I walk in to my room to grab the remains of my homework, jealous of my comfortably dozing roomate illuminated by the earliest of pink pre-dawn light. I didn't actually have that much to do, but there was the sleeping late, then the oscars, then the me losing my concentration around 2am, but most of all, there were the documentaries...
heres part 1, the rest is on you tube too...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UIhTXQfiENI
9/11- a corporate conspiracy? Could it have been prevented? This documentary was actually pretty intruiging, then again that comes with the nature of the material. I always thought there was something odd about the footage: plane crashes into tower, tower remains standing, then proceeds to crash floor by floor to the ground. If it was the velocity of the plane that caused such a mass of troubles in the buidling, wouldnt it act more like a domino falling down sideways than crashing downwards? The theory given, of course, is that the steel was so overheated that it either bent or broke, allowing the building to implode in on itself. This documentary claims that the steel was tested to temperatures well over those the fire could have maximally burned to in the building, (and wouldnt this have happenned immidiatley with no pause? wouldnt heat only subtract with time?) along with mentioning some bizarre construction occuring about a week before the attacks, and the random explosion building 7. Overall it was a very convincing documentary, at least until the end when they were like "come down the rabbit hole, welcome to the new wave, its OK..." Creepers. Way to kill a quality program, plus the website screams "send us money." And there are some other questions too- like if it was a corporate demolition, why even bother with planes in the first place? if a jet plane couldn't get that hot, what's to say chemical explosives could? Anyway, they make some good points, and I consider it my responsibility to spread the word just in case they are on to something. (which it seems like they might be) I bet all the fishy things are just people being bought off from AlQaeda. I doubt the US govt's intention is to go that far for a war and authortarian shits and giggles, but who knows. It's worth a peek.
The second one wasn't so mindblowing so no link. It was pretty much everything we already know about how the music industry is comprised of profit driven corporate robber barons who will only sign artists who would rather sell alot quickly than invest in quality acts that could do well with the same amount of pushing but who won't get the support simply because they don't fit the mainstream bracket of what corporations know will sell. (Yes, OSK, I was thinking of you)They also went on to explain (and essentially criticize) how large corporations will group together to promote an artists through every company under its umbrella. (eg. record label does record, artist promoted in partner subsidiary magazine, sell their cd at correlated chain store, etc) Honestly, I don't have a huge ethical problem with this. People wouldn't develop "mainstream only" music if people didn't like it. People are easily bought idiots with poor taste, but essentially the companies are really just profiting off of making them happy. It's a win-win situation between the seller and the consumer. Furthermore, using a profitible aspect of one of your companies to increase the value of your other companies or only doing buisness with artists you know will be successful isn't ethically wrong by any standard, it's good buisness. If you want to be into music because you like the art form and want to take risks, sign with an indie label and be happy with a small cult following. If you wanna be a big star, dress like P Diddy, and be on TRL, sell your creative soul to the devil. The idea of being famous is a corporate entity within itself- not a hard core indie one. You can't really have both, at least not in the same way. It's capitalism, we have a choice. If Indie labels didn't exist that would be another story, but they do, embrace their awesomeness and stop complaining just because the rest of the world hasn't caught on yet. They're also complaining about TV commercials using music. Dude, it's good advertising for both the product and the song simultanously. What's not to love? I know if you're an artist you don't wan't to forever be "the song on the [insert brand here] commercial" but it's a great gateway, and if you're any good you'll out grow your commercial reputation soon enough. I personally consider commercials a prime way to hear good songs. Maybe I am a corporate dominated Zombie, but hey at least my music makes me happy.
