The idea was simple. We asked friends of the band some questions about the internet. Because we're called Internet Forever. Get it? And also because we love the internet. Here are the five questions we asked:
1. Tell us about your first experience of the internet.
2. What's your favourite internet meme?
3. Ever met someone off the internet? How was it?
4. Longest you've gone without being online since you started using
the internet?
5. Recommend us a website..
And their answers are below...
HUW STEPHENS
1. It was at school. We were taught about it in Technology Class, or as it was a Welsh school, Dosbarth Technoleg. I wasn't that interested in it to be honest. Little did I know we'd all be on it every day in the very near future.
3. I've people by chance that I've spoken to on Twitter or Facebook, listeners to the show and band members, but never met up on purpose. Never met a girl online, met her in Scotland, got married, nothing like that.
4. A week in France earlier this year is probably the longest I've been off the internet. I missed it, but the point of the holiday was to have a break so it was good really. My flat is currently without internet (it's being fixed today) so to not have it at home has been a challenge. I've been writing. The lost art of pen to paper. It's been
weird.
5. Popjustice. It makes me laugh.
OLI HORTON, DREAMTRAK PRODUCER
1. Showing my age, I remember when we got the internet at school - there was one computer that had it, and you had to get permission, and then you could use it for half an hour. I'd just discovered Kraftwerk, so I looked up about them. There were one or two fan sites, and their official site, which actually is pretty much the same now as it was then...
2. Lolcats and Fail blog have wasted many hours of my life.. and Loituma deserves a special mention, but only really for the Basshunter remix.
3. Yes - even through myspace, back in the day.. not so easy on facebook. You actually have to meet people IRL first now. It's totally variable - probably about 50% awkward/weird, 25% perfectly nice and 25% eventually became friends. The problem is it's dead easy to make oneself sound interesting and witty when you have hours to write a paragraph or two..
4.I try to avoid the internet whilst on holiday, otherwise it feels like I haven't really gone anywhere..
5. Matrix Synth - totally obsessive blog about everything synth, with about 20-30 posts a day! Better than buying a newspaper.
WILL VAUGHAN, STAIRS TO KOREA
1. Using Alta Vista to try to find out if the rumour was true that Kyuss were reforming to play the Primus gig I had tickets for. This was on the one computer in my school that had the internet. It blew my mind. The Kyuss thing turned out to be a lie though. Bittersweet, all in all.
2. I don't think you can beat "Then Who Was Phone"
3. Yep - a sinister indie lynchpin called Buster Brainlove. My first single's out and we're putting a bunch of stuff out in the next few months... Plus he's not pretended to be a teenager or asked me in text speak if I like swimming and to this day I'm yet to be abducted. Don't believe the scare stories.
4. A matter of days - desperately depressing stuff.
5. theoldbaileyonline.org - You can look up Old Bailey proceedings from the past 330 years. There's countless death sentences for tankard thefts and if you search for "Shoreditch", the first result is a man who had sex with 2 horses. I'd dearly like to say the area's improved but it's all subjective.
PAGAN WANDERER LU
1. It was probably searching for 'godspeed you black emperor!' during my saturday job when I was 16 or so. I was astounded that there was an entire website dedicated to them. Blew my mind. Only took 5 minutes to load too!
2. A few days ago I was introduced to Keyboard Cat and I couldn't breathe for laughing. I also enjoy 'Drinking out of cups' which is Dan Deacon adopting the persona of a really grumpy lizard cussing out the world (link). And this Radiohead 'shreds' thing which also made me nearly die laughing. (link).
3. I've met loads of people on the internet. I once heartwarmingly made a pilgrimage to Luton to meet some girl who'd stolen my heart (she liked godspeed you black emperor - a pattern is emerging) but she turned me down. *writes concept album*
4. Since I started using it regularly I probably went two weeks without when I went to Canada. I didn't miss it a bit. Having an iPhone means I no longer sit down to 'just check my e-mail' and end up losing four hours with nothing tangible to show for it at the end.
5. paganwandererlu.co.uk - I make joke. I must recommend ifyoulikeitsomuhwhydontyougolivethere.com which takes the worst comments from BBC Have Your Say and rips the almighty piss out of them. Look for the post about Danone Actimel.
JOHN BRAINLOVE, BRAINLOVE RECORDS
1. My dad got the internet when I was in my mid teens. Dial-up modem. It was pay per minute like a phone call, so obviously I ran up huge bills. Under the guise of making myself an an art website, I basically used to sneak on there all the time to talk to girls in the Freeserve chat rooms. It was a very dweeby obsession from the start.
