I’ve got your garden variety, ornery, stubborn asshole of a grandfather who keeps saying to me, “music should be seen and not heard!!!” And every time he starts to get all worked up I have to be like, “Grandpa Riboflavin, that makes NO SENSE at all.” But on and on he keeps at it, “blah blah blah romanticism, blah blah art blah, drone blah meaning blah blah access is just not that great blah blah.” And then usually we have to go get him a Dilly Bar or something so he shuts the hell up.
Needless to say, Grandpa Riboflavin is really into this thing that’s going down in Scotland where, according to Wired, “At the end of August, an FM transmitter will be set up in the middle of the Galloway Forest to broadcast music from dozens of artists over the course of 24 hours. Those who want to hear it will have to head to the forest. There will be no repeats and the files will be deleted after they are played.” Now Grandpa is all sorts of telling the family that we need to fly over to this weird remote place so we can “maybe” hear music, and then I return to the article and point out that curator Stuart McLean (known also by the name of Frenchbloke) says, “There are certain parts where if you get stranded, good luck.” Then Grandpa’s all like, “where’s your sense of adventure? What kid your age wouldn’t want to listen, if he or she worked hard enough, to Mogwai or that there Electronic Research Council in the forest?” It’s at this point I usually just turn up Yeezus in the speakers so I can’t hear him anymore.
But hey, if you’re the kind of person who loves thrill-seeking FM radio in the wilderness, but aren’t into that whole Rainbow Gathering thing, this might be your chance! Also, they’re currently accepting submissions for “unheard music” to fill the (whatever 24 minus 8 is) hours of space left. Apply now and you might have your name next to the great Scarfolk Council, something anyone’s grandparents could really get behind!
• The Dark Outside: http://thedarkoutside.tumblr.com
• Frenchbloke: http://frenchbloke.tumblr.com