Cool Media Archive

I’ve been working with Matt Mason on a Top Secret project. Here’s a sneak peak –

I’ve finally discovered WIZARD ROCK. Henry Jenkins mentioned the genre at FOE2 last year, but I never got around to having a listen until last weekend. My son had a Harry Potter birthday party and I was put in charge of music. A quick ITUNES search introduced me to: MINISTRY OF MAGIC, THE REMUS LUPINS, HARRY AND THE POTTERS, and others. These bands sing about all things Harry Potter — Harry’s love for Ginny Weasley. Voldemort. Loneliness. Family. Hope.

Some of the songs are amazing. Showing real musical talent. And a deep understanding of the messages in JK Rowling’s mythos. The literal approach taken by Harry and the Potters is a total crack-up. Just as experimentation with fan fiction can give new writers a safe place to work on their craft — Wizard Rock gives new musicians a safe place to practice their own musical stylings. Will these amazing young musicians who began their careers violating international copywright law to sing about imaginary worlds, and characters owned by JK Rowling — evolve into the next MY MORNING JACKET, SWORD, or LINKIN PARK? Or will they be content to keep singing about Muggles and Tri-Wizard tournaments? Who knows. Either way — their music is awesome, they’re having fun, and they’re part of a vital community.

I vaguely remember being exposed to FILK songs as a kid. But without the web, there was no way for me to dig deeper and learn more about something I thought sounded really cool. I had no way to connect with the geek community at large. And certainly no ITUNES where I could hear any FILK. If I had — maybe I would’ve had a frame of reference for my own forays into learning guitar, drums, keyboard, etc. I would’ve been much more comforatable writing songs about Rogue Squadron, than trying to fake my way through Jackson Brown covers.

My point. And I do have one. Is that WIZARD ROCK is a great example of how the web brings together people with “niche” interests, allowing them to build strong communities beyond the usual web-based water cooler. Going beyond genre chat, and into inspiring new worlds of self-expression. Music. Film. Writing. Crafting. ARG’ing.

The Harry Potter generation has tools of connectivity and creation that the Star Wars generation could only dream about. I can’t wait to see how their love for Harry, and the strength of their community, influences the original content they will create, and how it will inspire the next generation.