As letras obscuras do Information Society

O Information Society foi sem dúvida uma das mais bem sucedidas bandas do início dos anos 90. Existe uma curiosidade muito bacana. Em dois CDs do InSoc há faixas que não são músicas, mas que possuem letra.

No álbum “Peace and Love Inc.”, de 1993, a última faixa é alguma coisa em 300 bps, 8-N-1 (sim, isso é o título da faixa). Isso significa que o áudio da faixa é um “ruído” criado por um modem, e que só pode ser decodificado por quem tiver um computador com modem e um programa de comunicação (serve o HyperTerminal, que vem com o Windows), configurado com esses parâmetros: 300 bits por segundo, 8 bits de dados, sem paridade (No Parity), 1 bit de parada.

Com essa configuração, o modem decodifica a faixa e um texto aparece na tela do computador.

A “letra” é uma história fantástica contada pelo vocalista Kurt Harland sobre a turnê brasileira do Information Society no início dos anos 90 — a maior já feita por um grupo musical estrangeiro em nosso país, até hoje.

ats0=0
OK
atdt4921507
RINGING

RINGING

CONNECT

    SO WE'RE SUPPOSED TO PLAY IN CURITIBA IN 18 HOURS, BUT OUR BUS IS BEING HELD HOSTAGE
BY THE LOCAL PROMOTERS. THEY'VE FORMED SOME UNHOLY ALLIANCE WITH THE BRAZILIAN
COUNTERPART OF ASCAP; THE PRS. APPARANTLY THE PRS HAS THE LEGAL POWER TO ARREST
PEOPLE, AND THEY WANT A PIECE OF THE NATIONAL TOUR PROMOTER'S MONEY. THE LOCAL
SECURITY FORCE, "GANG MEXICANA", HAS BEEN BOUGHT OUT FOR 1800 CRUZADOS AND A CARTON OF
MARLBOROS EACH. THE ONLY FACTION STILL OPERATING IN OUR DEFENSE IS "BIG JOHN", OUR
PERSONAL SECURITY MAN, AND HE'S HIDING IN HIS ROOM BECAUSE A LOCAL GANG IS OUT FOR HIS
BLOOD BECAUSE OF A 1982 KNIFING INCIDENT IN WHICH HE WAS INVOLVED. OUR 345-POUND ROAD
MANAGER, RICK ONLY HAD THIS TO SAY: "YOU WANTED THE LIFE OF A ROCK STAR!". PAUL, JIM AND I
REALIZED THAT THIS WAS ONE SITUATION WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO GET OUT OF OURSELVES.

    WE CONVENED A HASTY CONFERENCE IN THE NOVOTEL LOBBY. PAUL SUGGESTED CONTACT- ING
OUR NATIONAL TOUR PROMOTER IN SAO PAULO, BUT WE REMEMBERED THAT HE WAS IN RECIFE WITH
FAITH NO MORE, WHO HAD JUST ARRIVED FOR THEIR BRAZILIAN TOUR. WE THOUGHT ABOUT
CONTACTING OUR BRAZILIAN RECORD COMPANY IN RIO, BUT THEY WEREN'T HOME. OUR
EVER-DILIGENT AMERICAN MANAGER WAS ARRANGING HELP OF NUMEROUS FORMS, BUT HE WAS IN
NEW YORK, AND JUST TOO FAR AWAY TO GET ANYTHING MOVING IN TIME.

    AND THERE WERE 6000 KIDS IN CURITIBA WHO JUST WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND.

    WE KNEW IT WAS TIME FOR ACTION. PAUL WENT UP TO THE PRS GUYS AND INVITED THEM INTO
THE BAR TO DISCUSS IT LIKE CIVILIZED MEN OVER A FEW BRAZILIAN DRINKS, OFFERING EACH OF
THEM A CIGAR ON HIS WAY. THE AMUSED PRS HEAVIES SEEMED TO LIKE THE IDEA OF A FEW FREE
DRINKS, EVEN IF THEY KNEW THEY WOULD NEVER GIVE US OUR BUS BACK. WHEN PAUL WINKED AT
JIM AND I ON HIS WAY IN, WE WENT INTO ACTION.

    I STOLE OFF TO MY ROOM TO PREPARE WHILE JIM WENT INTO ACTION. CREEPING CAREFULLY
THROUGH A SERVICE DUCT, HE MANAGED TO GAIN A VANTAGE POINT SOME THREE METERS ABOVE
THE BUS, AND DROPPED CAREFULLY ONTO THE ROOF. AFTER USING HIS ALL-PURPOSE SWISS ARMY
KNIFE (AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN AS THE "SKIT KNIFE") TO JIMMY OPEN THE ROOF HATCH, HE WENT
THROUGH THE DARKENED INSIDE OF THE BUS AND REMOVED THE INSIDE ENGINE SERVICE PANEL.
USING SOME SPARE ELECTRONIC PARTS HE FOUND WHILE ON AN ISLAND IN THE AMAZON, HE WIRED
THE ENTIRE BUS FOR REMOTE CONTROL, NOT UNLIKE A REMOTE CONTROL TOY CAR.

    AT THIS POINT, HE ASKED HIMSELF "NOW HOW SHALL I GET OUT OF HERE?!?"

    PAUL WAS HAVING DIFFICULTIES OF HIS OWN.

    "COULDN'T YOU SEE YOUR WAY CLEAR TO LETTING US FULFILL OUR CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
IN CURITIBA? THINK OF THE KIDS!"

