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1994-01-11
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TITLE:THE SCENOLOGY CHAT YOU WON'T MANAGE TO FINISH
PALETTE:0223 099a 08a9 0cc9
A VERY DEEP SCENOLOGY ANALYSIS WITH MOP OF ALCATRAZ
By Mop and Macno
Everybody knows that, after Beppe and maybe few others, Mop of Alcatraz is one
of the most authoritative and serious Scene Analysts around. He has
collaborated with important mags like MC disk and Upstream always showing
brilliant and enlightening points of view about the most important scene
problems. He has helped also minor mags, contributing with equally valuable
articles and giving therefore a rare example of sense of solidarity and
philanthropy.
We have the pleasure of having him in our Scenarium parlour, here we can discuss
calmly and serenely about the scene and its matters. Tell us Mop (can we
address to you in such a friendly way?) what are your concerns about the overall
demo-packs situation now? As you know we have made a deep and complete
analysis, in the last issue of Scenarium, about this important topic for the
scene. Are there too many packs? What can we do to solve the problem?
There can never be a single, direct solution to problems. Opinions vary from
person to person. They change as time flows by. More than often opinions are
suppressed, modelled at will and twisted by the power of the press. So it is of
vital importance to try to understand that the discussion about packs can never
be dealt with in a complete way, moreover dare to state that a conclusive
evaluation can be extracted. In fact what you alluded to as a "deep and
complete solution" was in fact only a mere try to embark upon such a worldly
problem. Having donated a vast part of my life for the cause of the packs
problem, I have come to a point where it is possible to make a correlation.
Packs are like a glass with a minuscule hole in the bottom. Such an empty glass
is perfectly utilisable until the time comes when water has to be poured inside.
The glass can contently accommodate a few drops, but as soon as the water level
accumulates, pressure starts forcing some drops out of the hole. Packs come and
go, and this enables the water to stay at a somewhat forecasted constant level.
But in the last year, due to an unpredictable phenomenon, the water level has
reached the glass brim. It is a colossal task, even for the ones who have
donated great part of their lives for this cause, to forecast what can happen
when the water overflows.
That's a very remarkable and agreeable point of view, do you think that this
matter has influenced the same groups' politic in intros' production? It seems
that quality is more and more preferred to quantity in the production strategies
of nowadays groups. What do you foresee about this new scene trend? What does
Mop think of the scene's future, under this aspect?
Due to the remarkable move of k Intro Competitions, it is nowadays very rare,
to see any important developments outside such contests. Groups are nowadays
delving into more depth when it comes to Intro production. New and
before-unknown discoveries are being sought after all the time, just for the
sake of Intro research. The domination of the Intro Charts is only in the hands
of those who can afford an immense funds base. Whole research teams are being
set up, all the time, thus making sure that the Intro revolution will never
possibly stop. I cannot, under any circumstances come to the conclusion that
packs and intros can ever be directly connected in any bearable way. An
indirect process study in strategy methods is possible, but this would only
occur if the known specialists in this field would come together to produce an
elaborate thesis. A possible new scene trend, loosely based on the focusing of
Intros and Packs is already occurring right now, thus making this new
scientifical field, attracting for all the potential researchers.
In this same issue of Scenarium we have analysed one of the hottest and most
controversial arguments in the whole scene community. Are there too many mags?
Surprisingly enough we have also gathered the opinions of guys declaring that
there are too few diskmags around, that too many of them are dying or sleeping
lazily. The opinion of a real Scene Analyst specialized in Diskmags Disciplines
and Theories is highly welcomed in the debate.
Diskmags are like food for our minds. Too much food can generate digestive
problems, yet it is theoretically known through past studies, that a minimum
amount of daily brain-food is strictly needed. Putting out any statistics at
this point would not only be hazardous for the average scener (scene guy) but
can cause collateral disturbances, or, in extreme cases of scene addiction,
imprevidibly fatal. So, by this last statement, I hope that I have made myself
clear, why, my long awaited Diskmag Analysis & Theories Studies have been
currently withheld from publication.
We think that diskmags are a very interesting field to study in order to
understand fully the scene's tendencies and customs. You have widely discussed
about them in many of your issues and books, but try to sum up your most
important theories about the multiple relations among diskmags, scene and
sceners (scene members). Please try to use a simple language, this is a popular
mag, our humble and not that clever readers could have problems in grasping your
concepts.
