Asdgf

Alex Turner, in an interview with BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac reveals how his favourite albums feel like places that he can go and visit in his mind, and so it made sense to model an actual place for the album (Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino). The same can be said for feelings, sounds, and even smells can trigger vivid memories and experiences.

Alex Turner designing a model of Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, a fictional hotel placed on the moon

Something similar is mentioned by Mike Burakoff, writer and director of the music video for The Strokes' At The Door:

There's a feeling when you are growing up that you are just leaving for a second to go get something, that you'll be right back. But reality is not the same as a memory, you can't go back. Something or some time that feels so close to you can be impenetrably far away. It's a feeling of loss that I get when I think about certain memories from my past. That notion is at the heart of this video.

Still of the music video of At The Door by The Strokes, illustrated and animated in the style of a nostalgic-looking cartoon, displaying an old and clearly abandoned house, transitioning into a portal showing a futuristic city that has taken it's place

The music video for The Strokes' At The Door and the quote from its director, Mike Burakoff, brought to mind websites from my past that no longer exist or have changed beyond recognition. As a child, I would frequently visit the forum for my favorite video game, The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind. Though the forum no longer exists, it is still accessible through the Wayback Machine. However, whenever I revisit it, it feels like a ghost town. The once-popular forum that was full of discussions is now abandoned.

Screenshot of the Morrowind forum visited through the Wayback Machine, displaying some forum posts and broken images

It's almost like looking at the ruins of an ancient city. Not everythings works anymore, links have rotten and now lead to pages that don't exist anymore, images have disappeared, its users have moved on in life, but a lot of their posts are still visible to browse through. There's a rich history of a community, its discussions, its unique sense of humor and in-jokes, and its drama; a legacy. Maybe the closest thing to a time machine I'll ever experience.

It reminds me of a project a friend of mine did in art school, on the human tendency of wanting to leave a legacy, and to contribute to something bigger. Often unintentionally so; a quick scribble with a pen on a piece of paper to check that the pen works correctly as a proof of life. The message not being as important as the need to leave one, a reminder of the impact we have had on the world around us.

Some scribblings on a piece of papier

A human handprint on a wall of cavepaintings. A test-tweet saying no more than a simple, effortless "asdgf". Hello world.

"I was here".

A tweet from June 27, 2013 that says "asdgf"

In the song Four Out of Five from Arctic Monkeys' album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, Alex Turner explores the idea of leaving a lasting legacy, even in the most unlikely of places. in the song, Turner takes on the persona of the owner of a hotel on the moon, boasting about a taqueria he has opened on the roof. Despite the unconventional setting and the seemingly mundane nature of a taqueria, it got rave reviews; four stars out of five.