We live in primitive times (1)

Posted on Fri 20 Nov 09

Your neighbourhood buddhist will tell you that everything is impermanent and that we are all merely transitioning from one state to another. Everything is transitional; from that quizzical look on your face to the whirlpools of galaxies above our heads, but nothing is more transient than what we laughingly refer to as our technology.

We are still, despite years of rumours about the semantic web, confined by keyword search, dumb databases and piss-poor algorithms that are supposed to help us find what we want but too often deliver endless lists of distractions and irrelevancies. In an attempt to compensate for this pitiful failure, we use data-tags and labels to attach meaning and values to the swirling universe of information that surrounds us. We tag everything we might need to retrieve – it’s our digital filing system for memories and possessions.

Years ago, someone decided that all the world’s recordings could be classified by single word tags which could be used for searching for tracks we either didn’t yet know about or couldn’t locate. It was because of this that the concept of genre moved from the realm of critical analysis to the basis of a world-wide music filing system. But this system, designed to facilitate retrieval and dissemination has become a cruel impediment for non-genre music. If a recording cannot be appropriately labelled the current limitations of our primitive technology can banish it to oblivion.

A label is a limitation. Which one would you attach to Colin’s music? Where should it be filed or classified in order that others who might like it will find it? Where does it fit?

Comments are open – tell us our genre – we dare you.