The Guardian - Online Working It Out Basic Instinct
Jah Wobble was a member of Public Image Limited and has had a successful solo career. He now has his own record label 30 Hertz Records. His album Full Moon Over The Shopping Mall is out now.
Are computers important for you?
Yes in very straight forward ways; My handwriting and spelling are terrible so when I write reviews programmes like Microsoft Word are simple and quick to use. In regard to music composition I can try different configurations of instruments and experiment with arrangements. In the past, I would, once a piece was committed to tape, have to resort to tape splicing in order to change it’s structure. In general terms it is now easier to store and process different types of information. You can do more quicker. Computer systems can be seen as an extension of certain aspects of (the) mind. However re to the application of computers in the creation of music there is still a tendency (with the guileless) to place too much emphasis on linear, logical unambiguous thought processes. In an attempt to avoid this pitfall, and to therefore, aesthetically speaking, build compositions vertically, they revert to cut and paste techniques and end up making mini post modern collages. Essentially I would say that computers do not have and could never have any direct influence on the fundamental aesthetic problems involved with the creation of music. They can only have a bearing on how it is processed and presented.
What do you use the machine for?
OK! OK! Ignore the above, I play games on it.
Any particular favourite software?
I think I’ll be enjoying MP3
Any favourite websites?
I have taken a bit of a shine to various medical websites. It’s the same experience as the old medical dictionaries. You end up thinking that you’ve got all the diseases on display.
What machine(s) do you use?
Both the Apple Mac for Music (Audio Logic) & design the PC for everything else.
Do you use your own name when surfing?
No because if I told them I was Francis Ford Coppola, people would hassle me with endless requests to read their scripts.
How long have you been known to spend at your computer?
18 hours quite a few years ago (you know you’re being stupid but you cant stop).
Are you a geek?
Superficially I’m a handsome, debonair and carefree Bass player, but inside I’m 101% pure geek. It’s something to do with adolescence and arrested development.
Should/can the Internet be regulated in any way ?
This is the same as asking should society be regulated? Because surely the Internet is no more than an extension and manifestation of society.
Has e-mail revived the art of letter writing ?
No, it has revived the art of pen-friends!!
Compiled by Hamish Mackintosh