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I Hear the Sound of Music ... but the Keyboard's Different
written by: Henry Chase
date: Summer 1997
source: American Visions Magazine, August/Sept. 1997 issue
[Skip to the part about Rachel]
MUSIC NOTES
Do you know where you were when you first heard "Sexual Healing"?
And does that song, to this day, instantaneously, magically
transport you back through time-back, say, to that first romance, to
a night filled with a sweet tension that seemed to ratchet up
higher and higher, or to the cafe where it all fell apart amid bitterness, recrimination and lacerating
words?
Pity future generations then, for their initial exposure to a song is
likely to take place while sitting in front of a computer screen, fondling a rodent akin to, but less
appealing than, Minnie.
The brave new cyberworld is rapidly shedding the simulacrum
of print, plunging all of us headlong toward a world where machines are like our children: not
only are they inscrutable and recalcitrant; they also talk back to
us! We're not quite there yet, but we are certainly at the point where
we can snatch a song, its singer's World Wide Web page, and a host
of Web pages established by the singer's obsessed fans virtually out
of the ether.
So get used to music via modern, divas on demand, techno
music by techno means, the soul in the machine and rap on line
rather than up against your head. In addition, get used to the prefix
"cyber-." Whether cyberrhythm, cyberblues, cybersoul, cyberrock or
cyberfunk, the Internet lays out a smorgasbord of musical genres-one that will arouse, satiate and
then arouse again any music junkie's jones.
Imagine, R&B fans, downloading and listening to the sultry
sounds of Anita Baker or the soundtrack lyrics to pop diva
Whitney Houston's The Preacher's Wife. Now stop imagining and
hook yourself up. All you need to accomplish these mundane
tasks is a hundred bucks' worth of computer accessories: Speakers,
a sound card and software enable you to download and play audio
files from the Internet. Not only is acquiring the sounds easy--and a
useful way of expanding your musical horizons without the expense
of purchasing a sampler of compact discs (which, of course, you
can also do on line)--it's by far the least interesting aspect of music in cyberspace.
The real edge to cybermusic is the fans' obsessions, which are
now played out in public. Take, for a modest example, Rachel's tattoo: ribbon lettering proclaiming
"Whitney Houston Forever." A "self-admitted Whitney addict,"
Rachel is a computer systems engineering student from Canada and
the demiurge of the Whitney Houston Worship Webpage (http://www.uoguelph.ca/~rdecoste).
Her page abounds with Whitneymania: A picture gallery, facts and statistics, a hagiography,
audio and video, lyrics, a discography and fan club notes all testify to a passionate embrace of a
distant idol, to a frenzy that surpasses understanding.
The page draws, on average, 3,000 hits daily. (Between November 29 and December 1, 1996, as
the movie The Preacher's Wife [starring Houston and Denzel Washington] was released, the Whitney
Houston Worship Webpage reached a milestone: 11,281 hits.)
For die-hard Whitney fans, Rachel's Web site contains software that will change their Windows95
startup and shutdown screens to pictures of the recording artist-actress.
Rachel (with her 11,281 friends) is not alone. The Internet is rife
with fans' tributes to their favorite musical artists, many of which
have a short shelf life. "Mariah Carey is my inspiration," proclaims
Danny van Oosterbosch. "I can't imagine life without her. Her music gives me strength and pleasure
in life. This page is my tribute to her and to her fans." The inspiration may endure, but the page
doesn't: http://www.geocities.com/Broadway has ceased to exist.
A prediction: Before long, we
will be thrust into another cycle
of religious wars--this one in
cyberspace, where the best will be
overwhelmed by the sheer number of clamoring idols and the
worst will be full of passionate intensity for the one true goddess.
Note, for instance, the web site devoted to "Miss Diana Ross"
(http://www.ccn.cs.dal.ca/-ag249/ross.html). Repeat after me the liturgy therein proclaimed: "Diana
Ross is the ultimate superstar. She
has more charisma in her little finger than Whitney has in her entire body." (Know, too, brothers
and sisters, that the sun was in
Aries and the moon in Capricorn
when we first were graced with
the baby Diana's presence on
Earth.)
The nameless and humble worshipper who created the Sade Web
Tribute underscored the distance
separating the devotee from the
idol, implicitly reminding mortals
that we are all unworthy: "It's
called unofficial, because maybe
the lady doesn't know it exists,
and I am just another fan." It's almost certain that the lady doesn't
know that this abode of worship
exists: http://awaland.com/Sade
has disappeared from the Net, another victim of the ephemeral nature of the Web world.
Ritual sacrifices are somewhat
difficult on line, as are votive offerings. In their place, the
goddess's worshippers at this site
got to vote for their favorite Sade
song and album. (If only we could
vote for our favorite commandments: Thou shalt not drive whilst
talking on a cellular phone. Thou
shalt not covet the remote control. Thou shalt return my calls.)
Sade worshippers' voting rights
typify Internet fan sites, where fan
interaction via e-mail and chat
groups is ubiquitous and questions
and comments about content are
encouraged. All of this interaction
testifies to the power of communication -- and to the congregation as the source of authority and witness.
Don't be misled, however: Orthodoxy remains an issue. Although the International Tina Turner Fanclub & Info Center Homepage is equipped with a mailing list "to keep in touch all the Tina Turner fans from around the world." the site pronounces itself the "ONLY sire officially supported by Tina Turner & Roger Davies Worldwide Management."
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