January 2010 – Mythical Type

Music Migration

So, let go, yeah let go
Just get in
Oh, it’s so amazing here
It’s all right
‘Cause there’s beauty in the breakdown

“Let Go” by Frou Frou

If you visit music streaming sites, you may have heard about thesixtyone’s re-design. A few days ago, the designers revamped the whole site without letting users know ahead of time. Thesixtyone is now flashier, features full-screen photos of the artists you’re listening to, and roll-over menus all over the screen. Some sites–a lot, actually–have written praise for the bold move. TechCrunch and the Los Angeles Times have both commented on how much better thesixtyone is now and what a bold choice the designers made. Many long-term users of thesixtyone left comments on those articles detailing what we lost in the re-design, most notably, the community features that made the site so unique in the first place.

Users e-mailed the designers to voice their concerns about the lack of features in the re-design, but the site owners aren’t responding. Meanwhile, browsing new artists and songs on thesixtyone is more difficult. The site feeds you tracks to listen to rather than letting you hunt down your own music, as it was before. The community features that remain are buried behind menus. Artists can’t keep in touch with their audiences and are selling less tracks since the re-design launched. The new sixtyone may be a nice music streaming site to new users, but the creators of the site alienated the people who made thesixtyone so great in the first place.

Out of all of this, something beautiful and incredible is happening. Thesixtyone’s creators took away community features, but they can’t kill the community. Word spread around that people were moving on to another music site called uvumi. Uvumi isn’t exactly like the old version of thesixtyone, but it has a good community and independent artists who truly care about their work. It is a social music site in the sense that artists and listeners have conversations. All users talk to each other and discover music together. That was the spirit of thesixtyone. People aren’t putting up with the overhaul (read: destruction) of thesixtyone, and we’re gathering on uvumi. The site grew by 30% in the past week. We’re inviting artists to create profiles and upload their music on uvumi. The staff have been very welcoming and wonderful in accommodating the rapid increase in site activity.

We’re finding each other and sticking together, maintaining the community and enjoying our music away from thesixtyone.

Clark Kent is not a commentary on the human race

January 21, 2010 / Superheroes / Superman

I haven’t seen Kill Bill, but I came across this quote on tumblr the other day:

A staple of the superhero mythology is, there’s the superhero and there’s the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When that character wakes up in the morning, he’s Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic Superman stands alone. Superman didn’t become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he’s Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red “S”, that’s the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears – the glasses, the business suit – that’s the costume. That’s the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent. He’s weak… he’s unsure of himself… he’s a coward. Clark Kent is Superman’s critique on the whole human race.
— Bill (Kill Bill Vol.2, 2004)

I’ve read this argument elsewhere online and I’ve heard it from a few friends too. I agree with the point that Superman was born Superman and that sets him apart from other superheroes. His alter ego is Clark Kent as opposed to a superhero persona that other characters like Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker had to create.

I don’t agree with the argument, however, that the Clark Kent guise is a critique of the human race. Superman doesn’t dress like Clark Kent because he thinks that’s how the average human being is. Superman dresses like Clark Kent as a disguise. He wants to be under the radar, to be the last person anyone would expect to be Superman so that he can have a life outside of the blue suit and cape. So the glasses, the dorky behavior, the insecurities–that’s all an act to distance himself from the Superman persona. Superman could have chosen to stay on the farm in Smallville. He could have played professional football. He could have been a travel agent. He could have done anything, but he wanted to keep a low profile and stay close to world news. He took a job at the Daily Planet and he pretends to be the most awkward dork in the world. No one thinks he’s anything like Superman because if anyone did, Superman couldn’t attempt to live a normal life in Metropolis.

Bruce Wayne uses a deeper voice when he’s Batman. Peter Parker constantly banters with villains and makes wisecracks as he web-slings around New York City. They put on acts like Superman does, but their situations are polar opposites. Batman and Spider-Man make spectacles of themselves while Clark Kent tries to blend into the background. The Clark Kent guise is Superman’s understanding of the type of people we don’t pay attention to but not a stereotype of humans.