Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Crickets / Music Thinning the Herd
Posted by Miles Raymer on Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 12:19 AM
The inimitable Sam McPheeters, who used to front Born Against and Men's Recovery Project and currently spends a lot of time thinking about economics, on the effect the global financial crisis has had on the subculture:
I would love to see a real thinning of the herd, and seeing less bands and less shows. That would be wonderful. I don’t think there are that many people who aren’t teenagers who really enjoy going to shows these days. There’s just too much stuff. Every large city you go to has these telephone poles covered in faded fliers that have been stapled there by bands that are never going to go anywhere, by people who aren’t particularly creative, who aren’t amazing songwriters. That is a direct result of the 90s, when this country just had too much money. I would rejoice if there was a drastic reduction of the American underground. With an actual Depression in the range of the Great Depression, if things got apocalyptic, there would still be bands, but they would be playing on the 19th-century model. Touring banjo acts, touring vaudeville shows would come through town, maybe get a can of beans, or get enough gas or hydrogen or whatever the hell it is we’re using to fill up our cars. Maybe the next generation of kids will use rocks and old tennis shoes to pretend that they have iPods and cell phones.
Much more real talk in re: the economic meltdown, hardcore, and badass taxi drivers can be found at Vol. 1 Brooklyn. Obama should appoint Sam the head of the Department of Real Talk right after he establishes the Department of Real Talk, which is something America desperately needs. A Real Talk Czar.
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I think he's focused on the wrong end of the pipe- I'd like to see a reduction too, but not of ground-up bands, but top-down corporate acts a la Britney, Gaga, etc. THEY'RE the ones that are making crap music for no other reason than a profit.
Yeah what a great tradeoff! The talent pool will become less polluted and all we have to sacrifice is the well being of working families. What do a few foreclosures really matter when we have less shitty band fliers bothering me as I walk down the street? This depression has been a blessing in disguise. It's a shame I was too busy worrying about my financial future to notice. Thanks for clearing that up, self absorbed hipster cunt!
Mr. Pizza Pocket - he's just talking about what the recession has done/can do to underground music; something that he (and his readers) are invested in. Musicians are working people (some even with families!), too.
@Chachi Pizza Pocket
I doubt you'd get such a negative impression if you read the entire linked conversation, where McPheeters takes a much broader view. This is a response to a question that's specifically about the punk subculture, not foreclosures or working families, and as such his answer seems on point.
He's both right and wrong - I'm 40+ and I still enjoy going to shows. Sometimes as many as three a week. But then there are times when I might not make it to one show in three weeks. We all know the variables, even those younger than me know'em. Cash, family commitments, workload[s], weather. But still we go. And the inverse of thinning the herd - the Darwinian nature of an urban culture - is that bad bands in the underground generally fall by the wayside by failing to find any kind of audience. Why waste beer money on a bummer? There's too many good bands out there - provided you're actually paying attention.
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