeatable to an extent yes more cdrs today though it seems. The difference being in the cassettes not usually the personal level they once had letters some still do. usually cassettes or cdrs followed by electronic communication thru email. Again just my humble opinion so I say maybe sorta but different.

Rafael González
8/12/2018 16:33:51

Thanks for your answer, Chris. I know there has been a resurgence of the cassette, but in my modest opinion, it is not similar to what happened in the 80's, as is logical. As you said: different.

Lord Litter link
8/12/2018 08:11:00

.. I'm too busy today to write a detailed reply .. but ... thank you very much for this! .. I did'nt know..

"Just my opinions & observations." No - what you described actually happened all over and I think we can *gain it back* by building *alternative* structures like EC (!!!) and I repeat AGAIN > by LEAVING the slave structures like *Social Media* ..

The internet is just a *road* .. you can drive it your very own way ... !

..since the very firt days of the internet I tried to use it my way and not become a *value* .. thus NEVER entered the *Social Media* level.... !..

I was always looking for an alternative .. There are even alternatives for Google which *noone* knows about because *searching the internet* became *to google* .. means becomming a value ... and so on and so on ... THINK damn it! .. *to google* does NOT mean *searching the internet* it means *using Google* ...

alternative searchmachine:
http://www.startpage.com

.. sorry I tried to be short ..........

Reply
Rafael González
8/12/2018 16:44:47

I agree in many aspects

Chris Phinney
8/12/2018 13:19:30

Welcome LL glad you liked, I agree it all can be be gained back to some extent especially thru alternatives like EC. Used to be a cassette culture forum by Kevin Thorne ( We Be Echo) in which we talked about some of the same things. Did a few projects Don Campau produced Cassette Culture compilation #1 of older stuff from the 80's if memory serves correct, I produced Cassette culture compilation #2 of what was happening now late 90's early 2000's Was fun & if not having fun then whats the point right :)

Reply
Rafael González
8/12/2018 16:42:17

The alternatives are always good to move forward, be free and have fun, that's true

Reply
Evan Cantor
8/14/2018 20:05:21

The idea of "re-creating" the 80s cassette culture is very interesting, for any number of reasons, but I wonder if it really is possible. That time, like so many others, was unique. The launching pad for so much of what we did in the 80s was the 60s/70s--when the top-40 was incredibly diverse and the search for new sounds in pop music was moving at high speed. By the time the 80s came around, many of us had become sickened by the manufactured quality of mainstream music and the whole perverse business of mainstream music. We rebelled, made our own music, and, voila, the 80s cassette culture emerged. What will emerge in the 20-tens or 20-20s? Perhaps we are all as sick of the social media mainstream as we were of the mainstream music business back then. Perhaps a rebellious underground could once again emerge. The big "but" in the room (not me, I'm a skinny freak) is that social media will no doubt be the arena in which such revolution occurs. But Lord Litter turns that around on us by saying we ride the information highway any way we like. Exactly!

Reply
Lord Litter link
8/15/2018 06:35:19

Yes I like these thoughts very much!

"...social media will no doubt be the arena in which such revolution occurs"

Could lead to a debate - a *revolution* needs *words(definitions)* ..there are no words in *Social Media* .. but like I said .. could lead to a debate... a revolution based upon icons? .. well who knows..

The main statement here:"Perhaps we are all as sick of the social media mainstream as we were of the mainstream music business back then"...

I see these signs all over, not only here on EC .. keep going you are on the right track..after years of complacent manufacture underground artists need to point out again!

Wolfgang Dorninger link
8/21/2018 06:58:25

Sorry for getting so late into this great threat but after the Cassette Culture Node.Linz exhibition I needed a break, some time for sailing, riding my bicycle and family live.

Thanks a lot my LORD for your great input and the start of this discussion.

As a early user of the net before www and all the social media craze and way before the app-time the internet was a real utopian space for many years. most of it was text with little graphical interventions. and even My Space was great for a while. a real digital village I liked to live in. but after the succes of My Space the decline started to become fast and big. because everything started to become easy. and when things become easy we have nothing to invest. no time, no ideas, nothing to learn, nothing. and the internet started to act as me. an algorithm wants now to be the better me.

back to the times of cassette culture there was no button to send out 1000 promolinks within a second all around the globe. now we make it but nothing happens. no feedback. why? because it is too easy to send and receive. we get too much, unasked, in an unpolite way, not well adressed, ......

in the 80ies I had to do a lot of research first. it was too expensive and time consuming to mail out just by accident. I worked hard to find those I wanted to find and it needed so much time to keep the flow alive. and the good thing is, nothing got wasted. I very seldom found tapes in my mail which sounded like: why did you find the way to me?

during the research for the Cassette Culture Node.Linz exhibition I found so many letters in boxes (closed for decades) which made me so glad and proud that I nearly had to cry sometimes. not because of the emotions, but because I have been part of this wonderful way of artistic exchange. now I feel rich!

Nice that Hat opened this launch called Electronic Cottage, so that we can maintain a high quality exchange.

Thanks Hal!

Wolfgang





Reply
Lord Litter link
8/21/2018 09:48:15

"..the internet was a real utopian space for many years."

Yes I remember these times well. There was also a rule that certain things simply would be impossible with the internet. One aspect was it would be impossible to destroy the entire internet because the basic of the internet was a decentralised idea. This was based upon the internet being a non destructible military device. If you destoyed one node there would be always several others to take over to spread the information.

Well look at it today - 3-5 names, companies rule the whole net (thus the whole world) They did'nt destroy it - they took over - and too many obey to their rules.

A solution? Basically very easy - look for byroads and private grounds .. like Electronic Cottage - I'm sorry I have to repeat - too many swimm in the mainstream - something we wanted to avoid long ago ...

Reply
Hal McGee, EC Editor
8/21/2018 12:00:50

I have tried to make Electronic Cottage look very simple. No fancy flashing images or special effects. Just simple texts and images. This places the emphasis on the people who are members of the EC Community. I believe that the ideas and images created by the members are interesting enough without *showbiz*. No mind control! This hearkens back to an earlier more utopian time of the Internet!

Lord Litter link
8/22/2018 07:46:38

"No fancy flashing images or special effects"

Yes that is another aspect - once one had to care for every kb to put on the internet. Grafix needed to be *internet compatible*, the files needed to be as "small as possible" - that was the rule.

The net was slow and expencive - every kb was really worth it.

Today size really does no longer matter. So a gigantic amount of trash is put on the internet. The basic idea once was text, pictures, then came sound then moving pictures - all with a reason and a idea why.

The internet was a information/communication medium - I see much more of this idea here on EC then elsewhere on the net.

In general I come back to what I heard in Wolfgang's lecture:"If absolutely everything becomes easy, there is no more output of value."

If you can put absolutely everything on the internet you no longer choose what is important ..all becomes kinda meaningless.

So a "No fancy flashing images or special effects. Just simple texts and images" website is just perfect these days to come back to the basics we need to go into another direction!




Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Lord Litter

    renegade of culture
    since 1986

    musician
    DJ
    writer

    all other info
    ​please see
    ​The 2018
    ​Lord Litter introduction


    email
    website

    download radioshows
    ​and LL releases
    at the
    ​Internet Archive

    Archives

    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018

    RSS Feed