For those who don't know Malcolm used to manage the Sex Pistols…then when that scene died, he tried to jump on the hip hop bandwagon, now he's been single handedly responsible for making the masses aware of the chip music scene. Chip music group Gwem wrote Malcom a nasty and ungrateful open letter because they were upset with his "definition" of chip music. It didn't bother me…I'd rather have people know the music exists than get locked in that stupid analog vs digital argument. The Reverse Engineers use both digital and analog, hardware and software…we are a non-discriminatory employer of obsolete technology…the Casio's we use are a composite of digital and analog technology…so I guess that's why we aren't going to be taking sides.

Admittedly I too initially feared that Malcolm was doing this for the wrong reasons but after this chat with him (?) and after reading the "Wired" article (which started the whole conundrum)…I think I like him. He seems to genuinely appreciate the music and if he's the only person promoting it to the mass media then so be it. I think people's fear stems from his relationship with the Sex Pistols…but that stuff happened a long time ago in very strange circumstances that could never be repeated. Everyone (myself included) is simply afraid of getting famous because we are afraid of getting ripped off. Anyhow, the full transcription of the chat is below along with my initial reaction to it. Sorry if I'm insulting anyone's intelligence by explaining who Malcolm is…but I just I saw a couple of message boards where people had no idea who he was or what chip music was, which provoked me to write this introduction. At least it places our chat into a historical context.

This link is to the Wired article: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.11/mclaren.html

Sent: Friday, 5 December 2003 12:08

Subject: James Earthenware VS Malcom Mclaren

I thought web chat was disabled on school computers because it wouldn't work before...anyway last night I decide to check out the world-wide "chip music" site www.micromusic.net Anyhow someone was purporting to be Malcolm Mclaren…obviously there is a good chance that it was not him and that I'm a gullible fool but I'm sending the transcription to everyone because

A) the dude was pretty fucked up so it's funny and

B) maybe someone can varify the shit about the milli vanilli remixes and the website link on his profile (http://www.malcolmmclaren.com/)

My only regret is that Edward was not available to interrogate the person about how much they really knew about the technical aspects of the genre so i'll never know if the person I was chatting with was really hardcore or not and hence we still can't varify if the dude is crashing our scene for money or casiolove.

Anyway it starts off with typical chat room childish insults but blossoms later as I think of more interesting questions. This really happened...no this is not another "Fictional" Earthenware interview.

Enjoy...

JE = JAmes Earthenware MM= Some crazy motherf***er

JE: oi what you doing?

MM: boning your woman, no need to thank me

JE: I don't have a woman!!! H haa

MM: well it looked like one

JE: when is your rekkid being released

MM: I'm behind at least 7 stars a day

JE: if it isn't on vinyl i'm not buying it

MM: no the latest is roms you fool, hit clips is where its at

JE: sorry the wax is easiest to load into my soundburger

JE: Hey come to Australia!

MM: nothing but wankers there

JE: chickenshit

JE: do you love your hardcore?

MM: hardcore ballsdeep

JE: yeah well we got crazy niggaz here...newcastle man.

MM: this whole dig is just a cesspool of unexploited talent

JE: Run me into a wall and call me Johnny

MM: johnny on the spot

JE: jjohnny genresmasher

MM: john jacob jingleheimer smith

15 minute guest log in limit cuts me off

JE: I want singing buttons and holes in my logic

MM: you sound amazingly like guests 1 and 2

JE: No I was guest one...two i don't know about...

MM: I've heard he's autistic

JE: get him a recod deal, delta goodrem's number one for the cancer/sympathy vote here

MM: I don't deal I am

JE: that's nasty

JE: who supplies you with sandcastles?

MM: the spaniard with the lazy eye

JE: that ain't bad.

JE: where are your nymphets?

MM: you need alot of pull

JE: context?

JE: wot are you listening to right now?

MM: the plan is this...

JE: ...artist?

MM: milli vanilli remixes

JE: But we don't rhyme mimes like millli vanilli! Son't take drugs that make us look silly!