But they did make one point- even big names get treated like crap from a mainstream label. Did you know that a band on average has to sell 300,000 records just to break even after what they owe their label/producer from doing a record and video? let alone make a profit...OK, the guilt got me, I'm never illegally downloading ever again. It's also watching things like that that make me incredibly proud to live in the day and age that we do (despite my musical bitching and complaining) because there are now actually a bunch of internet record labels helping lesser known artists promote themselves. Yay technology! Yay globalization! Yay equal-footing on a world-wide platform! Yay Friedman! Yay blogosphere! I am excited to see what the future holds, especially considering that the "in" thing now is really alternative and bazarre stuff (then again, that might just be because I go to a women's college in Mass)
wohooo post 111. Oh, and in the style of Gavrich, I was listening to this song earlier today and couldn't help but add it in:
Hooker with a Penis by Tool
I met a boy wearing vans,
501 s, and a Dope beastie t, nipple rings, and
New tattoos that claimed that he
Was ogt, From 92, The first EP.
And in between sips of coke
He told me that he thought
We were sellin out,
Layin down,
Suckin up
To the man.
Well now Ive got some Advice for you, little buddy.
Before you point the finger You should know that Im the man,
And if Im the man, Then youre the man, and Hes the man as well
so you can Point that fuckin finger up your ass.
All you know about me is what Ive sold you,
Dumb fuck. I sold out long before you ever heard my name.
I sold my soul to make a record, Dip shit, And you bought one.
So Ive got some Advice for you, little buddy.
Before you point your finger You should know that Im the man,
If Im the fuckin man Then youre the fuckin man as well
So you can point that fuckin finger up your ass.
All you read and Wear or see and Hear on tv
Is a productBegging for yourFatass dirtyDollar
So...shut up and Buy my new record
Send more money Fuck you, buddy.
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2 comments:
As far as conspiracy theories go, I try to shy away from even adressing them. I know that sounds close-minded, but in my (extremely limited) experience, logic seems to be a more reliable thing than the crackpot theories of others. I’ve watched my share of 9/11 conspiracy videos and I understand how intriguing they are. Their intrigue, to me, is what gives them away. Real life is, for the most part boring, and so we often look to the improbable fantastic. Conspiracy theories are very good at molding the mind to the improbable.
Speaking of weak minds, I’m not so sure that the promotion and commercial success of some music means that it is good music. Instead of popularity causing commercial success, I see it more the other way around: Corporations shove music down our throats until we enjoy it. Many things in life are like this. A teacher once told me that SEARS changed their store lightbulbs one season to conserve energy, and their sales plummeted because their songs didn’t look good in a less artificial light. I believe J_V was the one who told me that experiments were conducted in which drinks changed their container, and the different containers dictated the success of the drink. I believe this is the same in music- record labels often dress turds of songs up to look like gems. A few examples I may cite are “Hey There Delilah” and Akon’s “Don’t Matter”, catchy songs which you decide you like for about three days because they’re ridiculously overplayed, and then you realize you hate and the catchiness just makes them annoying.
As far as successful indie bands not being indie anymore, that’s not exactly true. Many indie bands do sell out, joining major record labels once they become supremely successful. However, just because an indie band becomes popular does not mean they’re not independent after all. The definition of independent is self-reliant, so technically any pop culture Goliaths who start their own successful labels (Jay-Z) can be considered independent.
You're right about the fact that crap music is overpromoted, and yeah I'm sick of it, but remember that just because we won't like something unless we hear it a shitload, doesn't mean others with different tastes (eg: the pop masses) don't immidiatley enjoy it. It's really hard to determine, but it is a viscious cycle.
I'm also not saying that indie bands are no longer indie, I'm just saying that major corps ARE starting to realize that people are looking for a fresh sound so groups like Modest Mouse and Amy Winehouse can actually get the over promotion once reserved for Christina and Britney. (I think it will be at least another 5 to ten years before another pop princess comes along, if ever) As for the future, it could split two ways. As indie music increases in popularity, small acts will be more sucessful and more able to manage themselves with the resources available to us in this day and age, which is good. On the other hand, corporations know this is what people want to hear, so in the traditional style of them taking the "uncool" and converting it to "cool" (like I blogged about like 2 years ago) they could possibly ruin the genre. I guess it'll be either a great schism of Indie rock or the coolest time to be a musician, ever.
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