Cut Up or Shut Up

What?? WXYC has a blog?? Hell yes we do. After ten years of wandering around, trying to figure *what else* we could do on the Internet, we have conceptualized and initiated our prototype of what we're tentatively terming a "web log." We are the very first ones to do something like this anywhere at all, unless I'm mistaken.

OK, so our blog probably won't end up in a Jeopardy question (answer?), but it is guaranteed good eatin'.

Let's kick it off the right way, too. None of this ninnying about, wasting time introducing ourselves and our mission statement. (If that's what you're looking for, I have no choice but to send you here. Sorry.) Let's get down to business instead:

I WANT YOU TO CUT STUFF UP AND SEND IT TO ME.

Before you go hacking away at newspapers, curtains, blocks of cheese, aunty's Burberry coat or whatever else you've got lying around, allow me to be more specific.

I've been a fan of audio collage, cut-ups, mash-ups, plunderphonics, and the oft-related "breakcore" when I started hearing the stuff on WXYC-FM while in high school. Ah, those fond memories of bumping along in my Ford Taurus '88 Station wagon with the speakers at full blast tuned to XYC, who heroically pumped out Evolution Control Committee's then-new "Rocked By Rape" at a mighty 400 watts every few hours. Dan Rather's chopped-up voice spoke to me like a prophet.

Inspired by the genre's irreverence, frequent humor, and, quite honestly, its profound abandonment of ettiquette, I've been going chop-chop-chop ever since. No one and nothing is safe.

Why don't you join me? If you're one of us who likes to chop up audio files or, erm, creatively take music, noises, and other things out of context, send me your stuff (only send .mp3 files less than 2 min. and .wav files less than 10 sec.)and I'll put the cream of the crop and the cream of the crap up here in later posts. Probably on my radio show. MAYBE on the Thursday Night Feature one week this coming winter.

Don't know what I'm talking about? I did this yesterday as an example (not appropriate for work, small children, and operators of heavy machinery). Also, read and you shall learn:

• here
• here!! (The Parker Tapes is required listening.)
• here, too
• also here
• wiki-here
• vicki-here
• yeah, why not here

Valuable introductions to a valuable art form.

The creative restructuring of cultural items, images, and sounds is a longstanding practice (e.g., "Dada" isn't just something you sing in a Volkswagen commercial). Collage, as a medium, has the immense power both to force relationships upon its subjects and to let the viewer/listener/experiencer/audience form his/her/their own. And with great power, comes great irresponsibility. And the potential for monkey noises, distorted beats, presidential speeches, and movie dialogue to show up in the mix.

Together, we can turn this wasteland into a cut-and-pasteland.

Kevin
clarkke@email.unc.edu

P.S. Remember, .mp3 files under 2 mins., .wav files 10 seconds or less., and bad words don't get radio time. Bleep away if you want.