"The Health of the Music Industry"

WILCO KEEPS COMING UP LATELY...

LAST WEEK DURING "NOISEPOP" SATOMI AND I SAW THE WEST COAST PREMIER OF THEIR NEW CONCERT MOVIE "ASHES OF AMERICAN FLAGS". BRENDAN CANTY AND CHRISTOPH GREEN MADE IT - WE KNOW THEM BECAUSE THEY ALSO MADE SOME DEERHOOF CONCERT FOOTAGE WHEN WE WERE IN D.C. LAST TIME.

ANYWAY I THOUGHT THE WILCO MOVIE TURNED OUT REALLY WELL - I LOVE HOW THEY USE CLOSEUPS SO MUCH, AND A SLOW EDITING STYLE. LIKE SHOTS OF NELS CLINE PLAYING GUITAR, BUT IT'S JUST HIS HEAD GETTING INTO THE MUSIC FOR A GOOD 10 SECONDS, YOU CAN'T SEE HIS GUITAR AT ALL. ALSO I THINK IT SHOWED HOW FUNNY AND FUN WILCO IS, INSTEAD OF HOW SERIOUS. IT REMINDS ME OF WHEN WE WERE OPENING FOR THEM.

WHICH ALSO REMINDS ME OF WHEN JEFF TWEEDY BROUGHT HIS SON SPENCER IN FOR SOUNDCHECK. AT FIRST HE SEEMED A BIT SHY, UNTIL WE OFFERED FOR HIM TO SIT IN ON DRUMS. HE WANTED TO PLAY "MY DIAMOND STAR CAR" AND IT ENDED UP THAT WE WERE STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP WITH HIM.

SO I WAS HAPPY TO READ ABOUT US TODAY IN HIS GREAT BLOG!

SPEAKING OF NOISEPOP I TOOK PART IN ONE OF THE PANELS. AS USUAL I FORGOT TO SAY EVERYTHING I WAS PLANNING, DIDN'T REMEMBER IT UNTIL I WAS ON THE BUS BACK HOME. I WILL SAY THERE WAS A LOT OF NEGATIVE TALK ABOUT THE "HEALTH OF THE INDUSTRY", AS ONE MIGHT EXPECT.

I FOR ONE AM NOT BUYING IT. MAYBE I NEVER CARED THAT MUCH ABOUT THE HEALTH OF THE INDUSTRY ACTUALLY - NOT THAT I DON'T HAVE MY OWN CAREER TO THANK FOR IT. BUT IN THE LONG VIEW THE INDUSTRY'S HEALTH SHOULDN'T BE CONFUSED WITH MUSIC'S HEALTH. AND AS FAR AS I CAN SEE MUSIC IS GOING STRONG. HUMAN BEINGS SEEM TO WANT TO PLAY IT OR LISTEN IT AS MUCH TODAY AS THEY DID TWO YEARS AGO, OR TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO, OR TWO MILLION YEARS AGO. I CAN DEFINITELY SAY THERE ARE MORE BANDS NOW THAN WHEN DEERHOOF STARTED. THE GOOSEBUMPS OR DANCING OR TEARS THAT MUSIC CAN CAUSE SHOW EVERY SIGN OF BEING JUST AS REAL TODAY AS THEY WERE IN THE "GOOD OLE DAYS".

LOTS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT STEALING AS USUAL. BUT STEALING MUSIC ONLY DISCOURAGES THE MUSICIAN FROM BEING A PROFESSIONAL, IT DOESN'T DISCOURAGE THEM FROM BEING A MUSICIAN. IF ANYTHING IT ENCOURAGES THEM. AGAIN I'M THANKFUL FOR THE CAREER I ENJOY, BUT THE DAY I GO BACK TO BEING AN AMATEUR IS JUST THAT, IT DOESN'T MEAN THERE'S NO MORE MUSIC GOING THROUGH MY HEAD. THEY SAY YOU CAN'T GIVE AWAY MUSIC ANYMORE AFTER "IN RAINBOWS" BUT SURE YOU CAN AND LET'S HEAR IT FOR GIVING THINGS AWAY SOMETIMES. EXPERIMENTAL DENTAL SCHOOL IS GIVING THEIR NEW ALBUM AWAY FOR FREE ON THEIR WEBSITE IN A LITTLE OVER A WEEK.

AND ALL THIS NONSENSE ABOUT HOW "CRAPPY" MP3S SOUND - IT WAS THE ONE THING EVERYONE SEEMED TO AGREE ON, BUT I'M SORRY I JUST CAN'T CONVINCE MYSELF. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FUN TO DO A BLINDFOLD TEST WITH ALL THE PANELISTS TO SEE WHO COULD REALLY TELL THE DIFFERENCE.

BUT EVEN WHEN YOU CAN HEAR A DIFFERENCE, IT'S JUST A DIFFERENCE ON THE SURFACE. I GREW UP LISTENING TO SOFT ROCK THROUGH A MONO SPEAKER ON A TINY RADIO. WHEN I WAS A KID I WASN'T THINKING ABOUT FREQUENCIES OR BITRATES, I WAS THINKING ABOUT MELODIES. OR RHYTHMS. OR LYRICS (WHICH LIKE MOST CHILDREN I COMPLETELY MISUNDERSTOOD).

GREG