Luke Woods
Eng 328
Internet chat rooms and message
boards have gained massive popularity in the past five years or so. One can find online communities that discuss
anything and everything: from music groups to gardening to quantum physics. However, any observer of one of these
communities can testify that the subject of conversation often deviates, often
quite dramatically, from the topic that the group is known for.
People who participate in online
discussion arenas do so for a variety of reasons and needs. They may be lonely and too shy to interact
with others face to face. They may be
confined to their home for some reason and a discussion group may be one of
their only outlets for communication.
They may want to use the Internet as a mask so they can pretend to be whomever
they want and say whatever they feel without any real negative
consequences. Or they may just be
hunting down the latest news or rumors on their area of choice.
For the past few weeks, I have been
observing an online newsgroup through the Google search engine called
rec.music.phish. Phish is a four-piece
improvisational rock band from Vermont, who maintained rigorous touring
schedules and obtained a colossal fan base between 1983 and 2000. In 2000, they decided to take a break from
touring with one another and each member pursued his own side projects. In August of 2002, the band announced they
would return from hiatus for a performance on New Year’s Eve in New York,
follow that up with three concerts in Virginia and then begin to tour regularly
once again some time in February 2003.
This came as life changing news for
many Phish fans that used to schedule their lives around tour dates, living on
the road, following the band from city to city. Over the years these fans developed a sort of underground society
with its own language and rules, a cultural microcosm. This identity is somewhat projected onto
rec.music.phish.
One special quality of this culture
is that Phish, along with many other bands in the same genre of music, allows
fans to record their live shows. Fans,
in turn, use their computers to process the audio or data they record and make
copies of it by using a compact disc burner.
Fans then trade these discs or offer up a “b + p.” A “b + p” stands for blanks and
postage. One fan mails blank compact
discs to another, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope so the goods
may be returned. Trading and b + p
offers are prevalent on rec.music.phish.
Applicable thread titles include: “TAB [Trey Anastasio Band] 10-28-02
Trades/B&P” and “It's B&P Day!!!.”
Many Phish fans follow the band as if it is a religious cult because of their unique approach to live performance. The band is known for playing a different song list every night. They often segue from one song into the next while jamming in between. During these jams, Phish sometimes incorporates “teases.” Teases are brief, instrumental allusions to a particular song, usually the main theme or melody, played during improvisation. So the audience is, in a sense, “teased” into thinking a certain song will be played, but then it is not.
Avid fans study things such as setlists, segues, and teases, using their recorded copies of live performances as reference. Then these folks convene in communities such as rec.music.phish to discuss quirky details. For example Will Scanlan posted:
What are everyone's favorite teases that they have
heard be it either live or recording? One of my all time favorites is the Barracuda tease from the 7/16/94 show during Chalkdust!
Fan obsession does not stop with concert statistics. Posters on rec.music.phish try to find out personal information about the band members as in the thread “What kind of car do you think phish drives.” That one is pretty tame, but other exhibitions of mania are not so innocent.
For many fans there is a lot of emotion tied to whether or not they get into Phish’s first four performances when they return this winter. In a thread titled “Phone sex for your Hamptons,” Raj offers a unique payment for tickets to any of the three upcoming concerts in Hampton, Virginia:
I will copulate with a phone of your choice for Hamptons Xtras. Cellular preferred (Ericssons are nice and small), cordless also desirable, will even do one of those ancient black rotary deals, although I'll need some time to lube up. Would like to be the pitcher if possible. Phone booths are out, I'm afraid. There is undoubtedly humor implied here, but it does make one wonder what some fans may endure to see their favorite band in person after a lengthy hiatus. Humor is used extensively on rec.music.phish. A large portion of threads are posted solely for entertainment purposes, either to amuse the poster or those that read the initial post. Examples of such threads include: “Best frozen pizza?,” “Is it okay to pee in the shower?,” and “I’m starting my own sovereign nation.” Occasionally people post things that are accidentally entertaining. It is remarkable how quickly subjects and tones can change in this medium. It’s almost like a real conversation. Note the dialogue between these two posters, who seem to know one another offline:Ash: Hey hey... So this weekend I started going to
a unitarian universalist church with my friend, Rhea, and I went to their service on Sunday night called soulfull sundown. At the start, a few people were on stage with drums and it was really fuckin amazin and I just wanted to dance... Then, this women who is a famous local solo artist was there and she did alot of songs for the service. She was so amazin and everyone really enjoyed it and were dancing in their seats which I loved! The whole thing was just alot of fun and I really enjoy the church. They are all very open and nice and I think im gonna start going more often. Just thought Id share and if you are interested, check out Amy Sterling. She has a few cds and I got one and have really enjoyed it. peace love and good vibes Mike h: hey bitch shut up, no one cares what you got to
say round these parts, and hey, give me my shit back. Ash: mike mike, dont be a cunt just cuz you fuckin have
issues with me??? Your shit? You have alot of my shit too! Not to mention, yourbrother owes me a god damn 100 dollars. And, shit, i owe you nothing, you broke the god damn pipe you fuckin asshole. THat is what i think of you, please just fuckin dont talk to me, i dont wanna know you, i detest you and regret having dated you for 6 fuckin months so leave me fuckin alone? okay? Another form of unintentional comedy on rec.music.phish are random advertisement threads. Each one offers a tempting spiel, promoting their product of choice, then provides a link for probable consumers to make a purchase or subscription. The ads are easy to pick out since they are posted by those using their e-mail addresses as their online name, a characteristic which is quite uncommon among normal posters. “Married but flirting people are looking for a chance to…” and “become a millionaire” are examples of these. Here is one titled “Increase your penis size by ¼ inch in one week”:INCREASE YOUR PENIS SIZE BY 1/4 INCH IN ONE WEEK!