There is no common tendency, when we come to deal with this extremely delicate
subject. Through my numerous research polls and universal studies, I have come
up with a simple set of custom tendencies. Sceners (scene members) tend to be
highly influenced by the statistical medias (charts), thus making it possible to
draft out a complex ray of relations, and detect various possible positions of
every Diskmag, at any stage in time. Statistically speaking, if we also
consider the delay time between various Diskmags issues, we can also say that
the multiple relevance between the various Diskmags and the actual groups that
host them, can be relational, to a certain extent. This can also highly affect
our relative elaborations. One very new phenomena that I am currently studying
is what kind of affect a group change can have on a highly dominant Diskmag. I
think that I have made myself more than clear.
Strictly related to this subject, there is the whole matter about insults and
spandimerding in diskmags. The problem, of course, is much larger and applies
to every scene media, but we think that right on diskmags it reaches its maximum
intensity and interest. What are your ideas about the expanding spandimerding
in diskmags? How do you connect this to the single and his schizophrenic status
of scene member and human being at the same time. Is the scene made by HANDLES
or is it made by NAMES and SURNAMES?
There are always two different points of view. The scene is basically made by
HANDLES and GROUP NAMES, but the interaction of proper names can rise up a THIRD
point of view. A highly acclaimed GROUP or SCENER will always rise as the moral
winner, even through the worst spandimerding affair. A spandimerda campaign
will always, leave a detectable sign of fear, wether being intensive or just
superficial. By this, I would suggest that any potential writer, thinking of
starting any kind of spandimerda plan, should IMMEDIATELY think of the end
consequences, not only on the presumable targets, but also on his proper health
and sanity. Cases of extreme nuisances, and mental disturbances, due to
spandimerda attacks has already rose to an alarming rate. Authorities are
currently trying to stop such aggressive butchering, by cutting out the roots of
the most known spandimerda movements. But this can only heal the moral side of
this obsessive situation. Mental afflictions are incested heavily in the
spandimerded victims, often ending up in extremely dangerous cases of
schizophrenia.
The topic is huge and we can hardly exhaust it in these few lines, but we know
that you have made also studies about the Psychology And Psychiatry Of The
Scener, incidentally we have immensely appreciated your book "Lamer or Cool Guy?
A Self destructive dualism", so you are very competent in the matter. Let's try
to probe into it. What are the consequences on the scener's psyche of a massive
spandimerding attack? There are various cases, we presume, could you relate us
some of the most typical reactions, and possibly, in few words, the average
effects on the single's subconscious?
Dangerous schizophrenia, constant sign of fear, extreme nuisances and mental
disturbances are all, but the lighter superficial afflictions often manifested
by the victim. A highly well-planned spandimerda campaign can end up having the
victim leave the scene, not to mention a radical change in his social life in
the form of lost family, girl, wife and children, job, car, house and the final,
fatal decisive need to end one's existence. Such tendencies usually manifest
themselves more consistently in the so-called "cool guy", who with a
well-thought-out spandimerda plan can be made to turn out into a "lamer", in the
eyes of the scene. In most cases, under spandimerding pressure, the constant
subconcial & personal struggle to divide oneself's "cool" & "lamer" personality
ends up in the victim believing he forms part of the latter species.
In your article "Why Beppe is wrong", appeared in Scenology Journal you polymise
violently with Beppe's views about the importance of spandimerding for the scene
wealth. Can you sum up the whole diatribe and explain us why you dared to
engage such a (gentlemen's) battle with Beppe himself, founder of the same
Scenology science and editor of the same Scenology Journal?
With absolute respect to Beppe's theories, especially to his monumental
spandimerda researches, I couldn't back away to such violent insinuations. The
art of Spandimerding, being it noble or not, have proved to be hazardous to the
whole scene community. The scene's wealth lyes in the power of positive
communication, group cooperations, in the understanding and not in the negative
and violent attacks. Spandimerding somebody is literarily like massacring the
scene itself.
Macno, main editor of Abnormalia, ghost editor of Scenarium and your
interlocutor in this discussion, has declared that Scene's Reality can easily be
built by few words on a diskmags. He has written that Brainstorm's Patsy joke
has been a good example of how diskmags can build a fake scene reality. What
are your points about this matter? Do you think that nowadays diskmags are
trustworthy? How, according to you, the reader of Scenarium can understand that
this is a real discussion with the real Mop, that the various quotes in many
articles are real and that, at the same time, many news are false, some
interviews are fake, some spandimerda interview are real and so on. Will the
reader understand? Is it important that the reader understands? CAN the reader
understand anyway?
