So I was clicking through my Facebook profile last night and I saw a few photos that I had accidentally set to ‘public’. I panicked and quickly set them to ‘friends only’. That’s a bit strange isn’t it? I don’t like the thought of people from the past clicking on my profile and seeing anything of my present. And yet…. I’m happy to pour out endless nonsense to the world on this website. – so I asked myself, “Why is that?”.
A more pertinent question is probably “What is the value of privacy in the ‘social-media-age’?”. We all have friends who say “I don’t have a Facebook page and I never will”. We all know people who have a real aversion to all things ‘public’ about the internet. And yet, one by one, we are all being caught by the creep of the Blob-like privacy invasion(/Steve McQueen-less). Our phones now have apps that are sneakily sending and receiving info about us behind our backs. Before you know it your phone will start judging your behaviour. People with iPhones already have that ‘assistant’ guy who schedules appointments for them and tells them the time in Beijing (I know, I’ve seen the adverts). Soon that assistant will be giving you a right kicking for drinking too much coffee and watching too many YouTube clips when you’re supposed to be cleaning the house. Invasion of privacy is pervading all of society now… even the naysayers who claim they don’t know what Twitter is. (I’m on Twitter… but I don’t really #understand it @like I probably should).
You either fight the creeping blob, switch your phone off and spend every night at the pub… or you learn to embrace it. I’ve opted for the embracing, although I do quite fancy the drinking.
With my previous musical exploits I tended to be quite secretive. I didn’t really want people to know too much about me. I certainly didn’t want them to know how I created the songs. Being in a band was like being in the bestest, most funnest club ever. Outsiders were scorned… unless they were fans. Then when I no longer had a band I wanted to be the mad scientist, locked in the lab, creating sound from bubbling test tubes of self-indulgence. But the problem then was… if I’m not giving anything up… why do I think anyone will care?
And now we are here. Confession of the Whole School. The band name itself suggests a major revelation. I created this site to spill the beans on what it takes to create great music. We are talking self-sacrifice, extremely good looks, a level head, extremely good looks and, most of all, the ability to open one’s soul to the world. This is the difficult bit – because it clashes with my fundamental desire to skulk in the shadows – to be an enigma. But this is more fun. Being open is fun. I love watching documentaries about the making of art. I love eavesdropping on snippets of the Beatles in the studio. I watch endless YouTube clips on ‘behind the scenes’ music-related bollocks. It’s all good. I’ve entered into the spirit of it, and I have made myself available to the world. This website is my voice piece… my megaphone. And where my band was my club and any fans were just a bonus… now this website is my club and any ‘fans’ are members of the club too. It’s like a bigger club. Whereas before I was playing venues with an audience of one man and his dog… today I can probably afford to hire a decent sized tent. As my web-based-fan-base grows I’ll up-size. Next stop… a decent static caravan. The world is my oyster.
Hmmmm… Now, just gotta change my Facebook profile picture to an old cartoon show or something just so that anyone who searches for me by name can’t see my face! Imagine that!!! Arrrghhhh!!! The horror.
confessionofthewholeschool.com 