Comments on: The Dangers of the Internet Echo Chamber http://songbytoad.com/2007/08/the-dangers-of-the-internet-echo-chamber/ Independent music from Edinburgh, Scotland - with added gin and swearing. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:58:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: mjrc http://songbytoad.com/2007/08/the-dangers-of-the-internet-echo-chamber/#comment-1093 mjrc Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:34:29 +0000 http://songbytoad.com/2007/08/26/the-dangers-of-the-internet-echo-chamber/#comment-1093 here's a thought--is there a meaningful difference between the people who blindly accept whatever the music industry decides to spoon-feed them by way of the commercial radio waves--limited playlists, repetition, pr-blasts to promote the bands, etc.--and those of us who actively seek out the kind of music we most enjoy, even if that means we pretty much limit ourselves to what we already know we like? i've thought about this before, not quite at the same level as you, but i have vowed to myself to try to expand my circle of music. i think it's really a matter of balancing being true to yourself and not trying new things "just" because you think you ought to while at the same time doing what you suggest and stepping out of your comfort zone. you never know what you'll find and what will speak to you if you don't try. same goes for the rest of life. i have a friend who says you can learn something from anyone as long as you leave yourself open to the experience. you may not learn a new fact or have your mind changed, but you might learn something about yourself and why you think a certain way, which, as you say, can be just as valuable. actually, i find that as i get older i'm much more inclined to "allow" people to have different beliefs than i did when i was younger. i find i'm much less sure about how the world functions than i used to be. here’s a thought–is there a meaningful difference between the people who blindly accept whatever the music industry decides to spoon-feed them by way of the commercial radio waves–limited playlists, repetition, pr-blasts to promote the bands, etc.–and those of us who actively seek out the kind of music we most enjoy, even if that means we pretty much limit ourselves to what we already know we like?

i’ve thought about this before, not quite at the same level as you, but i have vowed to myself to try to expand my circle of music. i think it’s really a matter of balancing being true to yourself and not trying new things “just” because you think you ought to while at the same time doing what you suggest and stepping out of your comfort zone. you never know what you’ll find and what will speak to you if you don’t try.

same goes for the rest of life. i have a friend who says you can learn something from anyone as long as you leave yourself open to the experience. you may not learn a new fact or have your mind changed, but you might learn something about yourself and why you think a certain way, which, as you say, can be just as valuable.

actually, i find that as i get older i’m much more inclined to “allow” people to have different beliefs than i did when i was younger. i find i’m much less sure about how the world functions than i used to be.

]]> By: Matthew http://songbytoad.com/2007/08/the-dangers-of-the-internet-echo-chamber/#comment-1094 Matthew Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:47:56 +0000 http://songbytoad.com/2007/08/26/the-dangers-of-the-internet-echo-chamber/#comment-1094 Whilst it's true that the record companies do it to us/themselves to a fair degree, we know where the 'other' stuff is if we want to go and look for it. I just find I do this far less than I should. I am not starting on Darwin and God though, because that rant could go on for days before I even paused for breath. Whilst it’s true that the record companies do it to us/themselves to a fair degree, we know where the ‘other’ stuff is if we want to go and look for it. I just find I do this far less than I should.

I am not starting on Darwin and God though, because that rant could go on for days before I even paused for breath.

]]> By: Campfires & Battlefields http://songbytoad.com/2007/08/the-dangers-of-the-internet-echo-chamber/#comment-1095 Campfires & Battlefields Mon, 27 Aug 2007 11:33:26 +0000 http://songbytoad.com/2007/08/26/the-dangers-of-the-internet-echo-chamber/#comment-1095 Remember the lesson of Take That... Well, I suppose you're right, but after all it's a natural enough impulse to want to share some time with like-minded people, particularly when one spends one's workaday life in the presence of silly twats. When it comes to music, I think the artists themselves (or at least the record companies) contribute to the problem in the way they develop and market music. It's all about target demographics and product placement (remember Fergie and her shoes?). When music is consciously being manufactured like a widget to be used as the platform for the launching of some vapid celebrity "image," it inevitably comes to be identified with the cultural vacuum that produced it. Even if the music might have some merit in its own right, listening to it triggers a defensive response because of what it represents. In politics and ethics I absolutely agree with you that contradiction is the stuff of growth. Having said that, Darwinism is anti-god in several very important ways. And very right, too. Remember the lesson of Take That… Well, I suppose you’re right, but after all it’s a natural enough impulse to want to share some time with like-minded people, particularly when one spends one’s workaday life in the presence of silly twats.

When it comes to music, I think the artists themselves (or at least the record companies) contribute to the problem in the way they develop and market music. It’s all about target demographics and product placement (remember Fergie and her shoes?). When music is consciously being manufactured like a widget to be used as the platform for the launching of some vapid celebrity “image,” it inevitably comes to be identified with the cultural vacuum that produced it. Even if the music might have some merit in its own right, listening to it triggers a defensive response because of what it represents.

In politics and ethics I absolutely agree with you that contradiction is the stuff of growth. Having said that, Darwinism is anti-god in several very important ways. And very right, too.

]]> By: Matthew http://songbytoad.com/2007/08/the-dangers-of-the-internet-echo-chamber/#comment-1097 Matthew Mon, 27 Aug 2007 10:44:47 +0000 http://songbytoad.com/2007/08/26/the-dangers-of-the-internet-echo-chamber/#comment-1097 Huzzah! Huzzah!

]]> By: Matthew http://songbytoad.com/2007/08/the-dangers-of-the-internet-echo-chamber/#comment-1096 Matthew Mon, 27 Aug 2007 10:44:38 +0000 http://songbytoad.com/2007/08/26/the-dangers-of-the-internet-echo-chamber/#comment-1096 Working now? Working now?

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