So I guess watching The Social Dilemma, in spite of its tacky dramatization and really bad 'fictional' scenes (The Extreme Center!) finally helped me fully transition from "I definitely should do it" to "let's get the fuck out of big tech social media now". This website has lain dormant for far too long and I'm actually *paying* for the damn thing (and I don't mean that in a negative or derogatory way, not paying means you are the one being sold, as we've all learned by now).
So from now on, I've decided to keep my Instagram & Facebook account online only for the Metal Punk Tape Exchange, my eventual self promotion and close friends' interaction. I've had up to here, frankly, with the way my feed was messing up with my head and the documentary really helped me have a clearer view of why it had that effect on me (it's all about Dopamine levels, surpriiiise!) and what needs to be done. So I've deleted most Google apps, Facebook and switched off all notifications on my phone, installed DuckduckGo on all my devices, and decided to move all my written contents here, to this website (which does have a Google tracker on, o the irony, but DuckDuckGo will switch it off for you, presumably).
And while I was busy learning what tools are being used for tearing apart the fabric of society, I started reading a new book by someone very dear to my heart, one of my favourite authors for almost 30 years now, namely Jonathan Coe, which also deals with a somewhat similar theme (Brexit).
Much to my surprise, I didn't know he was using characters from The Rotters' Club and The Closed Circle in that one, which made me want to re-read those in the first place. Coe really has a knack for stating the obvious through subtle human interactions and the little things that speak volumes. Anyway, books! We all need to read more books! Stay away from our phones and get some actual reading done, words on paper and all that.
Also while I'm here, I just wanted to immortalize for *ahem* posterity on this blog's first entry this catch up tape I did for someone who got ripped off during our worst round ever of Metal Punk Tape Exchange, AKA the Phantom Tape Round, when so many people and tapes mysteriously vanished into thin air or on their way to the Post Office.
I wish my printer did better justice to the gorgeous Brantonne art I used for this one. He was one of the regular painters doing stuff for magazines like Fiction or Fleuve Noir books and their famous '"Anticipation" series of sci fi novels.
And in case you were wondering, there really was a book called Métal de Mort in French ("The Catalyst", in English), written by Vargo Statten AKA John Russell Fearn who was probably writing pulp fiction novels in his sleep judging from his massive bibliography! I really had fun with that tracklist by the way, aiming for a total old school Voivod/sci fi tech thrash vibe! Check out Transilience and Terrahsphere if you've never heard those bands before, incredible stuff for sure! I played some songs of theirs in past episodes of Poison Beats, and will also push forward some Krakkbrain (killer defunct French band with great musicians who ended up in Misanthrope if memory serves) and that fantastic Jester Beast demo from Italy in the near future!
And last item for today, before I forget, on the trail of that Jonathan Coe I stumbled upon a british experimental film maker/documentarist whom I'd never heard of before, Patrick Keiller, whose work seems absolutely intriguing to say the least! Woops, just realized "London", the first movie in his Robinson series is being distributed by my old friends at ED Distribution here in France. The world is filled with such beautiful coincidences.
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