aashiks'in

I can’t help but post this . I watched this documentary called “Global Metal” yesterday , by Sam Dunn.  Here is my conclusion :

IMHO if you look at Metal music, you will notice that it is like using or developing FOSS.

Okay, I haven’t gone cuckoo (^_^) . Just read through the bullet points.  While the parts about Metal applies to most music, there are elements that are unique to Metal.  I use the term “Communities” to mean both Metalheads and the FOSS communities ( which include users and developers ).

• Freedom of expression is fundamental to both music and software makers.
• The community behind both have very strong opinions about freedom and they are not afraid to express it. Metal fans go through a lot in nations where freedom of expression is very limited ( There are metal fans who have been put in jail for wearing a Slayer T shirt in Saudi Arabia ). All though this kind of treatment is rare in physical world for FOSS developers/communities, it (insults, mudslinging) happens a lot on the virtual world. Its very evident if you look at the principal FOSS mailing lists ( in my country) .
• Both are creativity at work .  People do make music and software for money. But the quality of something that they make for the sheer pleasure of creating something is so much more awesome !!
• Crappy metal bands are clobbered off the scene quickly. They are also welcomed back with equal speed when they produce awesome music. Pretty much the same thing happens in the FOSS world.  KDE 4.0 was bashed and trampled on without mercy. But everyone welcomed KDE 4.2 and all the KDE 4.0 bad blood were forgotten when they saw the improvements they made.
• Community is central in FOSS and Metal. Without them, the creative output goes unused, and that loss of purpose of art is discouraging to the bands/developers.
• Community contributes by generating and maintaining a large amount of meta information. Help documentation and wikis etc for FOSS, lyrics, fan sites, musical tabs,wikis etc for Metal.
• Communities of both FOSS and Metal share stuff ( music & code/programs) and get together on its basis to talk about it or to simply hang out. Software User’s groups/mailing lists,community maintained software repositories are features of FOSS, while tracks ripped by fans, fan sites and fan forums for sharing information are features of  Metalhead communities.
• Both FOSS and Metal goes against accepted norms and break new grounds. Marty Friedman created the theme song for the “Death Panda” character in a Japanese series. The song is a blistering death metal track with lead vocals by AKB 48 ( a theatre group of 48 teenagers). That is something so unimaginable, but so awesome. The offbeat software management systems in various Free operating systems [where the software comes to you, you don't go looking for it on the web ] especially the source based ones are similar.
• Both communities bloomed with the rise of internet , and depends heavily on it to reach all parts of the globe. Recent moves made by Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead , and our very own Motherjane for music distribution is eerily similar to how FOSS is developed and distributed via the web.
• One genre spawns a lot of other genres. Metal has so many sub genres that it satisfies everyone, while still retaining its core identity. This again is similar to how FOSS satisfies its users with distros/bundles customized to run on anything from a PS3 to a PC to a mobile phone.
• Both are Global. i.e) not tied to any particular area. [AFAIK this applies only to Metal. I don't think there is any other genre that is as global as Metal, but that's my personal opinion]. FOSS, in much the same way is global. Though each area has a preferred distro, it is still FOSS.
• Most fans at some point or other has tried their hands at making music/FOSS. They also sport a DIY attitude.
• Metalheads and FOSS people usually value people by what they do and how much they know – not by looks or by make of the car they drive or any external bullshit.
• Metalheads and FOSS people value those who are open and are themselves very open about this. There may be shy Metalheads, but talk to them about Metal and they open up like anything . Same applies to FOSS.
• Money is not very important when it comes to Metal ( any music) and FOSS in that it is not the primary objective that drives creation of music/software.  A profit based economy is kind of pointless for both.
• Both communities value artifacts like T Shirts, not for the material on which it is printed or for the designer/manufacturer who made it or because it is in fashion, but because of the message it conveys or the band/software the artifacts promote.

I will keep adding points as they trickle in . Comments are welcome.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 2nd, 2009 at 11:56 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.