Media Archaeology This Week (Tonight: Negativland!)

Just a quick note on this one, I’m afraid, since I’m still swamped as hell at work & barely have time to type things that aren’t instructions for IT security-type people…argh. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to post a little something, seeing as I’m stunned I hadn’t heard more about this before now.

It seems that the excellently cool Media Archaeology: Live and Televised art event/festival/whatever has rolled into town right under my very nose & has set up shop over at the Aurora Picture Show, among other locations. You can check the full schedule here, and I’ll try to post again w/more on the festivities, but in the interests of just-in-timeliness, you might want to know that Negativland will be performing tonight (April 17th) at Rice University’s Herring Hall.

I can’t claim to be a huge fan of Negativland’s work itself, mind you, but I do respect the heck out of ’em for taking on beloved pop-cultural/branding icons like, um, say, that big-ass band whose name rhymes with equally beloved chocolate drink Yoo-hoo. They were among the first artists to seriously take on the shadowy realm of copyrights and fair use, and anybody who samples, mashes, or whatever the fuck else owes them a huge debt. Without these guys, I doubt there’d be a DFA, an M.I.A., or a, uh, Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. (Well, probably not, anyway.)

Anyway. It’s tonight, starting at 8PM sharp, which ain’t that far off, so get the wheels in motion, yo. Tickets are $8 in advance or $10/$12 at the door, depending who you ask…