in search of the lost tweet
In musicianly quarters the search for the lost chord is the mythological, and often narcotic-fuelled mystic mission into the rock'n'roll void in search of the trancendental moment of infinite oneness between man/woman and instrument.
In fact, one of the first known recordings of any music was the song 'The Lost Chord' by Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) - composed in 1877 - and recorded in 1888 for Thomas Edison in order that he could demonstrate his invention, the Phonograph (nowadays known as an ipod).
Sullivan himself was invited to one of these early playbacks and was reported to have remarked:
'I can only say that I am astonished and somewhat terrified at the result of this evening's experiments: astonished at the wonderful power you have developed, and terrified at the thought that so much *hideous and bad music may be put on record forever. But all the same I think it is the most wonderful thing that I have ever experienced, and I congratulate you with all my heart on this wonderful discovery.'
*Not only a great composor but also a great visionary, predicting there the emergence of Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber many years hence.
A long winded introduction to Greplin, a personal search engine that will index your personal streams (gmail, facebook, twitter, linkedin etc) and allow you to search for long forgotten nuggets from your own social canon.
So the lost tweet from 2007 is lost no more.
It linked all perplexèd meanings
Into one perfect peace,
And trembled away into silence
As if it were loth to cease.
I have sought, but I seek it vainly,
That one lost [tweet] divine,
Which came from the soul of the [twitter],
And entered into mine.
adapted from The Lost Chord, Arthur Sullivan 1877
