Good Old TOPY

Archival Seeds Bloom Anew

I’ve been roaming the archive for more goodies for the upcoming TOPY documentary by Jacqueline Castel, “Message From Thee Temple”. And I keep finding so many interesting things all over the place – enough for many a book!

Some of the most endearing material I would say comes from my TOPY days (mid-80s to early 90s). This was peak magical demagogia time for me: not only did I live in a magical vortex around the clock through frenzied multi-creativity; I also wanted everyone else to do the very same!

Each little White Stains song had some overt or covert message about finding one’s will and ”doing it.” And in TOPYSCAN and OTO and anything else I might have been involved in, there was always a high degree of whipping up enthusiasm enough to get marching on the magical avenue ahead. In hindsight I see it all as ”cute”: youthful bursts of well-meaning poetic propaganda. At the same time, however, I was dead serious about it.

The following text is from a Swedish fanzine called Choice Voice, published in 1990 by TOPY member and dear friend Björn Sandén (RIP). I think it’s a good example of transitional Carl, going from pure demagogia to something slightly more eloquent, and bordering on some kind of ”conceptual” writing. Enjoy!