Across the UK in the 1960’s chart hits were pretty much decided by teenagers huddling around portable transistor radios religiously tuned to illegal radio stations such as Radio Caroline. Broadcast from ships moored in international waters these stations circumvented national laws and the outdated diktats of government appointed radio controllers who decided what was and wasn’t appropriate for the youth of the day to listen to.

Pirate radio again resurfaced as a powerful cultural force (particularly across London), in the late 1980’s and 90’s as disenfranchised youth connected through the repetitive beats and thumping bass of the emerging rave scene. As a ‘private’, channel that circumvented the mainstream media, pirate radio fostered and propagated emerging multiple sub-cultures and gave those involved a sense of belonging and ownership.

When the Internet arrived it looked as if pirate radio would again slip into the annals of history. Why use this clunky medium that required operators to constantly shift their transmitters and microwave links, when with a cheap accessible program anyone and everyone could set up their own Internet radio station? There was really no longer a need for any pirate antics. Indeed many Internet radio stations emerged, and still operate, but there is a fundamental and crucial difference. They are ubiquitous and anyone and everyone can access them, thus loosing their central appeal as ‘closed networks’ that only those ‘in the know’ are connected by.

In a world where information flows and is free to all, there is a growing recognition that often there is a case for the limiting of information, especially where emerging music and culture is concerned. Fostering and propagation, especially within emerging youth cultural scenes are now being recognized as crucial to the future of said scene’s content and credibility.

So, will the emergence of a pirate ‘private notworks’, that recently launched on the L Train in NYC, be the new medium for the continuation of pirate antics and facilitate the closed network spirit to flourish?

Wired Magazine writes:

‘Using 15 portable battery-powered web servers hidden in shopping bags, a nascent creative agency called WeMakeCoolSh.it is creating temporary pirate Wi-Fi hotspots in select subway cars, allowing mobile devices in range to access a public intranet complete with chat room, news, and original content from local artists and writers. The name of the project — which (perhaps unintentionally) also works as a pun on the state of the subway service in recent years — is the “L Train Notwork.”

While thumping music isn’t on the program (thus far), it does represent the modern desire for sharing and collaboration and facilitates peoples need to connect with a very specific ‘in the know’ audience. We’ll keep you in the loop…if you’re lucky.

Iinks to consider:

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/11/all-aboard-nyc-geek-t...

http://wemakecoolsh.it/#2300081/L-Train-Notwork-Press-Release