Modern Life is Rubbish - discuss (not the album)

[pianoforte]

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... en-laverne

this is an amazing article. thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[Negamuse]

Great article and I can relate. Ive not got kids myself but Ive seen it in my nieces and nephews how they react if not constantly entertained. We used to get bored... and then we made up fun stuff to do. Might seek out the book shes reading it sounds interesting

[Mexicola]

Great article and I can relate. Ive not got kids myself but Ive seen it in my nieces and nephews how they react if not constantly entertained. We used to get bored... and then we made up fun stuff to do. Might seek out the book shes reading it sounds interesting

Yeah, I'm adding it to my wishlist for sure.

[fujee]

Yup, put it on my wishlist too.. looks very interesting.

Being born 1990 I can't relate in any strict sense of a time before super connectivity and on demand entertainment, but as a household, my family home didn't have an internet connection or satellite TV til I was around 14.. so in some sense I can remember what it feels like. As a kid all I used to do from the age I was allowed to go out was play football, tag or whatever all day everyday.. with kids I only knew because they lived nearby and I do feel in that way I am one of the last generations to experience that. Dial up internet was still incapable of delivering anything beyond text and images, and I never had a phone or tablet (if they even existed at that point). I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere down the line, it will be responsible for some neural rewiring of our brains, it surely can't be great for communication and social development to have kids behaving so insular.

[turquoise70]

Lotta people sharing a lot of very valid thoughts about the frivolity and toxicity of a techno society.

But I'd like to swing the conversation, once more, back 'round to the point I made in my first post: What about those of us who wouldn't be ourselves, wouldn't be -alive- without modernity? What about those of us for whom these advances, while may be poisoning certain others, are the nutrients and sustenance that keep us alive? I - me, specifically, historically - would be dead without modern society and modern technology. Almost assuredly.

[fujee]

Lotta people sharing a lot of very valid thoughts about the frivolity and toxicity of a techno society.

But I'd like to swing the conversation, once more, back 'round to the point I made in my first post: What about those of us who wouldn't be ourselves, wouldn't be -alive- without modernity? What about those of us for whom these advances, while may be poisoning certain others, are the nutrients and sustenance that keep us alive? I - me, specifically, historically - would be dead without modern society and modern technology. Almost assuredly.

I guess because technological advance has permeated almost every facet of our lives, we tend to focus on a mentality of why its not-as-good-as-it-used-to-be, its a natural human behavior and we see it in every part of society and our thinking. We may appear to yearn for the next thing, but we also long for the past because there is a certain comfort and understanding of what it was and how it constitutes us. But you're right.. there certainly are redeeming features of modernity and not so obvious ones either. Whilst the internet is an insular and seemingly a disconnected social environment, it does bring people together and facilitates a place for people when they need to talk and mull over things with others or find out about anything at all, and that can only be a good thing. I guess there is a facade of superficiality to modernity, but even though it can be hard to see sometimes, basic human emotions do persist as well, they have just become partially displaced to another social arena.

[jcnporter]

I think it's important to distinguish between complaints about modern technology and complaints about how that technology is used/promoted and thus affects our lives. I have a feeling most points being made are the latter. Social media can be extremely positive, this board being a good example, however most social media platforms exist mainly to gather data.

[fujee]

social media platforms exist mainly to gather data.

Good point jcnporter. They also make commodities of our lives and influence our place and actions in the marketplace.

[Mexicola]

Great article from Will Self about the ongoing disconnect between humans. http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31026410

[IanRedpoint]

Great article from Will Self about the ongoing disconnect between humans. http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31026410

Thank you for that. A very illuminating article.

It ties in with the way I've been feeling about touch screens and tablets. There's that new iPad Air advert where everyone is doing something creative through this flat lifeless device. I hate the idea of that. I know a lot of folks love their iPads etc. for making music with but, personally, it feels like such a diminished experience. I feel no physical connection to the iPad as a musical instrument, no sense that what I'm doing is anything more than rearranging zeroes and ones. It feels the same as checking my email, updating my calendar, browsing the web. I like tactile things - guitars, synths etc. I can play them by feel. Listening rather than looking at a screen.

[Cupz]

Even though I'm mostly a DAW kind-of-guy, sitting in front of an enormous machine with connected claviers still has its tactile charm I guess, and I do like the whip-out-of-pocket-and-make-tunes feel of the Korg DS10 on the NDS or even lsdj on the gameboy and having a tiny ass laptop running msdos and soundclub was a complete eye opener for on the road composing. But I agree that a cold sterile mirror with moving pictures on does not sound like it would inspire raw human sound. I bet it makes people want to make clean and sterile music. *puke*

[Mexicola]

Cough cough (Tycho) cough.

Oh hang on, Last time I dissed him I started a flame war didn't I? Err, Moby then. Something beige and souless anyway. You get the idea.

[Cupz]

Didn't I start that flame-war?


*sigh*...Tycho, am I rite guyz?

[Mexicola]

There have been a few involving Tycho. Or as Rikkiebags calls him: Tich-o. True story.

[FortonServices]

That is a great article, cheers.

Oh, Lauren....

Quite. I still have a Kenickie CD single I bought from an actual record shop.

[Negamuse]

Nothing wrong with Tycho, he's a *great* graphic designer. *ducks*

Knobs vs screens is an old debate innit. Musicians have always loved the tactile, hardware manufacturers have always hated the cost and the fragility. But glass touchscreens are a terrible thing, the only good thing going for them is they can put information directly under your fingertips. But the cold unyielding featureless surface is no good at all. Theres a lot of work into haptic surfaces that morph themselves into squishy pushable buttons on screen but its very early days. Seems like a lot of work. Gestural kinect like virtual interfaces? Meh. I mean physical controls work and I reckon 3d printing is gonna make the ones we have infinitely repairable before someone invents anything better.

[untitled]

I am so happy I'm not the only one to hate Tycho. Everybody around me likes him. Thank you.

[Mexicola]

Totally Mexico! Nathan Barley ten years on.

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio ... are_btn_fb

[ShaneAnthony]

There have been a few involving Tycho. Or as Rikkiebags calls him: Tich-o. True story.

I said I wasn't going to post for a while, but I like this thread. Your comment above is too funny Mexi! I can't believe I came strolling in here with that noise haha. This is probably the most valuable lesson I've learned from the board though. The understanding that everyone isn't going to like the same shit, and that's perfectly okay. Hope you are doing good man. S

[Mexicola]

I'm doing ok dude. Rollercoaster y'know? Was only recently I remembered our little spat regarding Tycho. Seems a lifetime ago! No hard feelings I assure you and I genuinely hope you make it back. I enjoy your posts