Guaranteed!!!!!! OUR DOCTOR APPROVED TABLET WILL ENLARGE YOUR PENIS UP TO 3 INCHES. NO PRESCRIPTION NECESSARY! YOU CAN HAVE REALISTIC GAINS IN JUST A FEW WEEKS. Over 100,000 Satisfied Customers! Complete PENIS Enlargement System! Laboratory Tested, Doctor Approved! Do you want a bigger PENIS? Do you want to pleasure your partner every time? Do you want your PENIS to be HARD as a ROCK all the time? If you are serious about ENLARGING, strengthening and developing your PENIS, then you have finally found what you are looking for. With over 35 years of research behind our product, we can guarantee results. Our prorietary exercises when used with the DHG supplements will give you results! We guarantee it! Although threads aimed to entertain dominate this site, there are plenty oflegitimate discussions relating to matters concerning Phish, current events, movies, video games, television, and other musical acts. Hot recent subjects have been rumors surrounding Phish’s newest album, “Round Room.” which is supposed to be released on December 10th, and dates and locations of a pending tour starting in February. All of these threads receive mixed responses. Brian Kelly started a thread concerning rumored tour dates that he found on Maximtickets.com: They say these cities Phish will play....
Phish Spring Tour!! Phish will be announcing their confirmed tour in the coming weeks but for right now the dates and venues are not confirmed. We do know the cities that they are planning on stopping in but Phish plans to add to the list. Phish will be hitting most of the major cities along with a few smaller ones. There are a few 2 night stops and one 3 night stint in Las Vegas. We will also be pre-selling tickets to all of the Phish Spring Tour concerts as we did for the Madison Square Garden and Hampton Coliseum concerts. Keep checking back for more news updates on Phish and ticket availability for these concerts. Boston Cleveland Cinncinatti Indianapolis Chicago St. Louis Atlanta Miami Orlando Washington D.C. Philadelphia Portland San Francisco Los Angeles San Diego Phoenix Dallas Denver Kansas City New Orleans Las Vegas Those fuckers better not turn this into a pain in the ass again !!! If i don't get tickets to every fucking show i want, i will be touring the ticketing agencys with an AK-47 !!! Bastards!!!! It is evident from posts like this that Phish fans on rec.music.phish can be quite passionate. Whether they are discussing Phish history or statistics, the latest box office hit, or having sexual intercourse with a phone, their discourse is constantly informal and bold. The community seems to possess a collective tongue-in-cheek attitude, one of their main focuses being to make one another laugh by being silly, bawdy, or outrageous. The site also fulfills its role as a vehicle for news. However, the accuracy of the news is, at times, questionable. rec.music.phish is a laid-back, no-rules message board where fans of the band log on to satisfy their needs for information, entertainment, and communication. Works Cited
1. Ash. “Drum circles @ church.” Newsgroup posting. 10-28-02.
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF- 8&group=rec.music.phish. 11-1-02.
2. Brian Kelly. “Cities for Spring Tour on Maximtickets.com.” Newsgroup posting. 11-9-02. http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=rec.music.phish. 11-9-02.
3. Raj. “Phone sex for Hamptons.” Newsgroup posting. 10-5-02 http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=rec.music.phish. 10-27-02.
4. [email protected]. “Increase your penis size by ¼ inch in one week.” Newsgroup posting. 11-1-02. http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=rec.music.phish. 11-2-02.
5. Will Scanlan. “All time favorite Phish teases.” Newsgroup posting. 10-30-02. http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=rec.music.phish. 11-1-02.