Sunday 24 May 2015

Revival Analysis Spiral

"where the past, present, and future are all taking place simultaneously."

A quote from some joker over at Simon's Retromania site. Here's a fine example of a term I created 'THE REVIVAL ANALYSIS SPIRAL' after another article at Retromania. I'm trying to find an example of where I used that same sentence a few years ago and I'm sure I'm not the only one to put those sentiments into a sentence. I know my sentence was followed  with a question about Australian Aboriginals and if this was how they're concept of time worked? Anyway I can't bloody find it! Oh.... also I might have failed to mention to CardrossManiac2 readers that I have a bit of secret life in the comments pages of Retromania. There's a lot of great ideas and discourse on retro obviously but all things connected too like nostalgia, revivals, Curationism, going backwards, old stuff, the lack of new ideas in current culture, archiving, reissues, ennui etc.

'The Revival Spiral' is a term Lauren Cochrane came up with recently to describe something Simon Reynolds, myself and others have been talking about for years and that's revivals of revivals, revivals of revivals of revivals and so on. So I was inspired by her term to come up with 'The Revival Analysis Spiral'. This was coined because now people are repeating the same ideas, thoughts and theories about revivals and revival spirals. Commentary on nostalgia is being repeated, plundered, imitated and now watered down just like the the ongoing revivals themselves. I always thought Simon Reynolds could write a trilogy of books on the subject but now perhaps we're reaching examination exhaustion. It's all becoming a bit second hand clothes. That last sentence may just have been an excuse to play this tune by Moonshake.



Actually some musicians could use the sentiments in this song as a manifesto to try and break through 2015's retromaniacal musical stalemate ie. "I won't be seen dead in 2nd hand clothes!" Then again you might just be seen alive in a new classic Armani suit that could have been designed in 1962. But surely you understand what I'm trying to say.

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