“Can’t start a fire without a spark”
And all this time we were waiting for the musicians to lead.
Illustrating not only the vacuity of the “artists,” but the lack of impact of their wares.
In the sixties and seventies, even up into the eighties and nineties, the culture was driven by music.
And for the last twenty years it’s been driven by tech.
Now it’s driven by politics.
That’s what people really want to talk about, the government, their rights, opportunity… But oldsters set in their ways believe paradigms go on forever, but they don’t, and time waits for no one, and it won’t wait for you or me.
It always happens this way. A minor incident turns into a major conflagration. Whether it be the killing of Archduke Ferdinand that set off World War I or the self-immolation of a fruit vendor in Tunisia that set off the Arab Spring. There was something in the air, all it needed was a trigger.
And sure, this is about gun rights, but it’s more than that, it’s a frustration with the status quo, the youth of this country are fed up with the expedience of their elders, who’ve sold out to their pocketbooks. What happens next?
They shot a black man in Ferguson… But he was just black. It didn’t register with the white people.
They started deporting immigrants, the white people thought they were safe.
But now their children are getting shot up in schools and..?
Trump blinks, months after the Vegas tragedy he stands up for the banning of bump stocks.
In Tallahassee the state government ignores the younger generation.
You do this at your peril.
It’s always the young who initiate change. Whether it be their protests against the Vietnam War or their embrace of Napster on high speed campus networks that almost nobody had at home.
This is the bleeding edge, pardon my bad pun.
So what can you do? What happens next?
Change. Comfort is transitory. For far too long America has been about individuals getting theirs with no consequences, and those more cohesively minded, those who have been left out, are unhappy about this.
Trump’s election fostered the #MeToo movement. If the pussy-grabber in chief hadn’t won women would not be pushing back, males would not be falling, men would not be questioning their behavior, and if you don’t think men are now thinking twice, you’re not one.
The more you take away people’s rights, the more you force them to give up hope, the more impotent you make them, the more you foster resentment and ultimate upheaval.
Interestingly, the music business has been anti-upheaval, the entertainment business at large too. There’s been more protest against digital disruption than in any other field. The producers believe they’re entitled to their remuneration. The artists want to go back to what once was. Only that’s never going to happen.
It’s time to put your bank account in the rearview mirror. It’s time to stand up and fight for what’s right. It’s time to join the community as opposed to trying to stay safe alone in your hole.
This train has left the station. While you’re selling merch, they’re selling ideas.
And ideas always win.
They’re the only thing that matters.
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