(not a nutty thread on an arg. research stuff.)

[mexicoler]

actually, yes, it is about the YZ arg. but i'm actually researching here.
i've got an online presence assignment for uni due december and am writing about said arg (not like i haven't written an 80-page analysis on YZ before, right.)
was looking for any quotes from people who experienced the arg on how was the experience on finding out about the websites, phone numbers, spectrograms etc.

i know how some nin fans are run-down on the whole arg thing, but for my module, this is the perfect subject. so i'll be eternally grateful if anyone wants to help.

<3

[MrLobster]

I enjoyed the ARG when it happened. The trickle of information from the t-shirts to the USB drives at shows... and then I found out I died in YZ action ("nscafe unleaded"). I loved the interaction aspect and waited in line for a midnight release and made some local NIN fan-friends. Hell, even won a local radio station remix contest to get front row tickets to the tour (but I had already bought one off to the side where I could enjoy the show without too much of my newly acquired, at the time, disability getting in the way). It was cool. It felt nice to be connected to a larger fandom.

[hippygeek]

I spent some time parsing new domain registrations on a daily basis (wrote some scripts to examine domains registered near those in prodcution etc). That was fun. We found quite a few domains that (I think) they abandoned for use in the arg because we found them before they went live.

I think the main lesson the NIN camp learned from the arg is that a bunch of tech savvy NIN fans can be fucking annoying...

It was the most fun I've ever had interacting with a band. The internet was not quite as connected as it is today, so there was occasional lags in information dispersal.

[Fred]

I mostly participated as a lurker, but clearly brought enough to the table to be represented on the "Exhibit 24" website. If I remember correctly, the lone puzzle I had a hand in solving was that the numbers briefly shown in the teaser trailer could be the camera displaying the date in non-B.A-format.

Being based overseas, I obviously wasn't able to participate on the same level as NIN fans in the U.S were, like the OSR meeting and the mobile phones. Even so, it was an exciting time to be a NIN fan and an ETS user. You never really knew what had been discovered while you were looking the other way. And there was a great sense of camaraderie. People were creating their own art to resist against the authorities, spreading the message via flyers and generally being excellent to each other. I don't recall anyone trying to rush for the finish line and take credit for other people's puzzle-solving. Trent, Rob and 42E really did a great job making us feel like key players in this story, in that it really did feel like we could turn the tide by working together. The feeling of planting the seed of rebellion was an important part of it that really set it apart from your standard marketing campaign.

I personally feel a bit sorry for those who didn't experience it. Year Zero would never have been the same for me without the ARG. It is a great album, but reminiscing about the ARG websites while listening to it evokes a feeling of dread that I don't get from a lot of music. It's sort of draining, especially because you get no respite once Zero Sum has played out. It's not as if today's world is a lot better than the one the ARG showed glimpses of.

All in all, I think of the combined experience of YZ and its ARG as one of the best and most successful "multi-media" works in art ever, if not the best. I'm not sure we're ever going to see creativity on that level attain that sort of popularity again, at least not in the music industry. It was truly ahead of its time, both politically, artistically and technologically. I'm genuinely grateful I got to experience it.

[mexicoler]

you guys are great. quoted all of these into the assignment. even though i didn't experience it, i've researched through it for hours and hours (months, actually), have all the websites downloaded to a drive and have written a lot on this album and the ARG narrative. really wished i was there to see it, but YZ still holds a place in my heart. thank you all!

[LexTron6K]

actually, yes, it is about the YZ arg. but i'm actually researching here.
(not like i haven't written an 80-page analysis on YZ before, right.)

Please share this!

[katara]

Walking down the street from the tube station to Brixton Academy, I'm accosted by someone yelling at me from across the street. Nothing new. I look over at a group of people just milling around. Some are looking in my direction. Great. The assailant repeats "ART IS RESISTANCE"! It's then that I realise I'm wearing my home-made Art Is Resistance logo shirt, created using a hand-cut plastic stencil. Bleach on black cotton. I guess they're going to the show, too. Or maybe they're going to spread the word more subtly. Delivering the message in aerosol and sealant.

After arriving at the venue, I worked my way to the sound desk. Slap bang in the centre facing the stage, I find an A4 photocopy taped to the metal cage.



It's a familiar sight, and I think nothing of it. There's not much to do but wait, so after a few minutes, I read through the text. It was different. The second "HERE IS ONE THING..." was replaced by an address. I pocketed the flyer.

The next day, I'm up early. Grabbing some stale bread on the way out, I head over to Kingsland Road. It's a bit of a walk from Old Street. I know the area well, mostly for business, some pleasure. Hoxton is occasionally good for art.



It was bigger than you'd think. Impressive. A giant mural, painted, just hanging over an otherwise unassuming billboard. But this was no advert. Police as pigs, suppression, The Presence as a tornado, a flock of fallen angels, London burning in a tactile, paint-induced drizzle. The Reaper stealing fire from the gods to fuel insurgents' molotov cocktails. Edges peeling to reveal hundreds of AIR logos. The red diamond mark of the beast in her right hand. 24.20.3. OPERATION SWAMP 0000. History repeats itself. Operation Chip Sweep. Back home, I would read in grisly detail about removing the chip and how to properly dispose of it. I still have this information memorised in the event that I might need it. Things were bad here then. Much, much worse now.

With this in my head, I leave for a few minutes, visit an art gallery. Shallow tat. Returning to the spot under the bridge, a white van pulls up near the painting. The driver gets out, opens the back. It's absolutely ram-packed with heavy-duty AIR posters (as above, first image). Decent size. Good to frame. With some trepidation, I strike up a conversation with the guy. "I'm an artist, too" I tell him "and a fan". The guy shrugs. "I have no idea what these are for. I'm just supposed to paste them up". Apparently he had no idea who he was working for or what the posters represented. Probably a good thing. I manage to convince him to give me a poster. I leave before he changes his mind. This poster now hangs in my house.

That was as far as the rabbit hole went for me. It was an exciting time. Little bits of sticks and hair, fragments of narrative splintered over the net. We didn't get secret shows, mobile phones, ammo boxes, or whatever else, but it was great to read up on it after the fact. It felt wrong. It felt dangerous. It was relevant then, and still is now (perhaps more so). One of the best times to be a NIN fan.