2. Actual favourite is "kittens inspired by kittens", and the spin off "cats inspired by kittens inspired by kittens". But then there is 5 year old Olivia's song Two Of The Beatles Have Died, which my old band Tracy Is Hot & The Clap actually helped turn into a meme of sorts I think? And the kid who likes turtles. And the Hitler subtitle stuff.
3. Quite a lot of people I know are 'off the internet'. Some of them are awesome. A few are the cliched 'internet person', lacking in social skills and personal hygiene. But generally, people on the internet are just people like... us. Right? I mean, IRL has it's fair share of weirdos... I have lost my train of thought because I'm listening to the new Sufjan Stevens record for the first time and "Movement IV - Traffic Shock" just came on and has fully blown my entire mind.
4. Got to be a few days at the most. In fact, usually a few hours is too long to be away. When my BlackBerry gets repaired, it'll revert to a few minutes. With no respite. Ever.
5. Sleeveface is pretty awesome. Van Hilliens Rock Photography is awe. Vice Dos and Don'ts - hours of fun. Sweeping The Nation - solid. And my blog could use a few more
followers.... brainlove.co.uk ...
ALEXEI, JOHNNY FOREIGNER
1) abusing poor christians in chatrooms. i was 14, k..
2) picards facepalm jpgs never stop being funny. also, the game.
3) DiS people. weird. not doing it again.
4) um, i have unscheduled breaks of 3 days every now and then when my
idiot neighbour unplugs his modem
5) howtobepunk.com
SCOTT WRIGHT, PINGLEWOOD.COM
1. Does watching Lawnmower Man count? I remember thinking the internet was boring the first time I used it. I was probably setting up a hotmail account. I wanted it to be 3D. Still isn't. Stupid internet.
2. I have a lot of time for keyboard cat. Who can resist stuff like this? When I die I hope keyboard cat plays me off.
3. Lots of people. God, loads. Is that weird? I met my good friend Oliver on a messageboard. He lives on a boat. Me, him and my girlfriend were going to start a DJ tag team called PURE CHARISMA!!!. Probably best we didn't.
4. A day or two. And that was because of grave illness. I wish they'd hurry up and invent an iphone that plugs straight into my eyeballs.
5. ilovehotdogs.net
PETE GOFTON, FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS
1. GOATSE. I have never been the same since.
2. you can't beat TECHNOVIKING. he's the 21st century superhero. the look he gives the guy- priceless.LOLcats run him close second.
3. Kenickie had quite an online following, and they used to pop up in the real world every now and again. it was always an experience. they still do, from time to time.
4. i've probably never been a day away from the internet since i started using it (mid 90s). sad but true. i was in a club at 2AM the other night, and realised i was checking Twitter and Facebook on iPhone. i can't even remember not having an iPhone, let alone not being online (FAIL).
5. for audio nerds like me, there's a whole host of great stuff. tapeop.com tells you everything you need to know about recording but were afraid to ask.
Steve Albini's site for his studio- electrical.com. he posts on the forum a lot; his answers, about anything from recording, to Poker, to the best place to get your first handjob- are generally informative, funny and withering as his lyrics.
Actor/director/musician/analogue enthusiast Vincent Gallo has a great fansite drowninginbrown.com. the tour of his studio is something to behold.it hasn't been updated in a while, otherwise it would include the news that he was selling his sperm for a mere $50,000 a pop.
BLAINE HARRISON, MYSTERY JETS
1. I might be completely wrong. But i believe the first time I "logged on" (as we used to say back in the day) was to play a multiplayer Doom game. It had just come out i remember my whole extended family gathering round our brand new pentium intel, their minds collectively blown by its deplorable 16 bit graphics. Although it might have been the game with the little blue guys. Worms. No lemmings. thats it.
Lemmings.
2. I can't say i had ever heard of a 'meme' but now i have. Thankyou. Im going to pick the youtube video of the (dutch?) TV gameshow presenter who projectile vomits live on air. Then continues talking to the caller as if spewing was a completely normal daily
occurence, vom still dripping off her nose. Damn period pains!
3. We get some slightly perculiar people on our forum, a few with pretty full on stalker-ish tendencies. My favorite non-stalker forum friend is a guy called jez. He car pools with other fans on his way to our gigs sometimes. He's in his fifties and works as a police constable for the london met. He gave me a lift back to the studio
once in his cop car. He's like commander lassard from police academy.
4. the internet is a state of mind. You can't switch it off. Once your in the club, its for life. its like blue peter.
5. letmegooglethatforyou.com so completely shit in a completely brilliant way.
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Hey Internet Forever blog reader! Why not answer our five questions on the comments of this blog post yeah?
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