Reality lies at the edge of phantasy. And the scene is just like a volatile
scale, set on the edge between phantasy and reality. Diskmags, and especially
words, are the weights that control the scene-scale.
Spandimerda, fakes and lies form the weights of the dark realms, whilst clear,
clean and true journalism form the weights of the real scene values.
Most often, the scale is out-balanced by dark weights, in the form of harassing
articles, the darker they are, the more it inclines towards the edge of
phantasy. Conquest plans are set up, and for some time it seems that the scale
can never regain it's balance towards reality. But then revelative articles are
conceived, and it's up to the individual scener to decided at what angle his
scale is inclined. It is through each and every individual that this total mass
called the scene forms opinions. A Diskmag can prove to be trustworthy, only by
proving itself so. There are many ways to chose from. Only the clean & white
road makes a Diskmag gain the so sought after respect & trust of the whole
scene. It is therefore, up to the reader to distinguish if a bunch of words,
signed with a name, really do bear any true resemblance to that name. It's not
very important if the real Mop is behind these words. More important is the
fact to control and analyse oneself, to judge people for what they are and not
for what others try to make you believe. It's not important if it is Mop who is
actually trying to enlighten your minds, it is more important to try to
understand the philosophy of the modern scene. Sceners tend to mix a handle
with a name, when in fact it shouldn't be like that. Words should stay buried
in Diskmags. Rumours always do contain a spice from reality. Little as it may
be, it's not that important. You can always write the truth about rumours. It
is very important that the reader finally understands what was initially meant
to be true, and what was supposedly written just for the ironical value of the
matter. It is difficult sometimes, to distinguish the truth from the lie,
because the image of a Diskmag cannot always be taken as a referring point, and
therefore it'll always be the individual scener who'll have to make the final
decision.
Few months ago, in RAW, has appeared a mysterious article about some Masters of
the Scene who control and direct the scene's opinions. Somebody has also talked
about Priests of the Scene, with less influence but still great power. Some
names have been whispered too! They are the ones of the main editors of the
most important diskmags. How do you see the whole affair? Who could be the
Masters of the Scene? Are them a secret organization? Please, be careful in
your replies, we have heard of dudes who mysteriously left the scene, after some
sibylline and allusive declarations! Are the Masters watching us?
The Masters of the Scene (MoS) do exist and are even amongst us. They are not
God or alien beings. They don't possess supernatural powers and they cannot
read minds. They are humans, just like every other scener. They have contacts
everywhere, and their main power is the flow of information.
That's how they control and manipulate the whole scene. The MoS are an
organisation, but what they seek is not profit. What they seek is simply the
power to control other beings. It was only possible to make all this knowledge
available to you because of Scenarium and not because of Mop or Beppe or Macno.
Saying that externing, the little know-how some of us have about the MoS, is
dangerous, is not enough. It can be totally fatal. The MoS have been here from
the very beginning. No one knows who they are.
They control Diskmags, demos, sceners' opinions and they are the hands who
generally direct the whole scene. But I feel somewhat safe, here in Scenarium,
for some unknown reason. No one has the knowledge who is actually the one
behind these revealing words. The MoS have eyes, they can read, and they can
get information through all the major scene channels, through the modem scene,
through the Diskmags and even through the confidential letter-gossip between
friends, who more than often exchange little but interesting secrets about the
scene. The MoS intend to keep their position, at least for the time being, as
no one can possibly detect them. They wipe away all those who try to act
against their wills, just like a damp cleaning cloth would wipe away dust from a
table surface.
Their way of handling rebels is by making the revolutionary sceners
society-aware. They twist and bend opinions, and force the poor offenders away
from the scene, and into the hidden beauty of everyday's life. They get rid of
rebels by introducing enjoyable or extremely time-consuming happenings in their
life, in the form of girls, cars, exams and jobs. We have heard thousands of
reasons why the most notorious sceners stopped their activities. Excuses, just
excuses. It has been apparent for many that some kind of MoS were behind
everything, since some time now. We have heard that the scene will soon die,
but no one has ever put forward any reasonable explanations. The scene will
only die when the MoS will command. Only then, they would enlighten some minds,
who'll put together all the various scattered clues that appeared through the
years, and the mysterious enigma will be solved. Every scener will get so
desperate and annoyed of how things were really flowing, that everyone will
leave the scene. But does anyone know when this event will take place... maybe
when the MoS will get bored playing with all us? Playing? Haven't you
understood that the scene is just a chess board. Yes, the scene is just a piece
of black & white squares. The sceners form the various chess pieces.
