Dear Pauline and list,


A quick reply before you're off for the weekend  :)

I know we have talked about these issues many times before, and I
think that in general we have more or less the same views, just a
different way of dealing with them in practice. I was most of all
reacting to what you wrote in your first email to this list, in which
you elaborated on the difficulties Mute seemed to have with combining
all these different aspects of present day culture and the arts. I get
the feeling you now think I want them out completely, which is not the
case.

Anyway, concerning Adilkno: it is a very old book, the media archive.
1992 in fact. It is hilarious, in some ways. Adilkno was many people,
not just Geert Lovink. I just named Geert Lovink and Arjen Mulder, but
there were at least 5 members, whose names are at the tip of my tongue
but alas.. I only remember Patrice Riemens. The work of Geert Lovink
now is completely different from this writer's collective texts.

Considering the texts of Kodwo Eshun: I am also always listening in
awe when I here him speak (so far two times). He is great with words,
but I can understand Weibel's criticism also. I have not heard Eshun
about DJ-ing yet (maybe should try to read the book again ;)), but was
not impressed on the 'thought level' behind the two lectures I have
seen. (sorry to sound so harsh, it is not meant that way, I just think
his work is a bit overestimated sometimes). Especially when you look
at what he says from a political-critical angle you could have some
doubts too. The last lecture I saw he talked about glitch music, and
basically said the heavy experimental glitch was too harsh and
inhuman, and that people should maybe see the art of more pleasant
sounding glitch dj-s more seriously instead of going nuts on the
abstract glitch. The first one (which I have no doubt decribed to you
before) was the one where he gives a history of the female synthetic
voice (which has become more and more etherial, high and inhuman, but
fails to note/see a cultural meaning of it, even afterwards. Unless
you think that 'democratizing' culture (and especially art) means
simply popularizing it (I am maybe being a bit rough with you again,
but really not implying to be so), I just can't imagine you can't have
any criticism on this way of working at all.


love,




J
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