A Shaman's Answer: Because we are not yet good enough at loving ourselves.
posted by JWL at
3:08 PM |
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A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.The idea here is not new, but it is a nice articulation of a formula that bands have followed for years. For example, Marillion (one of my all-time favorite bands) first began exploring the potential of the Internet in 1997, when their fans (me included) donated money ($50, $10, $100 etc) to get the band to be able to come tour the USA, a venture which would have been cost-prohibitive otherwise. Then in 2000, they again tapped into their fanbase to finance their album, Anoraknophobia.
The challenge, of course, is to find 1000 true fans. Not a simple task.
Speaking of "true fans" (LOL), I wanted to note here that my band, Freakwitch, has finished our new album, Interconnected. If you are a myspace person, you can here 6 of the 8 songs on our myspace page. Or, you can listen to the full album right from your browser by going to our RPM challenge page. Or if you are "old school" net music aficionado you can download the mp3s directly from us (though PLEASE use the other 2 to save bandwidth if you are able).
We took part in the RPM Challenge in February, which is something like the National Novel Writing Month, except that you record an album rather than write a novel in a month. We decided to go for it, partly because we were tired of not getting recordings done, and partly because we wanted to give my new recording rig a test drive. Enjoy it, and if you do please consider becoming one of our 1000 true fans. :-)
posted by JWL at
12:30 PM |
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Clearly, there was a deal made here somewhere. Some money (or another form of concentrated energy) changed hands somewhere.
And in the matter of Clinton vs. Obama, this is demonstrative of the reason why I cannot endorse Hillary Clinton.
It's not about her shady past, her questionable profiteering, her womanly laundry capability when it comes to stained blue dresses, or anything like that.
It's about her obvious connection to existing power structures. When Rush Limbaugh of all people is openly campaigning for Hillary Clinton, you know that there is a connection there. This is the existing power structure trying to preserve itself. And it says a lot about how much they fear Obama.
Speaking of Obama, let me take you back for a moment.
It's 1991. A young Democrat takes the political world by storm, and convinces people that there may indeed be a way out of the oppressive dominance of the Republicans and back to more compassionate, sane values. He was a breath of fresh air and inspired hope when he spoke. He was intelligent, articulate, and conveyed an honest passion that was refreshing from the usual scope of politician of the day.
He wins the election.
/cue Monty Python/
"And there was much rejoicing." *Yay, hooray*
And from my point of view, not a heck of a lot changed. Capital, (or the corporations, the neocons, whatever you want to call it) expanded its power got wealthier, thousands are people were killed in the name of profit, etc etc. Things did indeed feel better immediately, but I soon realized the rush of euphoria (I can't believe We(tm) actually won!) wore off quickly. The Clinton Years were, in my mind, characterized primarily by a relief that the velocity of destruction and greed seemed to be slowing.
Before you accuse me of believing that there is no difference between Demicans and Republicrats (yes I voted for Nader in 2000, but don't worry, Gore "won" Maine) I concede that, obviously, Bush II is "worse" than Clinton. But this is only because Bush is 8 years further down, and at the opposite polar point of, the same trajectory that Clinton rode for 8 years.
I now am aware of the difference between Democrats and Republicans. The 2000 election taught me that, as I've written before. They each serve the power structure in different ways. Republicans push the line as far as they can while in power, then the Democrats maintain that power until the next Republican is elected. Lather, rinse, repeat. This give and take is now the sum total of American political consciousness, such that anything that exists outside of this power structure is seen as not valid or "not realistic" or other such dismissal. This dance between the two goes back decades. Think about it:
Anyone who is connected to this energy pattern, this concentration of power, should NOT be voted in to power. Anyone reading this from Ohio (my birth state) or Texas should read this as a suggestion to vote for Obama. There, I've officially done my part to counter Rush Limbaugh's endorsement.
After the stolen elections of 2000 and 2004, in general I am not inclined to vote these days. Obama is the only one I would actually vote for, I think. But I know this: I will not limit my participation in American politics to this one event every 4 years.
EDIT: someone pointed out to me that Obama is still very much a part of the system, and I completely agree with this. My point is, at present Obama is less entrenched into the system than Clinton is. Perhaps in 15 years they will be similarly invested. This underscores the point that the problem is with STRUCTURES of power, and not with individual people. This point was brought home by Al Gore; here's a guy who participated in the atrocities of the Clinton years, who votes Bush into power in 2000 when they stole the election for him, etc etc. Now that he is removed from the power structure, he's doing good work with his films and environmental activism.
So yes, I am quite suspicious of concentrations of power, and the reason Obama is so attractive is because he is, for the most part, outside of that structure at present. This is also why I am suspicious that things will change, because if he does win the presidency he will then be assimilated into the power structure.
posted by JWL at
11:27 PM |
2 comment(s)
