Jonathan Field - Maker of Random Stuff

New Band!

So things have been enjoyable for the past month — except for the looming sense that this might all come to an end. By “this” I mean my financial independence. The fear that this might come to an end seems to keep me from really digging in to any cool projects. Lame, I know, but there you go.

Despite that, I was pleased to come across this little internet meme today:

1 – Go to “wikipedia.” Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random.
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 – Go to “Random quotations”
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 – Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 – Use photoshop or similar to put it all together.

5 – Post it to FB with this text in the “body” and TAG the friends you want to join in. (you can untag yourself if you don’t want this photo up)

In step 5, replace Facebook (FB) with your favorite social site. I did mine on Facebook, but the fact that non-Facebook people can’t see them has pissed me off and so I am posting it here as well. My results:

I’m pretty pleased with that. Here is the one that got me going, from my friend Dave:

And here is one from my sister:

Apparently this meme has been going on for over a year. Ctegan of livejournal fame made her album cover back in the day, complete with back cover and song titles.

I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised, but I am delighted how such a random process results in such quality output. I guess those seemingly creative real-world debut albums are no more than an infinite-monkey situation. So much for deep creative artistry — the meaning comes from the observer.

That said: I find this mildly inspirational. I have a bit of a desire to actually record a Beefy Meaty Peptides album. There’s something about having an alter ego that makes it easier for me to record. I’ve used this in the past to produce other works.

Well, if I manage to handle my financial issues and continue having time, maybe I’ll give it a shot.

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3 Responses to New Band!

  1. groan

    1956 Detroit Lions?!?!?! What the fuck! -Neil

    • Re: groan

      Haha. That would be a fairly awful band name. But who knows — if you combine it with the quote and the picture, it might still be fun. Or not. Such is the nature of randomness and debut albums.

      Good to hear from you!

  2. Out of the Park

    So the illustrious banaceck, aka The Reverend Brendan Powell Smith has tried his hand at it and come up with this:

    Well there you go. That just about knocks it out of the park. Even when completely limited by strict formula and randomness, his creativity shines through. Bravo.

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