Tamara And The Dreams' ‘Internet Song’ Is An Ode To The Online Generation
Tamara And The Dreams. Photo supplied.
Melbourne pop band Tamara And The Dreams, led by Tamara Reichman, have just released their new single Internet Song. If you’re someone that’s been raised by the Internet, then this song will feel like your new personal anthem. Our parents taught us the Internet was the domain of strangers, but for many people reading this, it’s where we learnt to truly be ourselves.
For a song that is firmly about a modern experience, there’s something timeless about Internet Song. Part surf-rock jam, part pop ballad, it’s a heartfelt love song that comes from an artist that often projects an ironic online persona. Internet Song is another piece in the Tamara And The Dreams puzzle. TATD is a project that largely has seen success in online communities, and this song feels like an ode to those supporters. You can never truly be too online, but sometimes your username and your real name can become interchangeable.
Speaking about the track, Tamara says, “I come from the first generation to have spent their formative years online. From Miniclip to Millsbery to Piczo to Club Penguin to MSN to Tumblr, spaces on the internet did really play a significant part in my upbringing and the way i formed my identity and self. Today we are all part cyborgs, with our phones as extensions of our hands and our brains.
“Internet Song is a tribute to the way we've given a part of ourselves over to forever live in those spaces, to connect, to laugh, to cry, to grow, whatever happens - it's all there. We can delete things that happen on the internet but we can't delete them from ourselves.” A lot of us have discovered subcultures and communities online that we subsequently embraced in our ‘real’ lives. Those years can’t be forgotten, and nor should they be.
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Check out Internet Song below. Far from being a superficial ode to the World Wide Web, it’s a track that is a nuanced discussion of falling in love with someone that doesn’t share the same affinity for online communities as you do. I think there’s a tendency to assume the way we interact with the Internet is the same way that everyone does, but this song is a great reminder that that isn’t the case. Not only is Tamara’s lyricism insightful, but the instrumentation feels like you’re at a beachside party having a boogie. Get your shoes on, it’s time to dance (IRL).