Not that this has any relevance to this community...

[Lee]

...but I thought this post from a few weeks ago made some really good points on the whole 'selling out' issue.

[beadsman]

Ya think? Yeah, go ahead, I doubt anyone can top that level of air-headed idiocy, even if there are 3 weeks left.

 

The June 2007 Award for most ridiculously laughable rumination on musicians "selling out" goes to:

 

http://pandagon.net/2007/05/20/selling-out...so-20th-century

 

"it's a relief to know that none of them are going to be found dead one day with a note that makes you feel guilty for all the pressure you put on them to live out some impossible ideal of not selling out." (and ya thought this place had drama queens on the selling-out issue. mere ladies in waiting in comparison)

 

169% Pure Rubbish. It's very hard to achieve that level of purity. You have to be either batshit insane or very, very talented.

[owl]

You may be missing something, beadsman.

[Lee]

Beadsman, I see you found the post to be rubbish, but from your post I'm unable to tell what your objection is really.

 

Yes, that last line does seem pretty over-dramatic when taken out of context, but really I think she's making a pretty basic point about what BS the whole 'rock purity' mythology is. As well as another good point about how the music industry has changed in recent years.

 

But I take it you think Wilco is beyond redemption or something? What's your point?

[Guest tandylacker]

Saying a band sold out even though they really didn't change anything is just retarded. All those bands listed on that site that have their songs on commercials just goes to show that you don't have to 'sell out' to have your song on a commercial. What's wrong with trying to get more people to listen to your music? I only heard of Postal Service because it became, for a brief period in the first episodes, the theme song to Grey's Anatomy. So what?

 

Didn't Wilco make 7 million touring last year? They still have affordable concerts, they still like to do charity concerts, their music is very integrated with their fans, and they seem to make the music they want to make.

 

You people that are so obsessed with this idea of selling out need to really think about why you listen to music. Are you just listening to it for image? Or do you actually enjoy it?

 

Eh.

 

No more caustic attacks.

[jimtweedy1977]

I've been thinking about this since this whole issue arose. I don't want to jump in and be a band apologist. But I still honestly believe that its not our business what the band does with their work. Does Jeff come to your place of employment, smack you on the back on the head and say, "I can't believe you just filled out those TPS reports that way! If you really cared about your work, you would cross your i's and dot your t's because its a pure form. You're a sellout! I'm not reading your memos anymore!" Does that smell like bullshit or what? Sure, it's art (the music Wilco creates) because its a form of personal expression. But how many times do you see people accusing painters of selling out because they sold a painting? That's how they make their living. Otherwise, they'd be out on the streets. Could you really go to the band and ask them to not feed their families because you have an unhealthy attachment to their music? Could you really say they wrote the song personally for you? Give them a break, please.

 

Furthermore, with the way the music industry is going, it is actually getting harder to get original music out to a mass audience. With the possibility of shutting down internet radio due to higher royalty rates (do you think those royalities are really being gathered on the artists' behalf?) and Sirius/XM radio, who is already in violation of FCC rules, trying to block out radio signals from competing radio stations with lower frequencies (usually college and independent radio), bands have to find other ways to inform people of their music that are still legitimate means. Besides, the commercials don't say, "this is a song by Wilco, go buy their cd Sky Blue Sky right now! And while you're at it, buy a Jetta to listen to it in!" You have to try to identify the song if you don't already know it. Then guess what? You find the cd that the song is on and you either like it or don't like it and you move on with your life, either happier to have that new musical discovery or bummed because you spent $15 bucks to buy a cd you didn't like that much. In that case, you have a really fancy coaster if you can't trade it in as a used cd or unload it on some poor sucker on Ebay. But the world keeps revolving, doesn't it. Did the world suddenly stop when Wilco sold the song to VW? No. Futhermore, if you go out and buy a Jetta because you liked the song on a commercial, then you have problems that few people can help you with. However, by the same token, if you already recognize the song, it's probably because you already BOUGHT or borrowed the cd; so then I guess you would be promoting a band selling their artistitic to the metaphorical devil, wouldn't you? So think about all of that. I know people will tell me to chill out. However, it seems that this is an issue that is still simmering here. If it sounds worked up and ridiculous, then its because the accusations were worked up and ridiciulous. Who are you (and throughout this, I mean "you" generally for those people who got so worked up about this) to tell others how to live their lives? No one else does it to you, do they? These are my final words on this subject, period; when I don't respond, it's because I've said what I have to say and I don't want to continue to fan the flames of this debate, but I have a right to express my feelings about this.