Commodore Free 26/Commodore_Free_Issue_26_2009_Commodore_Computer_Club.d64/sean mcmanus

Text File | 2009-01-01 | 5.7 KB | 191 lines

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       INTERVIEWS SEAN MCMANUS
       -----------------------
 creator of a new novel involving the
             Commodore 64
   http://www.sean.co.uk/index.shtm

Commodore 64 co-stars in music
industry novel

The Commodore 64 co-stars in a
thrilling new noUniversity of Death@
by Sean McManus reveals what happens
when a major record label builds a
program that creates and markets
perfect pop songs, tailored for each
listener@s taste. At the heart of the
system is a Commodore 64 churning out
random melodies.
music industry.
Commodore Free
Free Please introduce yourself

Sean McManus
I'm a writer and keen retrogamer,
based in London. I've just published
my first novel, University of Death,
which is all about the plight of the
music industry and is named after the
band at the centre of the story. The
book explores how fans relate to their
favourite bands, how businesses use
technology to manipulate consumers,
and what would happen if the music
industry disappeared overnight.

The story has a cast of famous people
in cameo roles, and a special guest
role for the humble Commodore 64!

CF. How does the Commodore fit in?

SMM. In the story, there's a computer
program that's inventing random bands,
including their music. A major record
label is using spyware hidden on fans'
computers to sell them this fake
music. When I started writing the
book, that idea seemed far-fetched,
but then Sony BMG was caught putting
anti-piracy software onto Celine Dion
CDs that was classified as malware.
All of a sudden, that bit of the story
didn't seem quite so unlikely.

Anyway, in the middle of this
fictional-bands system is a Commodore
64 that has been churning out random
melodies for twenty years. There were
a couple of reasons for choosing to
put a Commodore there, and not
something more modern. One was that
using a Commodore 64 meant that one
man with no particular IT expertise
could keep it running without any
hassle. Today, you'd need a team of
consultants and a big pot of money to
create even the simplest original
software, which would make it hard to
keep the whole scam secret.

The other reason was that I just liked
the aesthetics of the Commodore. I
know I have an emotional response to
classic machines from the 80s, which
it's difficult to have with anything
post-Windows. I'm guessing others feel
the same the Commodore is a style
icon.

The Commodore is also widely respected
for its music capabilities. As it
turns out, that didn't matter for my
story the machine in my book doesn't
make a sound itself but it was easier
to believe that someone from a record
company had been amazed at the
synth-like sounds of a Commodore, than
it was of a Spectrum or Amstrad. And
that this had sparked the whole
dastardly plan.

CF. What was your first machine?

SMM. Well, speaking of Commodores, the
first machine I owned was an emulator.
I grew up with Amstrads, and came
across Commodores mainly through
friends. We'd play Commodore classics
like Yie Ar Kung Fu, Wizball (which
was only good on the Commodore,
really) and Beach Head (which features
in my story). I remember friends
showing me the latest demos as well
the Commodore had a really lively demo
scene, with the music being
particularly impressive. There's still
a great Commodore music scene today I
went to a Back in Time event last year
and it was the maddest and greatest
thing I'd seen all those people
dancing to the music from I-Ball.

CF. What machines do you have today?

SMM. Today, I've got a couple of
Amstrads, a couple of Spectrums and
the C64 TV game joystick. That is a
superb invention it's a shame it's
been discontinued. It would have been
nice to see more games get a new lease
of life that way. I also come across
new games through online emulators
from time to time, including Lazy
Jones which I played online after
reading a story in Retro Gamer about
it.

CF. Tell us about your contribution to
Commodore Format magazine?

SMM. As the 8-bit scene was winding
down, I did have an opportunity for a
fleeting moment of Commodore glory
when I wrote a review of a new
emulator for Commodore Format
magazine. At the time, I was writing
type-ins and tutorials for Amstrad
Action and Amstrad Computer User
magazine and I came across a Commodore
emulator. It was at a time before
emulators were popular. Most people
who cared were probably still playing
the real thing, and it was too early
for nostalgia to kick in.

The internet wasn't widely available,
but you used to have shareware cafes
in Germany where I was living at the
time. You'd pay to copy a floppy worth
of software from their vast shareware
archive. That's where I found this C64
emulator, which ran in DOS on my 386
laptop. I pitched a review to the
editor of Commodore Format and it
became one of my earliest published
freelance articles.

CF. Will there be a follow-up to this
book?

SMM. Highly unlikely. The story as it
stands is well-rounded and has a
beginning, middle and an end. It
doesn't really need a sequel. I've
been thinking about another aspect of
popular culture I'd like to explore in
a book though, so there might be a
completely different novel at some
stage in the future. It took two years
to write this one, though, so I need
to muster the energy and gather all
the ideas I need first.

CF. Where can people find out more?

SMM. You can download the first two
chapters of 'University of Death' at
my website at www.sean.co.uk. The
Commodore doesn't enter the story
until a bit later, but it gives a good
flavour of the tone and introduces the
main characters. There's also more
information on what inspired the book,
and reviews from magazines like Record
Collector and Metal Hammer on the
site. The book's only available at
www.lulu.com, and you can find the
direct ordering links easily through
my site. Thank you for your interest!