Techno-Phobia/Techno-Philia in Industrial Culture

[Balor/SS1535]

The interesting comment about Burroughs in the otherwise ill-advised AI thread reminded me of one of the rare instances where Reed's history of industrial music was actually insightful rather than proscriptive:

It is through this reality that one can't view Burroughs and industrial music as merely technophobic; instead they have a techno-paranoid streak.  Industrial music's debt to Futurism's uncomplicated machine idolatry precludes a Luddite, antitechnological response to its perception of media totalitarianism---this isn't folk music we're talking about.  So as the music stakes out territory amidst the larger machines it seeks to dismantle and rewire, it's thus appropriately ambivalent.  In perusing even the names of industrial bands, albums, and songs, we can see roughly equal amounts of valorizing and humanizing of technology as well as a reactionary call to destroy it.

Assimilate, p. 40

[NedOik]

I read recently a very good book along these lines: 'Techno-Negative: A Long History of Refusing the Machine' by Thomas Dekeyser. Whilst it does not talk about Burroughs it goes a lot into the early Christian view of the machine as demonic and a challenge to divine creation, something beyond spiritual control. One could ask the question - tho I admit its debatable -  if Burroughs fears are an updated secular version of these much older ones. Re AI you can easily see the inference here.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Techno-paranoid .. or perhaps techno-pessimist or even just techno-realist? One would probably have to consider changing technology.

Oswald Spenglers "Man and Technics: A Contribution to a Philosophy of Life" (German: Der Mensch und die Technik) available also in Finnish from Kiuas Kustantamo catalogue. Very good book on technilogy that I would strongly recommend reading.


Its not long when I mentioned on this forum something about futurism. I fully understand how in largely rural Italy, where nothing happens and everything is slow and quite, it awakes enthusiasm. Finally modern world! Finally speed, power and technology.

All of it is still kind of masculine experience. Its men on motorbikes, clad in leather. Men driving fast cars and trains. Men in war, firing loud guns. Monumental buildings rise, as if they were worship sites of greatness of man. And so on.

You fast forward a bit. Future brings you electronic scooters. Quiet drones. Nerds gaming weapons. Every car looking like gay dildo. every household electronic device suddenly looks like v a l i u m  tablet or something.  Building resemble as if man is placed inside medicine capsule itself.

To be continued

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Or the realistic side of it, acknowledging the consequence, hidden or darker reality that comes in form of waste of resources, needless consumption, flood of utmost trash and poison everywhere. Or that man is not needed. He is more like bystander in speculative system, not protagonist.

Futurist were inhaling scent of smoke in delight, when it was in form of freedom enabling engine that man created and controlled? Plus it actually worked and was needed. Now when men sit in traffic in their bubbles, with no real purpose to even go anywhere, its is vastly different revelation of future.

Industrial music was born into era where industrial society was already crumbling down and moving out. Even different is our time, when big part of all the advancement look, feel and often also function like pacifers. 

I think in case of noise, my own vibe to it is who is making it? I am very critical for anything where stuff just "appears". Do we need more "stuff", do we need more "content" that has no purpose or meaning beyond being mildly entertaining to see it generating itself? And when doing so, out of collective human culture, generating something avarage and standard. Just "more stuff", instead of something of personal significance or monumental quality. There is slight difference in men building pyramids vs. ...filling up the landfill.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Curiously forum giving error when text included word v a l i u m . Hah... dystopic. There should not be restrictions but with that word, forum produces error message.
Like mentioned somewhere before. After some server changes, occasionally your post may get this "error 403" type screen, and there can be some sort of word, very random thing that causes technology malfunction...

[Balor/SS1535]

You fast forward a bit. Future brings you electronic scooters. Quiet drones. Nerds gaming weapons. Every car looking like gay dildo. every household electronic device suddenly looks like v a l i u m  tablet or something.  Building resemble as if man is placed inside medicine capsule itself.

We have R. Murray Schafer to thank for some of that!

While we are suggesting industrial-relevant books on this subject matter, one must also consider Heidegger's essay on technology.  While certainly a "Romantic" in various senses, I think he is extremely prescient in noting how technology possesses a capacity to prefigure/frame experience towards utilitarian thinking.

It has been some years since I last read him, but I recall Günther Anders being extremely interesting in this context as a historical antecedent of some of industrial culture's critical attitudes on technology.

https://marcuse.faculty.history.ucsb.edu/anders.htm

(Funnily enough, my unposted response about Burroughs and technological control also triggered that 403 error.)

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I have to mention, Spenglers concept of "technics" is not mere "technology" in typical sense, but quality in any living thing and how technics manifests itself - in case of man, in struggle against the nature. Every step into more advanced technics lead to becoming prison inside antinatural machine. Plus "machine culture" has changed the core of mans thinking, in ways that almost every level of existence is measured by machine culture. Where everything is measured as resource and energy. 

It is curious that 100 years ago his points much valid at this moment that it would be easy as fuck to draw analogies with things like Spenglers visions, for example culture vs civilization, how it related the "noise" or "industrial". How faustian spirit trapped in its own cages suddenly turns inwards, or reverse, into... occult, spiritual, etc.   And I certainly salute blood-religion, rural noise and such themes that certainly appear as vital forms in bluntly dull and pointless techno-cage-society.

[Flames of Torture]

I teach an adult piano student who takes a good deal of his inspiration from Instagram reels, iPhone applications, and online courses. There is always the allure of trying the "next thing", rather than doing the basics. I spend a lot of time redirecting his energy back to simple exercises that build fluency, remixing elements of songs he enjoys to provide drills.

Surely it would do him some good to use more vital approach of "no tech" practice outside the classroom. Man alone with piano doing rudiments. But the man spends his time however he likes.