US AND THEM
Well, Bob Lefsetz's rant on Flea's email to the Chili Pepper's fans has certainly got us talking.
I made my (long winded) point over at AVC, but last night I also sent this message to Ted and Fred, and I thought I'd put it here too...
"I hope Bob's rant isn't the summation of that side of the debate, because it's pretty thin. He makes no real point. I guess ultimately it'll be decided in the court of capitalism, but people forget that we're talking about art as well.
Well, sometimes it's art. I'd say for the Chili's it is. And I'm not really a huge fan.
If the people want an easy way to get their music digitally, that's fine. The system is not perfect yet, but that doesn't make it OK to attack an artist you supposedly like for having an opinion on something that's he's more than entitled to have an opinion on. Flea can say whatever he wants about his music and how its distributed, just like any individual, or corporation, or nation, or artist has a right to decide how to present themselves to the world.
To say "legalize the trading and shut up"... Flea won't make any laws. Flea was a musician before the Chili's and will be one after. Bob doesn't get that the music he likes is powerful because it exists on a level well beyond commercial concerns or the technology used to consume it. Businessmen have tried to monetize it, which has no real connection to the experience of making a piece of music.
There are thousands of poor musicians for every Flea. It has nothing to do with money for them.
You'll never TRULY monetize the music. You can't. It's apples and oranges.
The Chili's make music that touches poeple because they give their lives to it. When all is said and done, they have the right to decide how to give it to the world.
It's not tied to to record sales. It doesn't matter if "people will do it anyway".
The fans do not own the artist. His destiny is not controlled by the fans, contrary to Bob's opinion. Flea has an essentially religious point of view when it comes to his music. Bob doesn't understand this. If he were really a fan, he would. Flea's certainly talked about it enough."
4 Comments:
Tony's post over at IntraVenus DeMilo (http://agropragmo.blogspot.com/)does a good job of detailing the prevailing attitude that seems to be poisoning the music listener.
My position has been noted.
Over and over again.
First off, not long winded at all. I see you original comment and your follow up here as an eloquently delivered defense of something we all hold near and dear, no matter how diverse our personalities may seem to be sometimes. Put simply, you say what we all want to say, you just say it best.
We will toast you tonight!
Thanks to these posts today - I've been listening to the peppers all day.
It's been a long time since I've listened to the their first effort... I miss Mr. Slovak's Guitar work (RIP).
One point that hasn't been raised in this post, Jackson's, AVC, and even TA's - and that point is this:
TRUE MEN DON'T KILL COYOTES!
Hilel isn't on the first record, but he helped write it.
No, Hue, we don't.
"The smile of a dolphin is a built in feature
Someday Mr. dolphin, I know I'm gonna meet ya"
Post a Comment
<< Home