Marko Koshnik (Ljubljana): MP3 and underground

somebody could spend a life nowadays trying to
connect together the remains of what used to be (or seemed to be) *other/alternative/undergound* monster somehow surviving from late 70's.

to connect near to dead hopes of social engagement trough arts, culture and different types of activism into a vital, self-sustaining body merging with "new media activism" is a hard case as well.

to often activists are lost in several layers offered by new technologies, new network and marketing practices. it will take years of failures to grasp with the basics, which, by my opinion is:

1. it is not only military tech, as well it is based on military (collective, corporate) social forms. it is hard for individual (and the
culture of an individual is the only possible starting point for civil society of any form) to approach this kind of zoombie system without loosing the track.

2. networks, which are technically offered for connections, are all based on synchronisation through consuming, not creating or collaborating. only inovative social use could change that, but would have to be based deeper then rock&roll...

ideologically, we could only continue from where rock in opposition had failed: building systems parallel to the dominant ones. taking over the
communication, production and distribution until gaining the gravity, which would release culture inside culture and staring influence the former.
all the possibilities are here - more accessible and available then they ever were - but where is motivation, where is an ability to develop own
statements, desires, joys, political and social standpoint, and nevertheless, esthetical basis for independent share in-between creative minds?

without creating continuous learning environments, which will structurally fit closer to the culture of individualism then the prevailing education processes, there will be nothing left to fight for. alternative must grow
up, bridge over it's stoned, stylistic image in the mirror, and start working on it's neural, topographical and media infra structure. it is up to old partisans today to learn the language of the youth and transcendent the best experiences.

mp3 agony is just a drop of the flood which is about to come. who can afford to survive by putting every single creation for a free download? and, do alternatives really believe somebody will download their songs? wake up! we
fight for the live culture - we fight for places where people can meet. all the digital tools must be used to move us from computers to body presence,live experience! there is no digital political experience on the offer which
would make it possible to understand the world we live in.

there is no run off anymore. to stay alive and on the ground, we will have
to understand the digital tools better then our enemies.