McCaffery: Prompt 1

The "readerly dilemma" presented by Carnival, the first panel is not a new one. The idea that art is at its most pure when transient or on the brink of destruction has been explored by several artists in the past as well as artists working currently today.

1. French theorist and writer Guy Debord explored this idea with the publication of his first book, Memoires, which was bound in sandpaper so that every time the reader wished to view the book, the mere act of pulling it off the bookshelf would destroy the books that surrounded it. to avoid this act, one had to dedicate separate shelf space to the book. Debord's work often concerned the idea of 'the spectacle' and the resulting social alienation that derived from a media-controlled and saturated way of modern life.

2. British band the The Durutti Column released an LP that was bound in sandpaper, which was an obvious homage to Debord, but the execution of which involved a neat twist: rather than use sandpaper for the outside of the album cover, as Debord had with his book, The Durutti Column used sandpaper for the inside of the LP case, which meant that every time a fan would go to listen to the album, the very act of removing it from its sleeve would cause damage to the vinyl, gradually reducing the sound of the music to a series of pops and fuzz. This begs the interesting question as to whether the band did this to force an alteration to the sound of the record with each listen or to simply destroy the music so that each listening session would gain meaning.

3. Currently operating punk/cabaret sideshow band The World/Inferno Friendship Society bases much of their lyrical content on the idea that the best music is live, that recorded music reduces spontaneity and that "nothing bought or sold is good for posterity". A song on their most recent album, Addicted to Bad Ideas, contains the following lyrics

"Every commercial makes us die, a little bit
Every pop star makes us doubt, a little bit
Every new car makes us choke
On how little air we get and how we get it

The celebrity makes us filthy, a little bit
Every single ad makes us gag, a little bit
Every photograph makes us age
Each sound bite deafens, each sales event condemns

Because every new car you buy
It makes the poor baby Jesus cry
Nothing bought or sold is good for him
For you, for me, not good for anybody"