Answer to Question 7: What's wrong with corporate/commercial art?

Well, one problem is that it alters what people expect from art. These days most of what passes for art is in fact commercial product, and, because of that, the audio and visuals we ingest and pay for (one way or another) don't do much to stimulate our critical thinking or our desire to create and express ourselves. It's just all fungible commodity now, our images are evaluated on whether they stimulate our appetite for STUFF, not whether they satisfy our need for meaning, understanding, inspiration etc. etc.

Art is supposed to challenge our worldview, cause us to look at things differently. Can we ever see a Campbell's soup can the same after Andy Warhol's paintings? The guy became one of the most famous artists in the world putting common images onto canvas. Thank goodness he wasn't arrested by the copyright police, thankfully, we still have enough free speech to build on the works of others if it is satirical. Far more important than his popularity, was his respected stature as an artist for the noteworthy attention he drew to the idea that art had been diminished by it's commercialization. If you are talented in the visual arts today, you are for more likely to have applied that talent to commercial purposes, than expressive ones.

Art is supposed to inspire us to feel close to our creator and creative spirit. Our society would ultimately be better served by art which does that than by art which motivates us to consume or which simply entertains us.

When all art was sponsored by the church, everything had to pass the Vatican smell test. Only art which fit certain parameters was supported. Anyone with a different vision had almost no viability, there was really only one customer. The church was the only entity willing or able to support artists so they could create and the only artists they supported were the ones presenting, essentially, what was commissioned. Sounds pretty backwards and sad, huh? Well, look around. Yes, it's somewhat better today, there are all sorts of small niches of people out there creating stuff from their hearts, and, with the internet, that will hopefully grow and grow and grow. But, compared to the larger, more pervasive society, I would have to say that the vast majority of "art" that most folks see and hear, must conform to certain paramenters. The powers that be no longer care if you're a Christian, as long as you're a consumer. But, don't be fooled, you're still being manipulated. That desire you feel for more stuff; vacations, private schools, houses, whatever, it's not an inherent feature, it's been stretched out by powerful forces you no longer recognize. Fish don't see water and we don't see how we've been hooked onto the treadmill.

And, I'm not just talking about visuals here. If you look at the best-selling records, movies and books, you'll see that they rarely get there by grass roots word of mouth but rather by the support of monied entities.
The internet is the best thing that ever happened to art. Now we all have the chance to easily access a public forum and use it to express ourselves. Artists have more potential customers, more ability to find them and be found. It's that central funnel feature we try to avoid and the P2P nature of the internet will alleviate the funnel phenomenon more and more as individuals become more empowered.

Answer to Question 6: How to Overthrow RIAA

Some 90% of recorded music is the property of five huge record labels, which are owned by even bigger conglomerates. They were bought up mostly during the eighties in a period of consolidation brought on by the fact that most Boomers turned their attention from music that mattered to making money in the early 80's giving room for pop pablum purveyors to fill in the gap. Huge, reliable artists like MJ & Madonna gave them the taste for blood and they've been sucking us dry ever since. Well it's mid-life crisis time now baby, and your time is up.


Technology always wins...not necessarily easily, but ultimately. Always. So, make my music easy to get and transport, (thanks Steve, but, you know, you could give Hank a little credit... do you really think those boys would have played with you if he hadn't just gouged out 15%?) make it easy for me to find what I'll like, and I'll watch your fuckin pop-up ads. That's all you're getting off me for catalog I bought two technologies ago, and that's plenty. Accept it. Think of it as radio but giving us a little headstart in adavoidance....can't you just put the ads in the songs, like they're doing in movies now? (they are!) Hits and catalog: it's loss leader. Stop trying to milk an industry out of it, focus more on the new artists. I would definitely pay for search engine, easy delivery of flawless product and good programming. And BTW, the film industry is a completely different story. I'll get to that.


Anyway, listening to all these great records (yes, music is getting good again! hmmm... I wonder why?) makes me want to go spend lots of money! I want to go see these bands perform, meet others who enjoy their music, I'll even fork over for a T shirt, or a CD of the concert I just saw, cuz, damn, that was fun. I wasn't being ripped off, had a great night. And, for all you bands that think you can't do it, go check your Dead history, or a Fortune magazine. That's how you're supposed to make your money...get your record out there, so everyone can see how good you are... and they will come. That's right, get out of your little studio room thinkin you'll produce something your grandkids will live off and go play for your fans - they will cheer and pay.


