First and foremost, Happy New Year to all, if anyone is reading our blog out there, and sorry for the lack of activity if anyone was interested in seeing how this blog would develop. Life just gets in the way sometimes, I suppose.
Today, as I'm sure everybody is well aware of, there is a a major congressional hearing regarding OUR rights to free information and media. Now, bare with me here, I'm not about to get all radical on you, and I'm not going to demand that you write your congressman or anything about it (even though you should), I'd just like to talk a little bit about how the outcome of these proposed bills could affect us all, how internet piracy has affected punk rock and art in general, and how Bukowski fucking rules.
First off, if you're reading this, you're more than likely into some form of punk music. And you don't like being told what you can and can't do. Furthermore, you've probably pirated a lot of the albums in your ipod. It's okay, you're human (no offense). Hell knows I drove around for hours trying to get Paint It Black's New Lexicon on CD when it first came out before finally succumbing to piracy (only out of anticipation for what it sounded like though, I ordered it through Amazon that same day because these guys deserve to be paid for their hard work). Now, have you seen any of those bands in your iPod live? How many? How many have you bought a tee shirt from? Did you give tips at the merch stand? If you answered yes to any of these questions, the band got to eat that day, and you've done your job as a supporter of art and free expression. What about this one: how many of your favorite bands did you discover on Youtube.com? How about discovery through related Wikipedia articles about related bands and members? How many of THOSE bands did you see live? Our congressman are out there right now, trying to take away your right to free information because it hurts THEIR pockets. How many bands will go undiscovered? What about OUR pockets? Sure, you pirated the new Set Your Goals and it wasn't exactly what you were expecting, but don't you want to keep these bands on the road? You might go see them just to hear a few jams from Mutiny, won't you? Besides, it's their right. Let people discover them. Let their music spread. Brett Gurewitz has enough money. These talented young artists need to be supported and we can't make that happen without the internet. I've gone on way too long, you get the picture.
Now, it's kind of a crazy thought, but I've been really thinking about this whole internet piracy "problem" and how its affected bands today. The conclusion I've drawn is that we're sort of set up for a modern punk rock Renaissance, and we have to thank the internet for it. Let's face it, top 40 radio will always be around. As long as advertisers are paying networks like MTV and top 40 radio stations, and as long as these networks continue to endorse companies like TimeWarner, Walmart, Nike, Tiffany, Chanel, Rolex, Sony, Juicy Couture, Ralph Lauren, VISA, Mastercard, Comcast, ABC, and the products affiliated with these companies in support of the COICA, there will be money in pop music. Especially considering how many of these companies lobby our congressmen, the government will always be happy. Matter of fact, congress probably wouldn't even get involved if it weren't for the fact that its members are directly affected by the free sharing of information over the internet. But again, I digress.
The point is, the fact that our music industry is collapsing (while it's terrifying for Dave and I as students of music business programs in college) is a wonderful thing. The days of the rock star, we can assume, have pretty much passed. What we have now are young men and women coming out of college with no job opportunities, who are anxious and hungry for success. Kids are tired of sitting in mom and dad's basement, being bummed because there are no jobs out there for them. These kids are starting bands, scraping their change together to buy a rusted ass van, touring all over the country, and they're not in it for the money; they're sleeping on people's floors, eating a pack of dry ramen and a few fries a day, and smoking your cigarette butts. If they are in for the money, they won't last long; there is none to be had. What we essentially are left with is bands that are in the game for all the right reasons, and that are finding ways to make it work because they love it. Think of all the amazing bands that we've had thrown our way over the course of the last 5 or 6 years. These groups don't directly make money off records anymore. The most important thing to most of the bands you currently listen to or used to listen to is just that they got their music out there. The fact that you heard it and made an opinion about it means more to most of us than your money; even better if you came out and sang along when we came to your town, maybe grabbed up a tee shirt and threw us some bud or some beers, maybe some gas money, or even just came up and encouraged us. As is the case with most revelations, Bukowski really found the way to put it best. "Writers are desperate people and when they stop being desperate they stop being writers."
