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When Ockham's Razor Runs Amuck
Hello again,
Oops. I had meant to delete that bit at the end of my letter. Imagine my
surprise when I realized I hadn't deleted it at all, merely moved it to the
end of my post. Oh well, maybe some good will come of it. At least you know a
little of what I had been thinking of sending, before, yet again, (I thought)
I talked myself out of it.
So here's the thing. We have gotten many dozens if not hundreds of perplexed
letters from fans of the band over the years that have expressed dismay, lack
of comprehension, amusement, disgust or grave offence over things they have
read on the Over the Rhine discussion list. And we've watched the list shrink
over the years to a few hundred people while our other mailing lists or
announcement lists have grown to thousands and thousands. Many of the people
that took time to write, signed up on the list with great enthusiasm, and
then felt they (regrettably) needed to move on for whatever reason. (99.9% of
those who wrote wanted to make sure they could keep abreast of all
developments with the band, they just didn't want to do so through the
discussion list.)
The common theme of all the letters has been, What does 99% of this stuff
have to do with you or your music?
The people who have taken time to write want to know why we give "these
people" an unmoderated forum in which they can bicker about religion, slander
founding members of the band, flood e-mail boxes with the equivalent of
off-topic inside jokes ad nauseum, "flame newbies" etc.
Our response has always been something to the effect of, Well, we don't
really take time to read most of the posts, and the discussion list is not
for the faint of heart. Our hope has always been that out of relative chaos
would come beauty, and maybe, even more importantly, friendship. And I point
to Jay and Lindsey tying the proverbial knot as an example of a most
wonderful flower that sprouted from such, supposedly, thorny soil. (Which
raises the question of whether they are still on the list.) I also point to
the "listies" going way out of their way to rendezvous with one another and
share meals before and after Over the Rhine shows. That's pretty cool.
That being said, it gets trickier when band members we've hired do check in
on the disscussion occasionally, and then come to me and say, Linford, for
God's sake man, pull the plug.
I've put off doing so for some reason, but I do begin to wonder if this forum
has run its course and needs to evolve into something else.
The urge to re-examine the Over the Rhine discussion list came to me when
somebody sent me an excerpt (more or less immediately) following the events
of September 11th in which one of the posts said something to the effect of
"Well, it's about time." After I realized I was physically ill, it became one
of the rare moments in the last ten years when I regretted recording a single
note of Over the Rhine's music, because my band's name was loosely attached to
that sentiment on a piece of paper that someone printed out and handed me.
My first response was to respond with outrage, but then I reconsidered the
wisdom of doing that, and tossed my letter into the digitial dust bin.
When much of the recording industry went digital, we musician-types discussed
at great length ways to keep the warmth in our recordings. Digital recordings
tended to be a bit thin-sounding, even harsh, and tended to lack the
well-rounded sound of the analog tape recorders we had grown accustomed to.
And those funky old reel-to-reel tape recorders were a lot more fun. They
even smelled good.
I used to spend hours every week writing letters to friends. I would buy old
stamps from the 1940's and 1950's at face value for the envelopes and pick
odd paper to write on (discarded blue prints, the covers of vintage paper
backs, scraps picked up here and there in my travels...) Or maybe I'd pull
out the old Smith Corona my Dad had given me and clatter away--the bell
ringing at the end of every line. When somebody responded to one of my
letters, and I pulled one of their letters from my own mailbox, it would
change the tone of my entire day if not week. They were little prizes, little
pieces of humanity, cause for celebration. And I love associating handwriting
with somebody. It says so much. The way people write is closely linked to
their sense of humor, or the way they smile, what they care about. I was a
fountain pen junkie. I loved having ink stained on my fingers.
I miss those days. E-mail is a whole 'nother world, as my wife would say.
When we record our songs digitally, we jump through every imaginable hoop to
keep our cd's sounding as warm as possible. When I send an e-mail, I try
somehow to keep some of the warmth of being human in whatever I send, and
it's not easy. The digital world, perhaps technology in general, can suck the
warmth out of what makes us humans human.
I guess that's my complaint about at least some of what I read on the
discussion list on a regular basis: it lacks warmth. In a place where,
theoretically, we've invested a few thousand dollars over the years to bring
people together to discuss something as wonderful as music or art and how
these intersect with their lives and beliefs, some of what I read on the
discussion list is surprisingly, just so damn cold. I wish the tone of much
of what I read was warmer somehow. I hope our music exudes a certain warmth,
and I like to pray that it does.
And maybe that's all that many of our fans have asked at the end of the day.
They came expecting warmth and a community that could somehow celebrate and
respect the diversity of the many people from around the world who have come
to discover Over the Rhine's music. To their surprise, they often found,
well, something else.
And I think the list has weathered some storms. Maybe it's hard to maintain
equilibrium when people are constantly coming and going.
At any rate, offensive stuff aside, on behalf of the band and those who work
for the band, let me just request generally that those who do choose to
participate on the discussion list agree to love one another. Let's be known,
if we are to be known for anything, as a place where people can come to
relate music to the whole of human experience, and do so with warmth.
When we started the band, we got in a huddle and agreed to play for anyone
that would walk up the sidewalk and buy a ticket. Believe me, we never
imagined the diversity of those that would do just that. We've played in
dives, churches, street festivals, beautiful theatres, on breath-taking
campuses (Kenyon College anyone), at folk festivals, hippie festivals. We've
shared the stage with punk bands at the Daily Double in Akron, Ohio, as well
as string quartets in Finland. We even played one high school prom. On paper,
doesn't it seem like a good idea to put all you folks (who are willing) in a
room and get you talking? That was our intent.
So make friends. Respect one another. Laugh outloud, but enjoy the diversity
of others. Be patient, good dog, y'know, stuff like that. Warm. Avoid,
whenever possible, blasting off the verbal equivalent of a digitally-guided
Tomahawk missile. These are human beings that we're talking about.
The unfortunate reality of so many people leaving the list, is that much of
the mail we receive directly should be on the discussion list! People write
us and tell us all manner of stories, and ask questions that we never dreamed
of. I find myself thinking, what a shame that more of this stuff doesn't find
its way to the people that stepped forward at one time and said, I'd like to
discuss the music of one of my favorite bands. Maybe it's time for some of
you who have written us letters to come back to the list, or to sign on for
the first time. Maybe it's time for some of you who have left in disgust, to
help set a different tone if you can.
Consider it an experiment whose days may be numbered!
And post away.
Yours,
Linford Detweiler
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