To all you talentless vampires who made a cushy living at some label job, trying to figure out how you can sell this new band as well as the toothpaste you sold yesterday, and to the three guys at Wal-Mart, who buy 20% of what the labels put out... bye bye.... go start a band and make some musical contribution, write a song, say something, put it up on the web and tell your story, or go find a nice office in some other industry where you won't do as much harm. Marketing, everything, needs to be band-centric, which means bands will need to build up from their fan base. It's slower, but, again, if you look at bands like Dave Matthews, No Doubt... it is best, and most profitably, done that way.


Producers should be going indie, be paid directly by musicians for their services.
We don't need your mobster distributors (as Prince said, "Why do you think they call them 'hits'...with a bullet?') anymore. We have the internet now. You're about as viable as the tobacco industry - move on. And stop threatening that we won't have any more good music, you wouldn't know good music if it bit you in the ass.

So, the way to overthrow them is to speak to them in the only language they understand; the almighty dollar. Anyone who goes and pays for (major label) records is supporting a system of exploitation of artists and diminishment of our rights to some type of genuine artform here. You're listening to propaganda without understanding the inner workings (top names may see 15% of record sales, most never clear their advances - and those advances are calculated very carefully based on preexisting fans), or the larger societal picture of how the artform should function in our society. Remember all those great songs with conscience you heard during Vietnam, well, we're in Iraq now... what are you hearing? It's not quite the same... yet.

Everyone loves a well-produced hit. God knows, my ipod is the biggest hit-suck in history. Every artist wants the fame & money, we all do. I deeply appreciate the artistic gifts we've seen from the great musical genuises who have graced this planet, and for whatever allowed the distribution and development of their music. But without a sort of artistic working class, we suffer. It makes the gap between the average artist and "star" huge, it's too daunting. There needs to be a path for artists to follow, so they can build a solid career, and make a reasonable living. This warped world of make it as a star by age 21, or it's over, that's just sad. Not only would we lose great content, stuff we could share and build upon, but the artist in each of us would be darker.


Napster est mort, viva Napster! And I mean the real Napster, the one with ideals and purpose (though not necessarily a business plan...did you really think you could make money on anything other than ads?) not this suck-up spawn trying to use their cache today.

Bottom line, there are plenty of great ways to make money in music, or should be. People interested in both should orient themselves around the music makers, not this dying and corrupt infrastructure that got built up around it.

Answer to Question 5: Why Isn't There More Live Music Around Here?

This is a tough one. I mean what happened to the Summer of Love and that whole music scene? Jerry started the Dead around here and played out in La Honda (BTW, the Prankster house does still live on). When I talk to the "old timers", they tell me the now closed down Edge in Palo Alto used to be called the Keystone and hosted some primo bands. The place stayed alive for 40 years, till just last year. The other place you used to be able to go dance and hear live music is the nearby Q Cafe. Last time I went there (and it was the same deal at the Edge, before they closed) there was some lame DJ and my date and I were practically the only people there. The one remaining place in downtown Palo Alto that used to have live bands was F&A. Forget that, now it's DJ Hank, who, by the way, plays crap. The guy told me they get more people with a DJ. Bullshit! There were tons of people gettin jiggy with Busta Groove when they played there. They had to do it just to get referrals, the club wouldn't even pay them even though they charged at the door.
Alright, let's try to break it down, from the top. Here's who I blame:
1) City councils who allow restrictive zoning or who otherwise chill the ability of venue owners to have live music, liquor etc. - 20%
2) Club and restaurant owners who don't see the value or make more of an effort to get musicians. I know it can be tough. The few places that do try, like Shooters, Mulligans etc. have to really try and get this stuff lined up. Dealing with musicians can be a headache, believe me, I know, but, guys, do you know how much could be solved by the installation of a PA and a drum kit? - 40%
3) The musicians. Sorry, the most I can whip up here is 5% for all the musicians who can't make it to practice or gigs, including my pet peeve, bailing bassists. But really, considering we all need day jobs just to survive around here, it's amazing you guys can keep up the chops you do. Thank God, music is inherently enjoyable. God made it that way so we could overcome RIAA, just like he made sex enjoyable so people would still have kids even though they can be quite a little hassle.
4) The public! Doesn't anyone dance anymore?? When was the last time you asked a venue when they might have some musicians come in? That sweet guy at Cafe Fino has been doing it for years, maybe because he loves music, maybe because he knows people do... because someone asked him.
Ultimately, the public gets what it deserves,.. remember DISCO?? And did people even learn from that, no, it lead to Michael Jackson and Madonna. If it hadn't been for Curt Cobain, we would have just gone straight through to Mariah and Britney. Remember, it happened once, it can happen again. Since downtown PA sports more homeless than street musicians, in fact the only "street musicians" I've seen lately were Paly kids bangin on trash can lids outside Pizza My Heart, I'm gonna have to give the PA public and their bourgeoisie blindness - 35%

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Originally uploaded by Phillipduran.

