The future isn’t what it used to be and it’s always been that way. This is what I thought when I read an article by Cory Doctorow in the online archive of Tin House magazine. The article concerned itself with science fiction, but in true Cory Doctorow fashion, it sidestepped the genre all together, while illuminating some of the more mysterious recesses of this much-maligned literary creature. The main thrust of Mr. Doctorow, article concerned itself with the concept of Radical Presentalism: a focus in contemporary writing that blurs the boundaries between genres. There are a few “radically present” novels out there, and there are bound to be more. I haven’t read much of Cory Doctorow’s writing, but I’m sure that he’s one of those radically present writers doing that cross-genre thing…the only thing is, I’m more interested in William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, and Jonathan Lethem. I figure if you’re going to be radically present, you’ve got some pretty big shoes to fill, and the majority of those shoes don’t exist within the hallowed halls of literature. In fact, many of those shoes can be heard on record labels with names like Island, Arista and Warner. Those shoes were first made (and worn) by the architects of such music genres as Trip Hop, Electronica, and whatever that massively creative stuff is that Björk does when she decides to do it in Icelandic. Radically-Present fiction/literature simply has to be as exciting and paradigm-shifting as the music that has already inspired other artists outside of the music field: so far, at least, Gibson, Sterling, and Lethem have done so with graceful success. When I was first exposed to Radical Presentalism, I didn’t know that’s what it was called, and I’m still now sure that’s what it’s called. I know that Cory Doctorow calls it that, and a lot of terribly-intellectual people probably call it that as well, but I find that term to be somewhat…um…well…dubious. I get what they’re getting at, however. Radical Presentalism is, if anything, a feeling of culture shock induced by your own culture. It’s that feeling I experienced back in the early 1990s, when musical geniuses like Tricky, Massive Attack, and Portishead came oozing out of England due to the whatever pressure causes brilliant artists to emerge like pressurized toothpaste from any given country at any given time. Like pressurized toothpaste spewing from an England-shaped tube, Tricky, Portishead, and Massive Attack followed no predictable trajectories. They first hit the music scene more than 20 years ago, and in listening to their music now, it sounds even more futuristic than it did back then. I thought of that, today, as I listened to music by Massive Attack, Tricky, and Portishead; in looking at the album art for Tricky’s album Angels with Dirty Faces, I found myself fiddling with photographs in my files, and recalling the emotional vibe of the cover for Maxinquaye, Tricky’s first album. By the time I’d gotten mid-fiddle, I’d switched to the almost-laconic “Risingson” by Massive Attack: it sounds as if a UK-sized UFO just throbs through the middle of that song. Because of Massive Attack and Tricky (especially Tricky)…I found myself imagining all of the Trip Hop/Bristol Sound/Electronica/Icelandic Pixie Dervish stuff that defined the 1990s for me…and so it isn’t really that surprising that I created the group whose CD cover you see here. I suspect that M31 might actually appear in something written…but until then…here’s their image…just pretend they aren’t Corey, Me, and our mutual friend, Shaun, shamelessly stolen from other photographs I’d taken. As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope you’re all having a great week.