Lets see if we can produce some wails and dwarfs in the bellies of
men some time with net.radio.


It is summertime here now all of a sudden, and probably in the rest of
Europe as well. It is quite astonishing, the explosion of flowers and
greens everywhere. Just came back from a trip to the countryside to find
the Berlin Net.radio days Trim Dich action preparations. How appropriate.
Exercizing the mind and body so we can cope with a long hot summer.


I would like to put some thoughts across, just see if you feel like
writing a respons or thinking along.

Net.radio: what about it?   Of course it is a bit of a problem on my side
to deal with theory mostly at the moment. Nevertheless there are things
I notice and think about, working on some basic radiostuff here in
Amsterdam. The first thing maybe is the most urgent. It can be easiest
described as the necessity of a general awareness (in larger underground
or 'alternative' circles) of the need for free media. This may sound
absolutely logical and obvious to you, but unfortunetaly this awareness
does not exist, not on the scale that we need it. I have been quite
surprised myself recently with how people take their freedom(s) for
granted. As I wrote to a friend about this earlier, it seems that people
become blind facing beauty each day. They think it will be there for ever,
and it somehow loses its attraction. Here we are in Amsterdam, having
three radiostations that have lived for over 15 years and have developed
very interesting styles of working, but the support for it in the scenes
these stations were born in is hardly fitting the importance of these
stations. (an exception probably is 'De Vrije Keijzer', the Free Emperor,
which has been very strongly tied to radical political action groups)
People are hardly aware of the riches they have at their disposal,
and they are even less aware what it means if these stations disappear.

All stations are now under threat of being busted because of the
commercialisation of the ether. Former commercial piratestations that
are now trying to get a legal license are amongst the opponents we face.
These stations have been envious of the tolerated space noncommercial
broadcasters have profitted from, but that is another story. What is
my point here is that obviously the importance of having ones own
media, to give a voice to other sides of culture, to help 'counterculture'
grow and develop, needs to be emphasised again and again. (Maybe this
also simply means we need noncommercial media (thinking about these
former commercial pirates again)). With the world turning more and more
around money and even interesting organisations experimenting with
commercial enterprising in many different ways I sometimes start
doubting my own feelings. (sorry, I am drifting a bit) Sometimes I
myself don't even know whether culture is that untangible and unsaleable
something I always thought it to be or whether it is something quite
useful as a doormat or some other very practical purpose.

I am convinced however that the only way art and experiments like the
ones we have encountered here on this mailinglist and other lists is
only possible in a free media (uncorporate, uninstitutionalised)
environment, from which it seeps to more institutionalised worlds
then. Do not get me wrong: I am not against institutions or popculture
(on the contrary  :)), just for a basis of plenty of free, independent,
media. How do we make an awareness of its necesity grow? Net.radio
will definetely suffer from commercialisation and a so-called more
practical and efficient use of the net.

The next thing I notice and which worries me like hell, is the shift
in interest in certain circles from net.art to net.radio. I would be
the last person to deny a relationship or familiarity between the two.
I think net.radio is, in the sense as it is often presented here, an
extension or simply 'different' shape of net.art, partly being its more
'performative' side. The attention given to net.radio in a larger
context though, on festivals and in mailinglists/netzines, seems
comparable to the focus on net.art last year. I am afraid net.radio
is this years hype. Also writers and thinkers of nettime are involved
in its creation. I would not care so much about it, if net.art weren't
dumped so easily. I have heard several people say net.art is over.
What is it these people want, I wonder. At this moment the whole
mechanism that is creating this is not completely clear to me, but
it makes me allert enough to be suspicious of the way net.radio is
dragged into events now.

Something else I stumbled upon is this. Reni Hoffmueller in Graz and
I are preparing a workshop (yes, another one) for new small
radiostations in Austria. This workshop is supposed to give some ideas
to radiopeople on how to work playfully and different with the net as
a tool. While we were discussing this in email we came across the
dillemma of turning good and subtle artpractice into broadcasting
standards. So here we are in the position of Judasses in some way  :)
We think however that it is important to have more interesting public
radio. Is it a 'blasphemy' to let great artists do their trick in front
of representatives of mass media ? (I am very aware of the incredible
seventies taste of this last question. I ask it with great irony, but
still it is something we would like to discuss) What will happen to the
artwork? What do you think of this?


About the Berlin Net.radio Days: The posting last week was, as I
understand, also a proposal for creating a special webcast during
the meeting. Let's work on that. I propose to choose both a good theme
and some different techniques to mix, so not just realaudio
livestreams. Links with etherstations should happen without question.
The theme I would like to be something that is sort of a hot item on
the net these days. Pit Schulz proposed for example commercialisation.
Though at first I thought it was a boring subject, maybe we still can
do something nice with it, like having a big jumble sale where we sell
our products, speaches, sounds... These products should then be about
or consisting of 'fragments of commercialisation', involving god speakers,
interviews, mixes and well,.... I leave the content of these fragments
for you to interpret.




highest regards



J
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