Wired.com: Judging by its title and artwork, the narrative seems to imply that disconnection is a healthy thing. Which is pretty profane for a cultural landscape that seems to be plugged into anything and everything, but not often making anything new or original.
DJ Shadow: I just think that the internet has been sold to us as our savior. As a means to create a new economy, as our spiritual salvation, whatever. Everything is supposed to be bigger and better online. But what I think people have lost sight of — and I don’t think the internet has done a good job of self-evaluation in this respect — is the massive shift between the brave new internet world of the late ’90s and now. Its early philosophy seemed to be one where everyone was an individual whose opinions were respected. A decade later, everything is corporate-owned, advertising is incessant, and the diverse opinions of internet commentary are often shouted down. Now there’s much more online groupthink.
All I’m trying to do as an individual and an artist is put my hand up and say that maybe it’s time to hover above the chessboard for a minute and evaluate what’s going on here. Certainly, as an artist that has been involved in one of the industries decimated by the internet, I’ve experienced a weird duality. The internet was supposed to democratize communication, but the opposite seems to have happened.
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