The Male Brain

Answer to Question 4: Why grow/change?

I don't know, because that's what life's about? I mean is there anyone who would even sport a case for stagnation? Everyone says, oh yes, change, growth, very important. Almost every book ever written, every movie ever filmed, every story ever told is about the growth of the protagonist.
But, is that really what's going on? What exactly are we talking about? Do people mean that they are watching their kids grow? Maybe they feel they're getting happier and more fulfilled in life, things are coming together. Maybe they mean that they travel, or read, or try new things. Maybe they feel that their relationships with others are getting better, deeper. What is the purpose of growth anyway, if not to have a more satisfying life?
Although I think all those things are closely associated with the process of growth and change in life, I don't think that's the end of the discussion, the destination. To me, there is also this inner aspect of seeing the connections between things, understanding our emotional reactions, our issues from our childhoods and pasts, being able to channel our thoughts and feelings into effective, compelling statements and artistic expressions, keeping only those close to us who truly want the best for us, seeing behind people's and our own, facades. Most of all, it's authenticity, knowing who you are and what you think and feel about things and then stick to that, don't back it down, don't hide, let people see it. Boy, if nothing else, this blog is sure gonna hold my feet to the fire, it's hard to back off of stuff you've posted up on the internet.
To me, this is like Advanced Life; what you do after you cover Life 101 and Intermediate Life. Then, you can go on to stuff like Rich Life or Creative Life depending on whether you think money or happiness/connectedness is more important to you at the moment. By that point you should be able to succeed at either one, you've already worked through your own blind spots and can pinpoint others. Sounds easier than it is.
I've been fortunate to encounter lightning rods in my life who have inspired me out of complacency and I hope I can do the same for others.

Standard Answer to Question 3: Why Nobody Tells You the Fun Parts of Divorce

The Wizard of Oz response, "You had to find it for yourself, my dear". Some things, maybe most things, are learned only through personal experience of them. Some are so big that, to me, life just seemed less without; like having kids. I knew there would be certain things I could only learn through having children, and I wanted to learn them.
As my marriage unfolded, I feared divorce, it was an unknown. The few single moms I knew seemed happy, said they wouldn't go back, but I didn't even ask them about it till I'd already separated. The lead up is hard because essentially, you're in the dark. It's just not appropriate to discuss certain things while you are still married, so you are not really getting, or giving, true info. So, no one told me because I didn't know who or what to ask.
I probably wouldn't reveal that much of the fun side of things, myself, unless there was interest expressed. I mean, it's hard enough to be satisfied in long term marriages these days. If people don't internally feel that need for passion, expansion, challenge or whatever it is, or are fortunate enough to be getting that, god bless them. It's not for me to go on about how much better it is to be taken for wonderful dinners, plane and motorcycle rides, etc., than it is to face the day to day sameness of the "full-time mom".

Answer to Question 2: What will happen if we do?

Things will be bad. They will be very, very bad. Around here, everyone but the early retirees and closet Republicans will cry. The "good" news is that in '08 we will have hysteria that will make the run-ups of the late 80's & 90's look like High Tea. And when that one tanks, you better hope you get the memo the day of, cause no one is gonna want to ride that one down.

Answer to Question 1: Why elect Bush?

OK, although it is virtually indisputable that we are worse off now, certainly economically, than we were four years ago, polls show almost half of all voting Americans are willing to rehire this guy for another four years. WHY? Answer: ignorance. Most people make little effort to aquire a broad base of information relative to social and political issues. We rely on our mass media to do that for us. The problem is, they are for profit companies who, like all others, are primarily about their own viability. Their product is structured around what will sell to viewers. Emotion and easily blurbable things like John Dean's Iowan undoing speech are repeated endlessly. However, to fully explain to the American people the connection between defense spending and recession takes time, it's involved, it's boring for most people.
I've spent much time trying to explain some of the concepts that do not seem to easily resonate with so many Americans. In the personal lives of most people, strength and aggression are respected. They quickly extrapolate this to the world political stage, figuring the stronger the stance, the safer they sleep. It takes a lot of education to lead people through to the understanding that violence cycles are long lasting and far reaching, particularly when emanating from a feared and distrusted superpower. I learned some of these lessons travelling through Europe in the early 80's, really listening to the European point of view, and on the World Peace March, where we stopped in to speak at town meetings each night along the way across the country. I remember trying to help people understand how many nuclear weapons we were making each day, and their cost. Now we can communicate more easily over the internet, possibly reach more people. We can add ideas and educate each other. So, let's continue to find creative ways to let folks know about the costs of war, the costs of ignoring the needs of the middle class.