It’s one thing to respect elders. It’s another to be disrespected by elders. Recently I was called parochial. In case you didn’t do well in your spelling bee it has one of two meanings. The first is it represents a church or parish. The second is that a person has a narrow view or outlook. I generally respect elders. However, this particular person is obviously desperate for attention in an online forum.
His original message was about where the future of the music business is going to be. Like a lot of people he mentions the Internet. The Internet and every other method will die in three years. Calls all the labels evil and lumps all lawyers in with this evil. Thinks that putting music on a website will make a long lasting viable career. Then goes on to report that I know nothing about the music business. Of course making all this armchair rhetoric from the safety of his home under an anonymous name.
I don’t hide from my name. I have no reason to. I work on facts in terms of business. I’ve built a pretty good reputation. It’s no state secret that I’ve been a strong advocate of digital music. Uh – this blog is a great example. Anyway, this character was essentially shooting holes in his own theories when he started naming artists like Kid Rock and John Cougar Mellencamp. Stating how they’re very forward thinking artists and changing the status quo in the music biz.
Think about that for a moment. Here’s a guy saying that all musicians should never sign a record deal. Should never deal with a lawyer for their business. And yet calls attention to two artists he really likes and both are what? Signed to major record labels and likely have several lawyers that represent them. Read the hypocrisy there?
I certainly hope that as I age, I don’t become parochial in a literal sense. I don’t care to look back and think I didn’t help change the world a little. I don’t want to be some bitter old chap who couldn’t write a great song. Or some fool who thinks that younger people don’t get it. That would be sad. Actually he did post a song on youTube. All I can say is that it isn’t worthy of Single of the Day, and it’s a shame that he is so delusional.
Thus in a show of class I’m going to feature Wes Montgomery today. Here’s a little song with a title that I think relates very well to the double standard some people put up – Dangerous. Wes created some intense music. There is no doubt that his influence ended up influencing several of the teachers I had which obviously indirectly influenced me. Which is how I found out about him. Certainly an amazing writer and guitarist. That can’t be denied.
If you haven’t branched out for your music it’s probably a good time to start. As for the future of music, you can’t know where you’re going if you can’t tell where you’ve been. Words that a certain person could do well to live by.
I’m attempting to use a new twitter plugin. Let me know if you come because of Twitter.