SPECULATION: I don't wanna read a thing

[MusiKel Mama]

 I woke up with a strange feeling.
>
> I read yesterday that "My Morning Jacket's album had been leaked".
>
> At first, after having seen the thread on this site, and read the comments of excited forum members eager to listen to the new song, I felt a modicum of guilt.  I felt complicit in having disrespected the artists, whom I admire so much.  I felt like I had violated the code of allowing an artist to have control over their work...to release it in their own time...on their own terms.  And I looked at the microcosm of the larger culture that is this forum, and started to wonder about the behaviors that drive it...this constant seeking...this constant speculation...the insatiable appetite for what you can't have...the segmenting of information into a kind of social stratagem of the "haves" and "have nots".  And I started to wonder if this kind of fetishism was not taking something from the music itself...
>
> But then I thought about it on another level.  This voyeurism...this fetishism...is exactly what sells.  I don't know about you, but I bought the single from Pono.  It was not leaked.  It had a source.  And that source was authentic. Yet the threads on the topic had been removed, like some Watergate paper trail...like a catfish...never to be caught...untraceable.  And I started to think about this move to Capitol Records...right in the heart of Hollywood...the marketing capital of the world. A town filled with the masters of slight of hand...that steal your soul, and make you think that you are still in control...those Kardashian PR teams...progenitors of leaked media...and this feeling rose in my chest...I can't explain it...save to say that I felt like a foreign invader had arrived...bringing with it seeds of an invasive species, and a scorched-earth will to match.

Perhaps this is just a reflection of my distrust in propaganda...but I feel like when everyone is drinking the cyanide they call kool-aid, that I'd rather get my water from an honest well.  There is no one to blame, but all are responsible in making sure that the art and messages we live by, are being dispensed in an honest way...that everyone is accountable at each part in the process to make sure authenticity are not compromised in the name of accessibility...so convenient but at such a cost...

I know that this thread will likely be erased or go unanswered, but I had to say something. This is a group of intelligent, honest, caring, and funny people...and I feel like when something is great it sells itself. There is no need for speculation. There is patience, and a steadfast belief that everything will come in its own due time.  I feel like all this seeking takes away the magic of the music...we become strands in a disconnected web.

A lot of this topic arises from something within me that cannot be rationalized or explained. It will not be popular. But when it comes down to it...instinct may not pay, but it can never be sold.

[MusiKel Mama]

To clarify, let's assume that art falls under the same principles as Marxism. There's the proletariat (the fans)...the bourgeoisie (record/media companies)...and the artists, who are in a middle-class type limbo. Now, if the artists are alienated from the modes of production (artistic liberty/distribution/fair wages), then the model ultimately favors the bourgeoisie...which is not a desired, nor a sustainable model. However, if the artists are complicit...if they sell out for a little more...this is problematic. And in any colonialist subtext, the biggest mistake that the bourgeoisie make is in believing that their "cultural" fingerprints are not evident to the proletariat. But see, the proletariat IS the culture. Ghetto music. The proletariat can spot the original from the print because they ARE the starving artists...I'm not saying success automatically equates with selling out. But I am saying there is a very thin line to tread...and this is a real litmus test.

[vespachick]

my distrust in propaganda...

I look at it this way: if you know it is propaganda, then there's nothing to worry about because you're ahead of the curve.  It will feel right or it won't.  There's plenty for everyone.  Music is like that.  Easy peasy.

[Santo]

To clarify, let's assume that art falls under the same principles as Marxism. There's the proletariat (the fans)...the bourgeoisie (record/media companies)...and the artists, who are in a middle-class type limbo. Now, if the artists are alienated from the modes of production (artistic liberty/distribution/fair wages), then the model ultimately favors the bourgeoisie...which is not a desired, nor a sustainable model. However, if the artists are complicit...if they sell out for a little more...this is problematic. And in any colonialist subtext, the biggest mistake that the bourgeoisie make is in believing that their "cultural" fingerprints are not evident to the proletariat. But see, the proletariat IS the culture. Ghetto music. The proletariat can spot the original from the print because they ARE the starving artists...I'm not saying success automatically equates with selling out. But I am saying there is a very thin line to tread...and this is a real litmus test.

Ah yes, but don't forget what Engels warned at Marx's burial..."mankind must first of all eat, drink, have shelter and clothing, before it can pursue politics, science, art, religion, etc." 

[e_wind]

here we go...

[Taterbug]

Ahhhh....  Let the games begin 

[vespachick]

here we go...

When I meditate, I like to focus on brown velour.  It's so soothing!

[getinthevan]

Instead of Marxism, maybe we could discuss how the record industry just changed the global record release day to Friday and how that may signify that the industry isn't as resistant to change as they appear to be.


http://www.stereogum.com/1783667/friday-is-officially-the-new-global-record-release-day/news/

[Emb1528]

How about just some good ol' fashioned rock and roll

[walterfredo]

I can't stop signing "Speculation" ala "Strangulation"

[getinthevan]

I can't stop signing "Speculation" ala "Strangulation"

I wish that was the way I read it.  Now I have Aerosmith's "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" stuck in my head.

[headhunter]

here we go...

When I meditate, I like to focus on brown velour.  It's so soothing!

OMG, I thought I was the only one!!!

[vespachick]

I can't stop signing "Speculation" ala "Strangulation"

I wish that was the way I read it. Now I have Aerosmith's "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" stuck in my head.

