Past/Present/Future

As we press forward, always on and toward the future, looking to what is ahead and unknown to solve today’s puzzles, we often forget to remember the past and things that were before; things that might not be searchable via Google. I was reminded of this idea twice this week: how the internet has spawned into an ultimate, multi-faceted reference source that has essentially triggered the foreclosure of the print publishing industry.

The first was a post from a blog called Victorian Horror that talks about our new album. The author, Victoria, says: “Aww, the Dears. I stumbled upon them about four years ago when I first moved to Chicago. I was on one of my CD buying sprees where I trusted the blurb at the record store, or just bought it unheard based on the 4-star “Q Magazine” rating on the sticker. Those were the days, when discovering new music came with a risk….the prospect that you may have just laid down $16.00 for a crap album! This was before I had bought my computer of course…a more innocent time!“

And the second: One Man’s Quest to Digitize and Publicize Rare Records, 78 by 78, tells the story of recordings on their way to being “lost” forever: record labels that don’t exist potentially may not care to digitize old masters. Masters that tell of a culture that once existed, proliferated, and dictated in certain ways how we think, interact and appreciate music today.

The past inhibiting the future and the future inhibiting the past. Which do we preserve? Which informs our lives in a more meaningful – though minute – way?

Wikipedia: Success!

Perennially frustrated with The Dears’ wiki, I decided to get serious. I found better photos from a friend who came on tour with us (thank you, Clément). I figured out (kind of) the GFDL. And I even emailed the Overlords of Wiki to make sure the photos were OK to use. And they wrote back only a few hours later, which surprised me most of all. People actually work for Wikipedia…it musn’t be the free-for-all I took it for.

I was inspired by a friend, only know as “Guay to Guay” who was over, stealing our wifi on his iPhone, and started razzing on me because our wiki wasn’t “up to date.” I was like: “I know. I KNOW!” and got frustrated, realising that I could not let the Rules of Wiki defeat me.

I’ve let a few days pass and…yup…everything is still there. I fleshed out the entry a little bit, and added references to make us look real legit. All in all, it felt really good to close out my battle with Wikipedia. I feel like I kept the integrity and original spirit of the entry, and I fully expect it to morph into another beast as time passes.

Maintenance

Lately I’ve been obsessed with how the internet is defining The Dears. I’ve been assessing some of our online profiles: you know, MySpace, Facebook, CBC Radio 3, Wikipedia. I like things to be up to date, correct and complete. I’ve been updating photos and bios, but have hit the following frustrations:

1. Facebook: I absolutely refuse to be on Facebook. I don’t need people to “find me,” or to “find people.” People “find me” all the time without Facebook. So I don’t know a lot about how Facebook works. It seems I am in constant battle with Facebook, but refuse to conform. I recently tried to create an official “business” page for The Dears, but I still can’t really do anything without a personal profile, so I gave up. The Dears have a fan-run Facebook page which is actually pretty complete so perhaps I should let go. Actually, this is me saying that I already have let go.

2. Wikipedia: You really have to be a bit of a smarty pants to make changes on Wikipedia. I’ve been trying to upload some missing album covers for our CDs, and – wow, guy – it’s like trying to get a work visa. So strict and complicated, but I guess that’s the only way they can remain an authority instead of being a free-for-all. Anyhow, we’ll see if I did it right if the album covers are still there in a week. I also found out that I can’t update The Dears’ wiki entry myself, unless I’m adding something of certain, undefined value to the entry. What kind of is frustrating about our current wiki is the strange photo of us playing in Leicster some three years ago. I just don’t feel it’s very representational of who we are today. And then, the fact that the whole entry is so obsessed with other bands instead of biographical info about us. It’s just: Keane, Keane, Keane, Morrissey, Morrissey, Blur, Jethro Tull (?). I mean, Keane are an OK band, but don’t really have much to do with who The Dears are. Why is an opening slot suddenly so much more important than our real accomplishments? Being defined by other bands is pigeonholing and that’s never really worked for The Dears. I spent an hour making edits, adding references and properly notating an “awards and nominations” section which the Overlords of Wiki deleted. I just tried adding it again; if they delete it again then I give up on it completely.

Instead of bitching about it, maybe I should be asking this: Dear readers, could you make our wiki entry more relevant and pretty? If you need to fact check, you can ask me, or don’t, just don’t make anything up. Oddly, I think you will have an easier time editing it than I’ve had.

Finally, back to my topic of maintenance. More locally I’ve removed the Wired RSS because nobody looked at it anyway, and replaced it with a music player. Initially I’ve just put Dears tracks there but I hope to create some playlists of music that I like. I was inspired by reader hack’s suggestion to listen to a particular track. So more updates, always, forthcoming.