okay, so maybe "save the music" refers more to bringing music to schools whose music programs have gone down the tubes, but I think in a very dramatic sense, it can relate to the music industry as well.
sure, there's loads of great music swimming around out there. the local scene is becoming even more popular too. what used to be reserved for the "indie/hipster" kids (I don't even know which is which, so I'm obviously not really either) has now become THE place to be for anyone who wants new music or wants to be a close part of the music industry without shelling out $100 for a concert ticket (not to mention the CD you'll buy there, and the t-shirt, and the gas, and the parking, and the ... whatever else: booty shorts?). for ten bucks (often less than that), anyone can go to a little local show for a local metal/hardcore/posthardcore/pop/pop-punk/punk/alternative/[insert other genre here...] band. this awesome opportunity isn't guaranteed to be a great one aurally, but let me tell you, supporting these local gigs is what is going to save the industry.
at local shows, it's kids trying to make it big, but they know that without a label behind them, they're not gonna go anywhere unless they're original. without originality, the "scene" is going to write the band of as either posers or wannabes, which DO exist, but they're not common. it's at these shows that music is taken back to its roots and what it should be: pure and untarnished. it's about music and people. not money (although, they do need gas money every once in a while).
the music industry and its cronies are caught up in their own egos. they produce what will make money with little regard to what is actually talent because they're the ones who "know what they're doing".
I say "whatever". it's the local cats who are doing it right. support them instead.
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Very true indeed. I like local shows. Granted, the music isn't aaaaaalways fantastic...but most of the time they make up for it with tremendous stage presence, which is really the whole point of a concert anyway. However...I do like the big expensive shows too...It's just a completely different experience, in a way. But really it's important to support local talent.
ReplyDeleteBut it doesn't always have to be local either. Through the almighty power of Youtube, I can hop on and find countless bands from say...Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, and other places that I normally would never hear music from. I suppose one prime example would be a little Swiss group called Dawnless. As far as I know, they're unsigned, but through the internet they've become pretty famous. It's always good to support the little guys across the pond too, in my humble opinion.
Okay so first... I hate the radio. And isn't it interesting how we consider bands sell-outs when they are played on the radio and we discovered them much prior to? I was thinking about this the other day...but I'd much rather my favorite bands be kept to myself rather than played across the airwaves. Not that I don't want success for them though... :/
ReplyDeleteEmily, I'm right there with you. I'm so torn when my boys in News From Verona start talking about signing with a label and stuff like that... I want them to do well, of course! but they're MY band, y'know.
ReplyDeleteand Bryan, big shows DO have a different feel to them, I agree. and I love it. but the intimacy of a local show is unparalleled.
Agh...I'm sorry, but I'm completely the opposite. As far as I'm concerned, the more people that know about a band, the better. It's nice to think that a band belongs to us, or that we were the first people on the planet to know about them, but...well...they gotta eat. Besides...I just think music is something to be shared, and frankly, the radio is the best medium for doing so. That being said, I don't like radio, but that's only because commercials are obnoxious =D
ReplyDeleteI just hate the repetition...and when you've listened to a band for years and tried to get your friends interested in them and they completely hate it. Then one day that band is played on the radio and "magically" your friends are all the biggest fans. I guess what I mean is that I want people who actually appreciate them to say "I love that band!" instead of people who hear their single and claim their love for them.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love every and any kind of concert. Even classical--bring it on :]