Negativland

Wednesday, May 17, 2000

The Negativland show I saw with Eric Parent last night was awesome. I think the event could be best described as a media orgy, a loud mating, mulching, and mutilating of all things TV and radio into a shining, cleansing pulp. I told Eric afterwards that I felt like I had just had a psychic bowel movement — that all the media and advertising information in my brain had been purged; I was ready for the media-free life. So we went back to the co-op and downloaded Budweiser advertisements off the web to watch. “Wuzzup?!” Maybe this would go to prove Negativland’s point: Mainstream media has the grip. They have the science that keeps me coming back for more, even when I know it’s bad for me.

So as not to feel like a complete junkie, I faced my television towards the wall. No more of that for a while. I would have thrown it out the window but I thought maybe that would be a bad idea. I might not feel so radical tomorrow… And how would I explain that to the parents? I’d catch shit for years. Better just face it towards the wall.