Anyway I was reading RIU last night,
and one of the editorials contained an idea that I thought was pretty
cool, and since no one reads RIU anymore, I thought I'd disseminate
it. The Author Simon Pound (he used to host the quiz nights at
Shadows - my ex has a strange obsession with him, she knows where
he lives... maybe he still hosts the quiz night, I haven't been in
a while) started ‘Song-Club' with a small group of friends. The
first rule of Song-Club is: you don't talk about Song-Club. Every
week you email everyone in your small club a song that's been
turning you on that week; it could be anything. And if you like, you
can make a mix CD for your group every week. It's a snapshot of how
you and your friends are feeling that week, so don't be tempted to
go obscure to show off; but if an obscure track really has been
turning you on that week, then that'll hopefully introduce everyone
to a great new sound - and that's the other thing that Song-Club
is all about.
The second rule of Song-Club is that:
you DO NOT talk about Song-Club. File sharing is still technically
illegal. I've established myself in the minority by saying that I
think that that's the way it should be (‘Why downloading is
killing music: and it's not the reason everyone thinks - by
Michael Atkins' usually causes people to vomit with boredom). But
this gets around all of MY reservations. I think that (Warning: take
a carbon pill) downloading strips music of the emotion and passion in
it, because a lot of that emotion and passion comes from the things
surrounding the music - like album covers, videos, and new music
Tuesday at Slow Boat Records (yeah, I know that last one's already
dead). Pop music can't exist simply for itself, or else it's an
abstraction. But this way, we're encouraged to love the music all
over again. The emotion comes from your mate, packaged with the song!
...And heaven knows, I don't get nearly enough emotion from my
mates.
The third rule of Song-Club is: YOU DO
NOT TALK ABOUT SONG-CLUB. Song-Club is an intimate thing, if too many
people join your Song-Club cell, it can get unmanageable; if there
are too many songs to listen too, you'll lose interest. So keep it
on the down low. If anyone asks, just tell them you've become a
born again Christian and that you're on the computer all the time
because you're ordering a promise ring from eBay, that'll stop
them asking questions. But it'll spread, even if you tell no one;
by being part of it, you'll be helping it spread. While at the same
time being part of its inspired randomness, imagine being sent ‘Love
is a Stranger' by the Eurythmics, and ‘99 Problems' by Jay-Z,
then putting them both on the same CD - I think there'd be a
funny continuity to that.
In the 80s, MTV and the video
revolution pretty much saved music from the downturn caused by home
taping. Can Song-Club turn downloading from the poacher into the
gamekeeper? Probably not, and that is if it is the poacher; I have
been known to be wrong in the past. Besides, I can't say that the
really anti-downloading people are stupidly heavy handed - we've
all heard the urban legends about 12 year-olds going to jail -
Song-Club being a completely moral anarchic grassroots thing would be
a great middle finger to the RIAAs of the world.
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