An amazing thing happened to me last night as I surfed the inane status updates of Facebook. I noticed a post directing me to The Sun’s website and shortly found it had been “hacked”.
Now for those who don’t know, hacking is when a a skilled computer programmer examines or alters the internal workings of software code. Usually this is to create free or “open source” software which then leads to a greater understanding of the code, allowing the hacker to then create new software. This computer subculture has been around in technological institutions since the early 70’s.
However, it first came to my attention in the early 90’s when the personal computer [PC] became a household item and the Internet really took hold. As people began using the world wide web increasingly to communicate, it created a platform not only for porn and advertisement, but also for peoples’ political views. Some hackers were now able to get their political message across now using a variety of methods, for example: redirecting website URLs to other pages [such as twitter accounts, a method used by hacker group LulzSec who took down The Sun’s website], website defacement, email bombardment and denial of service [shutting a website down]. This form of “hacktivism” though use of the internet is, by all rights, a movement. A revolution.
It is not, nonetheless, the only movement technology and the web have created. Think for a moment about The Zeitgeist Movement and its movies or The Venus Project. All of these factions have been facilitated online.
So if technology has helped so many people openly discuss political change why have we not used it to openly discuss artistic change. Revolution? How about a Renaissance?
The dictionary describes renaissance as “the revival of art and literature” and it is commonly used to describe the intellectual revolution that began in Italy in the 14th century. This movement vastly propelled the human race forward not only in art and literature but also in science, politics, philosophy and religion.
And yet here we are, well into the 21st century and we are listening to the likes of Lady GaGa. This is not a personal attack, I could name a thousand like her. Corporate brands with mindless lyrics, generic melodies, fashion gimmicks and endless success. You may or may not have bought her record but after selling 37 million records worldwide and netting $62 million dollars you can see why the machine puts out this drivel.
So how do you stop the machine? Revolution. Renaissance. You are the people and you have the power. Simply stop buying awful music. Don’t let your children buy it. If it comes on the radio, change station. If its on the station you change to as well [highly likely], switch the radio off. If it is playing in a store you walk into, walk out. If nobody makes any money from it I PROMISE YOU they will stop selling it.
Put on some real music. Thanks to technology and the internet there are now, exponentially, more ways to discover real, talented musicians without even leaving your house. You can get their music online, often for free or significantly cheaper than a Justin Beiber record.
Support your local scene. Support your local renaissance. Support your local revolution.