Goddammit, Van!

[Angelo]

I didn't realize catfish were that hard to catch.

[MusiKel Mama]

Instead of Marxism, maybe we could discuss how the record industry just changed the global record release day to Friday and how that may signify that the industry isn't as resistant to change as they appear to be.


http://www.stereogum.com/1783667/friday-is-officially-the-new-global-record-release-day/news/

I don't understand how establishing uniformity signals adaptivity...To tell you the truth, I find the whole notion of trying to innovate with "surprise drops" a la Beyonce or "automatic downloads" a la U2, trite.  Like how Taylor Swift got so offended by Spotify and two days later was dropping some single on YouTube's new medium. I just feel like the energy spent on marketing literal SHIT is such a mind fuck. Again and again it is axiomatic that the medium has swallowed the message. The revolution will not be televised. I'd like to see an artist with enough balls to not market anything. To put 100% of their energy into the creative process. If people choose to market for them, that is their business. Even to go so far as to not tell anyone that this is their m.o. Just do an entire fucking tour of rock n roll. No press. No gimmicks. THAT would be remarkable. And I know music costs money to make and that the people who invest the money want to make money back...which is why it would take someone with balls of steel to Andy Kaufman the whole fucking tour.

[vespachick]

Instead of Marxism, maybe we could discuss how the record industry just changed the global record release day to Friday and how that may signify that the industry isn't as resistant to change as they appear to be.


http://www.stereogum.com/1783667/friday-is-officially-the-new-global-record-release-day/news/

I don't understand how establishing uniformity signals adaptivity...To tell you the truth, I find the whole notion of trying to innovate with "surprise drops" a la Beyonce or "automatic downloads" a la U2, trite.  Like how Taylor Swift got so offended by Spotify and two days later was dropping some single on YouTube's new medium. I just feel like the energy spent on marketing literal SHIT is such a mind fuck. Again and again it is axiomatic that the medium has swallowed the message. The revolution will not be televised. I'd like to see an artist with enough balls to not market anything. To put 100% of their energy into the creative process. If people choose to market for them, that is their business. Even to go so far as to not tell anyone that this is their m.o. Just do an entire fucking tour of rock n roll. No press. No gimmicks. THAT would be remarkable. And I know music costs money to make and that the people who invest the money want to make money back...which is why it would take someone with balls of steel to Andy Kaufman the whole fucking tour.

How can you be certain some are not already doing that?   

[MusiKel Mama]

Instead of Marxism, maybe we could discuss how the record industry just changed the global record release day to Friday and how that may signify that the industry isn't as resistant to change as they appear to be.


http://www.stereogum.com/1783667/friday-is-officially-the-new-global-record-release-day/news/

I don't understand how establishing uniformity signals adaptivity...To tell you the truth, I find the whole notion of trying to innovate with "surprise drops" a la Beyonce or "automatic downloads" a la U2, trite.  Like how Taylor Swift got so offended by Spotify and two days later was dropping some single on YouTube's new medium. I just feel like the energy spent on marketing literal SHIT is such a mind fuck. Again and again it is axiomatic that the medium has swallowed the message. The revolution will not be televised. I'd like to see an artist with enough balls to not market anything. To put 100% of their energy into the creative process. If people choose to market for them, that is their business. Even to go so far as to not tell anyone that this is their m.o. Just do an entire fucking tour of rock n roll. No press. No gimmicks. THAT would be remarkable. And I know music costs money to make and that the people who invest the money want to make money back...which is why it would take someone with balls of steel to Andy Kaufman the whole fucking tour.

How can you be certain some are not already doing that?   

Surely I would have read something in Pitchfork by now...

[MusiKel Mama]

Bottom line, I don't know dick about the music industry. I have no right to say anything about how anyone runs their life and/or career...

[justbcuzido]

Instead of Marxism, maybe we could discuss how the record industry just changed the global record release day to Friday and how that may signify that the industry isn't as resistant to change as they appear to be.


http://www.stereogum.com/1783667/friday-is-officially-the-new-global-record-release-day/news/

I don't understand how establishing uniformity signals adaptivity...To tell you the truth, I find the whole notion of trying to innovate with "surprise drops" a la Beyonce or "automatic downloads" a la U2, trite.  Like how Taylor Swift got so offended by Spotify and two days later was dropping some single on YouTube's new medium. I just feel like the energy spent on marketing literal SHIT is such a mind fuck. Again and again it is axiomatic that the medium has swallowed the message. The revolution will not be televised. I'd like to see an artist with enough balls to not market anything. To put 100% of their energy into the creative process. If people choose to market for them, that is their business. Even to go so far as to not tell anyone that this is their m.o. Just do an entire fucking tour of rock n roll. No press. No gimmicks. THAT would be remarkable. And I know music costs money to make and that the people who invest the money want to make money back...which is why it would take someone with balls of steel to Andy Kaufman the whole fucking tour.

How can you be certain some are not already doing that?   

David Bowie already did that. But what else do you expect from the man? He has always been worlds ahead of everyone else.

http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/music/how-david-bowies-white-square-infiltrated-our-minds-8530858.html

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/david-bowie-trent-reznor-nin-666371

[Tracy 2112]

Bottom line, I don't know dick about the music industry. I have no right to say anything about how anyone runs their life and/or career...

Usually, when someone thinks they "have no right to say anything about how anyone runs their life and/or career", they don't say anything about how anyone runs their life and/or career. Usually.