There's the King, who is represented by the current Diskmags. There was always
some kind of dispute, between two major mags, at one time or another, during the
past scene history. It was always difficult to distinguish who was the Black
King and WHO was the White one. Only the MoS decided on that. Then there are
the Bishops, also known as the PRIESTS of the Scene (PoS), or Main Editors, for
the common scener. The Bishop is the one who guides the King, as from the
beginning of time, there was always a saintly being, beside and backing every
King. The Queen of the scene is represented by PATSY. Her existence takes the
form of the White queen. It was always the hope of every scener, to find
comfort in the idea that there exists a perfect girl, also interested in the
scene. The fear and doubt of PATSY's existence materialises under the vests and
evilness of the Black Queen. The Rook is played by the trackmo or one-filed
demo. Maybe a precalculated-vector-success against the good but underrated
trackmo from an unknown group? Only the MoS are in the know-how. The common
scener takes the form of the Pawn. There are many Pawns on the chess board, far
too many than we think. The Knight? The Knight is the key to the Holy Temple
of the MoS. No one knows anything about the Knight, not even the MoS or the
Knight himself. Only when the end will be near, the Black and White Knights
will rise up, most probably from 2 unknown and unexpected sceners. The MoS are
just hands... Black and White hands who spend their time playing with the
scene.
Better to talk about lighter things. MC disk is dying, we have heard some
official explanations of the decline but, sincerely, we don't believe in them.
There must be some hidden cause, you were one of its most brilliant editors,
tell us the Truth about Mc disk. People must know! Had you gone too afar? Had
you got across something you HAD NOT to get across? We want the truth, Mop! Is
there the hand of the Masters behind MC disk's disappearance???
MC DISK is dead. Mc Disk had to die. The MoS tried to kill Mc Disk when they
realised that this mag was getting out of their hands. They killed Coma, by
pulling away some of the members, but then Alcatraz gave new breath to the mag.
The MoS were getting angry and furious, so finally they churned out their most
deadly weapon, in the form of confusion. No one in the MC DISK team knew,
neither what him, nor the others were doing. The MoS made Mad Butcher distract
himself. They made Cybersonik society-aware.
They made Mop contribute to other Diskmags. So what was left. Just emptiness.
Well, maybe we have exaggerated, please excuse us for our insistence, we really
don't want to force our guests in any way. Let's talk about some other equally
important problem in the scene. Do big fishes really eat little fishes? What
are the results of your recent studies about the phenomenon? Is it a expanding
trend? What could be its consequences? Can the scene survive without little
fishes? Can the scene survive without articles about big and little fishes? Is
there the hidden hand of Somebody behind all this??? Oh, sorry! Forget this
last question...
Because of the set proportional rules of nature, the BIG fish will always eat
the smaller ones. As long as there's a scene, there'll always be BIG and
smaller fish. Small fish are getting rarer, but the C64, ST and PC scenes can
be always seen as potential fodder, little as they may be. Some Small fish grow
too rapidly only to burst again into little smaller ones. This never-ending
vicious circle will only end up when the last fish will find no other fish to
feed on and will starve. That'll be the end of the scene. Unknown hands, armed
with poisonous nets are also contributing to the extinction of fish, but only
when uncontrollable circumstances arise.
As you can see, dear dumb readers, the matters we can discuss with Mop of
Alcatraz are various and numerous, it's always interesting and useful to listen
to his words and to learn something new, but time is an evil enemy for us and
disk space in another remarkable opponent. We have to leave Mop to his various
studies and activities (he is organizing a Faculty of Scenology in the
university of Hamrun, Malta) and you to lighter articles (for example the
extended critic issue of War and Peace by The Ripper of Nightfall). Thanks for
the attention and thanks to you, Mop, for your disposability. We hope to host
you again in our space and we wish you the best... wishes for your new,
divulging, book "The Importance Of Intros in Modern Scene"...