Media

"Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by incompetence" Napoleon.

I am not a great believer in conspiracy theories, so I like to explain the bizarre coverage that Glastonbury gets in the media as the result of the distortions that are inadvertently built into the system. So here, for the record are some Glastonbury Media Myths, and my truth.

1. Mud. OK, so I missed the rain at G1997 and G1998. My friends Brian, Neil and Mark tell me it was bad - and I believe them. They even had to leave on the Sunday. So far I been to Glastonbury four times, and only once had there been a mud-fest (2007). I think there is a festival-equals-mud cliché based on Woodstock perhaps. Something to do with puritanical sin=dirt, excuse to go naked etc., and of course partially clad students rolling about in mud is very photogenic, should it ever happen again.

2. Hedonism. "The doctrine that the pursuit of pleasure is the highest good". There's nothing like a good scandal to get media attention, so its not surprising that the tabloids are full of pictures of drug-induced drunken orgies and tales of respectable citizens caught in compromising positions - I've never noticed any of this at Glastonbury, however - maybe I just don't know the right people. All that is left for the media is the subtle implication that Glasto is somehow "naughty" and not for the God-fearing.

3. Drugs. Most of the people at Glastonbury used to smoke cannabis (in 1999), but there is much less of it now (2007). Many also used to consume large amounts of alcohol. My own position is that on the spiritual path that I am following - Subud - I am advised against the taking of drugs. The fact that alcohol makes me fall asleep and that I don't smoke means that I could eat a hash-brownie or two, but I am concerned about the dosage level - I don't want to waste a minute at Glasto, let alone an afternoon or day, messing about with plant chemicals. I think part of my anger at G1999 was that most people need drugs to wind down from the rest of the year - not anger at the people, but anger at a world that only looks good under anaesthesia. Maybe I'm just lucky that I have a really good time without drugs.

4. Numbers. One person killed - RTA - one paragraph in the local paper. Four people killed in the same car makes the local TV news. Ten people die in a minibus and you'll see it on the national news, or 100 people in the USA or Europe, or 500 in the third world. It is this number-distortion in the media that allows the real cost of the car to go unnoticed - if every car-related fatality in the UK was on the national news there would be no time for anything else - an average of 25 people a day. Media greatness is determined by the numbers - the size of the audience - the money-making potential.

So lets hear it for the less famous - "Xiringuito" : audience of about 50 in the Left Field tent, "Jolly's band" : audience of 1 (me) at the side of the road, plus a few passers by (both G2002). Sweet music, well played, well enjoyed. You probably won't see them on TV (yet).