MM: it's an underground comp you won't know em.... and the're mine

JE: that's a plug right there! Do they get dirty and scuzzy on the fly?

MM: they get front back side to side jumping high fives

JE: sick!!!

MM: 15 minute cut off again

JE: now I am guest 2

MM: why don't you show your face, I think I must have left an orrifice unstuffed

JE: dude, you are truly on the other side of the universe, If I had bling bling I'd sign in.

MM: yeah sure you would pollo

JE: all my dole money was spent on casios, cuz I'm so god damn violently hardcore...naturally

MM: yeah upload that guest 2

JE: at frozen_groper@hotmail.com

MM: play a gig on the corner with my sk-1, throw a quarter so's I can get an email address

JE: sweet! that's where it's at...Although gotta get teh sk-8 with nasty rom action

MM: Trash it up, I have no shoes

JE: your socks must be getting dirty...damn dat. I'll sort ya out for some!

Wot size?

MM: watch that infection on my toe

JE: The doctors here are crap. Don't bother!

JE: seriously, what size shoes are you?

MM: 47

JE: I wish casio made shoes....hmmm...hey is your size allowing for toe swelling or is that standard?

MM: I'll require two holes cut for drainage of course

JE: and plastic tubes attached so it stays well clear and CPU fans for ventilation!

MM: maybe you could just gargle it with baking soda twice a day

JE: Could give it a shot. We'll sell the winning formula!

JE: my PT-82 just called me on telepathy phone, she's lonely and wants me to come home for rampant casiolove

MM: it's too late I allready gave her my vic 20 and ths 80

JE: bitch!

MM: she said it was to help you guys, how was I to know

JE: That's okay I understand. She's gonna get what for when I get home.

JE: so how's the Vic 20 sounding these days?

MM: like a hot dog from 1920 that just wont go away

JE: with mustard?

MM: wrapped in newspaper and still trying to check the time from a bakelite clock that disappeared decades ago

JE: no, you must mean hot rod...

MM: compared to the plus 4 yeah

JE: So what are your plans for today?

MM: I'm going to sleep, I just got back from this party in Thailand

JE: tomorrow then, let's skam plain tickets and go sk busking in New Zealand.

MM: me an Brett Godfrey go way it'll be no problem

JE: sick!

JE: where have all teh humans gone?

JE: what's a good album title?

JE: I called my last tapes "Prototype Jive", "Empty Promises, Empty tanks", and "Human commitment error"

MM: year in me

JE: respect.

MM: interface specialication or interface special occasion

JE: Interface Highlights? (A Tear In Review)

MM: write that one down

JE: okay!

JE: where do we meet for NZ busk-off? What will you be wearing? (No shoes obviously)

MM: on the top of rangitoto, I'll be wearing the lambskin of course

JE: I'll be wearing a 1984 bayern munich soccer shirt with commodore sponsor logo on front

JE: I freeze my arse off for you people and all you can do is clap!

MM: Lates

JE: Yo Check ya?

nSe: This is fucking gold!

Pal: Fear not XXXX, when I saw that pompous old fraud

iTm: LOL!

Wao: Hey man, That was funny as (Chat room). I don't know who Malcolm McLaren Is but it was still funny.

mm .. i think gwem misunderstood .. the "then I discovered chip music" quote .. as if he had invented it .. rather than what he meant which was that he had overlooked then found ....

as for the rest of it ... i hate how an ignorent media (from those links) (and malcolm) appears to be painting this idea of a scene in genesis ... just cause they didn't know it was there before and now they've found a bandwagon with which to impress their editors and fill their copy .. they feel the need to talk about how they have to go to near extremes to reach inaccessable quarters .. to find this music and it's zealots ....

whereas in reality it's just that they (the writers and mclaron) don't often leave their plush upper class sourroundings so are confronted by having to deal with the real world in which the rest of us inhabit and write music .. and find spaces to play in ...

------------- dleetr/ductar/patrick/pOxY