Sick Anachronism, Bro!

 This week, I had the privilege of borrowing my girlfriend's VHS camcorder, which made me very happy when I first cracked open the old case and started watching the old tapes we picked up at the goodwill through the scanning electron eye-piece, sped up by the limitations of the built-in VCR. I was immediately very excited to start recording music on it, enticed by the nostalgia it was sure to evoke. So naturally I was pretty miffed when I got a cold soon after and couldn't sing to save my life. Nonetheless, on Sunday night I sat down in front of the camera and recorded a quick video.

In making the video, I liked the element of the authentication of the selfie. Here's what Jurgenson has to say on page 55: "The selfie is 'authenticated' by the markings of the form (holding the phone and pointing it at oneself) which conveys an intimacy akin to looking in the mirror." Clearly, this is not a traditional selfie, but it is still legitimated like one. I made a point of rewinding to a point before my recording so that the audience sees the old VCR recording of a made-for-TV Vietnam war film. When I ended the recording, the ads were rolling underneath. I also made a point of ejecting the tape on recording to make it clear the importance of the form of the piece. I also didn't edit out or remote control the moment that I hit record and sat down in front of the camera.

I really think that the VHS medium has a very specific meaning and feeling for people in my generation. It's almost a symbol of belonging for people on the fringe of Gen Z and Millennials. We grew up with the VHS, but quickly grew into DVDs and then streaming. We are among the last identity group to have routine access to that technology in our lifetimes in this part of the world. I also think it's a symbol of times gone by, which really matches the atemporal vibe I was going for.

I chose to perform the piece "Polly of the Shore" which is a traditional British folk tune about dying on a tall ship during the Napoleonic wars. I wanted to make the performance as anachronistic as possible, so I set up some old film cameras in the background, as well as the case of the tape I was recording on. I wanted the audience to be painfully aware of how mismatched the video, audio, and medium were. I posted the video to my instagram, which is tagged in this blog.

I plan to make a bunch more videos with the VCR camcorder, especially once I have access to more reliable technology to scan and digitize the tapes.