Information Society @ MindSay

After watching VH1's Bands Reunited: Information Society, I started to get angry at the host and camera people for disrupting my favorite band's members' lives.  I didn't like the way they sprung on them.  And the more I watched other bands reunited get sprung on and asked (or should I say forced?) to meet past members they may have had a bad falling out with, the more I started to feel guilty for just watching the drama unfold -- it's like as soon as some people get recognized for their talents or genius we all want to get inside them and disrupt their private lives and bother them with all kinds of unappropriate questions.  Once you're famous, it's as if the world assumes it owns you, and to hell with you if you can't handle that kind of attention, right?  Whatever.  All I know is that there are times while I'm watching a documentary or reading a biography where I start to feel, well, for lack of a better word, stupid.  At other times, while putting together a wiki page or other kind of fan page or while participating in discussions about famous people in online forums I start to wonder: "Why am I talking about these people like I know them?" 

 

Of course we're all gonna do it.  It's only natural to feel like they are a real part of our lives even if it's only the music making our heads swim with love.  But I also find it funny that fans talk about their favorite personalities as if these people are living next door.  I still have conversations off line with friends where we address celebrities on a first name basis.  Anyone who overhears our chatting would assume we were talking about people we know intimately, but truth is, we don't!

 

So let me get back to the Information Society reunion...  First off, I've been a fan ever since I first heard "Walking Away" and "What's On Your Mind" in 1988.  The reason why I've been a fan is mainly because I loved the music.  I wasn't into them only because I thought they were better than me or that I worshipped them for their clothes or hairstyles.  In concerts and videos they entertained me with a mix of different musical genres and styles I liked.  Plus the music just fit my own personality well -- a funky blend or industrial potpourii of synth pop and electro hip-hop.  I especially loved the computer samples intertwined with the vocal stylings of Kurt Harland.  An obsession with their personal lives never entered my mind... well, not entirely.  As soon as I saw them in interviews, read magazine articles, and noticed that Amanda and several other members were coming and going...  no matter how lovely the music, there were stories going on behind the scenes and it's only human to get a bit curious as to what is going on.  But would I ever dare to walk up to one of the guys in the band and directly (rudely) ask them about their personal relationships?  No.  I'd leave that up to the  Lifetime TV movie people.  Or wait maybe a few years for people to get nostalgic enough to want to re-examine their life stories in based-on-a-true-story fictional dramatic reconstruction of their time and lives. 

 

But that's just it, fiction is a fine way to celebrate the legend of a band, as long as it is handled well.  Fact is better, but too often the true life stories of famous people are written and unauthorized by those with a chip on their shoulder or a worshipful bias.  With that said, I don't always agree with journalists and authors of sensational, or so-called exclusive biographies.  I don't need someone to form my opinions for me.  I would rather hear the true stories from the artists themselves...  However, it must also be frustrating to have everything you say broadcast to the world as if it's written in stone!  I can see how a mental complex can form when you've got too many people following you and leaning on every word you say.  It must be so frustrating at times, yet I can't experience the weight of that kind of fame, only imagine it.

 

Sometimes we are allowed to see only peeks into the lives of our favorite artists and perhaps that's all we should see.  We should care more about what we think than what someone famous thinks, right?  And yet it's that very thing which can direct our attention to something important.  We do tend to look up to these people like human gods because they are in the spotlight, not us, and being in that light gives them the privledge to speak (or sing) and be heard by millions.  Not everyone who committs to being in a band acquires that heavy dose of fame, but some do and I don't think everyone is equipped to handle that kind of publicity.  At some point, once a band gets enough hit songs under their belt, you have to prepare for the onslaught of prying eyes and ears, in fact that's the whole point of producing popular music.  Again, I can only imagine this and wonder how I've contributed to the illusion fame puts on some of these people.

 

But what makes me feel somehow comforted is seeing my favorite artists being the normal people they are.  I like that kind of disillusionment.  I want to see them being human.

 

And yet there is that little thrill shivering through my belly at the thought of meeting them in person.  No matter how much I remind myself that these people are human and normal, the excitement of meeting someone I admire can still excite a deliciously sweet anxiety I don't mind experiencing.  So, when all is said and done, seeing a favorite artist in a television show is the safest way to experience what it might be like being in the same room with them.  But I still believe we should shut off the cameras and let them decide when they want to be in that spotlight!  Don't you agree? 

Dig my web designs for Mindsay?  Love 80's synth pop revivals?  You better check out the Information Society wiki page and let me introduce you to a band that has been making music for over 20 years.  This year they've got a new album coming out and have added new members to their band.  This gives me something to celebrate!

 

In fact, I've long been a InSoc fan.  Since back in the day.  As far back as 1987 to be exact.  I even once had a big website devoted to them, but shortly after 9/11 the server went bust and I lost ALL of my data.  It totally sucked.  But now I've finally gotten a chance to design a wiki page at Mindsay, so that makes up for all that.  Here's the fan art I did:

The above image was based on a fantasy I had involving the cover of the album "Don't be Afraid" which was subsequently based on the image on the front cover of a black deer by Rachel Girard.  I saw lead singer Kurt Harland as sort of a washed out business man in a white suit with bleached hair emerging from wires and Celtic knotwork.  It's a weird image, I know, so it was never really posted anywhere... until now. 

The Information Society album DON'T BE AFRAID released in 1997 came with a data CD where fans could download the border art and make their own web graphics. The above little image was once much larger and intricate, and I thought it was completely lost, until I found it at Kurt Harland's Information Society historical site.

 

I've since tried NOT to do any more fan art simply because I know that many bands and celebrities have a tendency to get way too much love in the form of fan art from well meaning fans.  But these are just a few memorable ones and I'm glad they've survived.

   

I spent most of last night working on these two brand spankin' new Mindsay wiki pages for your approval:

Information Society
Mystery Science Theater 3000

 

Much of it meant taking several trips down memory lane.  I used to have a fan web site for Information Society but the pages were deleted by my host and I lost the backups, so this is my attempt, since InSoc is coming out with a new album this summer, to relive the joy. 

 

MST3K was one of my favorite TV shows -- used to have groups of friends gather to share collected tapes of the show.  It was a guilty pleasure to make fun of old B-movies without being too geeky.  I did attend MST3K's very first convention "ConventioCon ExpoFest-A-Rama" in 1994, got to meet the cast (with the exception of Joel Hodgson who I actually first met back in 1989 when he put on a magic show at my university -- one of these days I'll pull out the photos), and got to see the Mystery Science Theater 3000 live in Minneapolis before they did This Island Earth for a movie. 

Oh, and guess which MST3K character I'd be:

Somehow this is not a surprising answer.  Okay, go ahead, I know, I know, I'm a geek!  But I love it!

One of my favorite bands, Information Society, uses a lot of audio samples from sci-fi movies and TV shows, those especially from STAR TREK (the original series).
See for yourself....  posted for all my Star Trek fan friends, especially myclette !