    THROUGH OUR TRANSLATOR, FABIO, THE PRS MAN, ALDO, SAID;

    "NO. YOU AMERICANS THINK YOU OWN THE WORLD. HAH! WE'LL BURN DOWN OUR RAIN FOREST IF
WE DAMN WELL PLEASE. WE NEED ROOM FOR COWS!! WE WANT A MACDONALD'S ON EVERY... OH,
SORRY, YES ANYWAY, NO. WE NEED 40% OF YOUR CONCERT RECEIPTS TO GIVE TO DAVID BOWIE."
HE SAID, WINKING TO THE LOCAL PROMOTER, PHILLIPE.

    AS PAUL CONTINUED THIS ELABORATE DISTRACTION, JIM EFFECTED AN ESCAPE FROM THE
HEAVILY GUARDED BUS BY CRAWLING DOWN INTO THE CARGO BAY, CUTTING A HOLE IN THE FLOOR
WITH THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE'S ARC-WELDER, SLIPPING INTO THE MANHOLE COVER SITUATED UNDER
THE BUS, AND WALKING UP INTO THE HOTEL'S BASEMENT FROM THERE. JIM CALLED UP TO ME IN MY
ROOM AND GAVE THE SIGNAL. WE WERE NOW TO MEET AT THE BACK ENTRANCE, WITH OUR TECH
GUYS. BUT FIRST, PAUL WOULD NEED SOME HELP GETTING AWAY FROM HIS UNWELCOME GUESTS, AS
THINGS WERE GETTING UGLY.

    "HE SAYS HE HAS LOST HIS PATIENCE, AND THAT HE CAN THINK OF OTHER WAYS OF EXACTING
PAYMENT FROM YOU KURT AND JIM PHYSICALLY." OUR TREMBLING INTERPRETER SAID.

    THE MOMENT HAD COME. JIM BEGAN OPERATING THE BUS FROM HIS BACK ENTRANCE VANTAGE
POINT. AS THE REMOTE-CONTROLLED BUS LURCHED TOWARDS THE PARKING LOT EXIT, THE
SUPERSTITIOUS SECURITY YOUTHS FLED IN TERROR. PAUL WAS PULLING ANXIOUSLY ON HIS COLLAR
AS THE PRS MAN BEGAN DESCRIBING HIS COLLECTION OF WORLD WAR II NAZI CERIMONIAL KNIVES
WHEN A SUDDEN CRASH SPLIT THE TABLEAU.

    JIM HAD PURCHASED ME THE GIFT OF A COMPLETE BLACK NINJA STEALTH ASSASSIN OUTFIT IN
ARACAJU. I HAD BEEN GEARING UP AND CRAWLING THROUGH THE AIR CONDITIONING DUCTS ALL THIS
TIME. AS I CRASHED THROUGH THE CHEAP IMITATION-STYROFOAM HUNG CEILING TILES, SKATES
FIRST, I FLASHED NINJA STARS ALL ABOUT ME. IN THE ENSUING PANIC, PAUL ESCAPED TO THE
PRE-ARRANGED BUS PICK-UP POINT. UNFORTUNATLEY, MY SKATES WERE A POOR CHOICE OF FOOT
GEAR FOR ESCAPING OVER THE BROKEN GLASS. OF THE TABLE I HAD LANDED ON. WERE IT NOT FOR
THE CONFUSION AND THE NINJA-STAR-INFLICTED WOUNDS DELIVERED TO THE BAD GUYS, I WOULD
HAVE BEEN SET UPON WHILE FOUNDERING ON THE GLASS-STREWN CARPET. AS IT HAPPENED,
HOWEVER, I LEAPT THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR OF THE CAREENING BUS AS IT DEPARTED THE CITY OF
MARINGA FOREVER.

    IF ONLY WE HAD MANAGED TO GET OUR EQUIPMENT IN THE BUS, TOO . . .

    EVERY WORD OF THIS STORY IS TRUE.
                                                            - KURT HARLAND
NO CARRIER

A segunda “letra obscura” apareceu no CD “Don’t Be Afraid”, de 1997, quando o Information Society estava reduzido a um único integrante, Kurt Harland. A última faixa chamava-se “White Roses 300 8-N-1”, e também era um som de modem. A mensagem era bem menor do que a de “Peace and Love Inc.” e usava os mesmos parâmetros do modem. Era um guia de instruções para se obter a verdadeira décima faixa do disco.

For reasons that will become obvious when you hear it, the song "White Roses" is not found on
this disc. This is just an audio recording of a modem spitting out this text. "White Roses" is, however,
an actual InSoc song, and you CAN obtain it. It will not be easy. You must use your web browser to
access the following document:

http://InSoc.org/rose.htm

When it asks you for a user ID and password, enter the following:

userid - roses

password - barbara

This will bring you to the next step. When and if you ever succeed in obtaining this 10th InSoc song,
it will be YOUR responsibility to make copies of the song and distribute it to other people. Feel free to
charge money for it, if you can. Spread the song around as much as you can.

Good luck.

Para obter essa faixa, era necessário juntar 16 arquivos compactados com ARJ, disponíveis em diversos sites e no CD-ROM extra que veio com a versão americana do álbum. O resultado era um WAV. Felizmente a busca por essas partes do arquivo já acabou, já que muita gente conseguiu montar o quebra-cabeça e ouvir a música, e alguns dos sites nem existem mais.

A faixa “White Roses” tem como único proprietário Kurt Harland, não pertence a nenhum selo ou gravadora. Como descrito acima, Kurt encoraja a distribuição da música por todos os meios possíveis.

A música pode ser encontrada de várias formas:

  • neste site, que traz mais alguns detalhes e a verdadeira letra;
  • em qualquer programa de busca e download de música;
  • na versão brasileira de “Don’t Be Afraid”, que traz as músicas do CD original, mais três remixes e a verdadeira “White Roses” no lugar do som de modem.
(PostRating: 0 hits today, 0 yesterday, 227 total, 11 max)