My thoughts on Pirates

Well, as my first blog (non myspace anyway) I would like to present my view on being a pirate…YEAH PIRATES!!! Yes, I mean pirates, not like the ones on the open seas who apparently now shoot dud missiles at cruise liners, but rather, the ones who "steal" music and movies. I say steal very lightly because as much as the record and movie companies want you to believe that you are changing the face of mass media, you aren't. Their pockets are still flowing over with cash and you are still a "little person" to these guys. In reality there are very few big record or movies companies that give a shit about the arts. I mean really, if these companies really cared about art, there would be no Brittany Spears, Back Street Boys, Phantom of the Opera Movie, Species….God! I could go on forever, but the point is this; amongst all the trash that these companies put out to make a quick buck by exploiting mediocre ideas (and there is nothing wrong with that in a capitalistic society), there are long term investments to be made in unbelievable music and movies that you have to search long and hard to find.

A few years ago Death Cab for Cutie (obviously before they were playing on The O.C.) was playing little, dungy bars crossing the country in a van. No one knew how amazing they were; the mass public didn't have the opportunity to. You would be hard pressed to find a really great band that just made it big. They all had to fight to become "good enough" to get signed to a "big" label that would spend the kind of money that it takes to give everyone in the world the chance to hear… That is the problem.

When you pay $15.99 for a CD and it sells a million copies (which, despite piracy CDs still sells that many copies) you are talking about the record company making 15.99 million dollars! You cannot tell me that they are making a ton of money. How much of that goes to the artist? How much of that is spent on manufacturing, distributing, and promoting? Nowhere close to $15.99 million, I'll tell you that. I know there is profit margins and stuff, but holy crap when will it stop? Wonder why box office sales are plummeting through the floor! Maybe it's because movie tickets are $10 or more at most places and ththere is no way to convince me that popcorn cost $5 to make!!!!!!!!! Really! What the hell is wrong with this picture?! I understand that one cannot expect to pay basement prices for a Picasso, but I am not seeing and hear too many noteworthy and/or groundbreaking bands out there. Amongst all the Jay-Z's, 50 cent's, and Brittany's we, as the American people, are losing sight of the bands that compile noise in a palatable way!! Really, when it comes down to it, Brittany isn't a musical genius, nor is her voice any better than any other singer that has graced our planet with their presence….

Sorry, I lost the point of this in that rant. What is comes down to for those of us who don't make six figures a year is this: be a Robin Hood Media Pirate!!! Seriously, you are stealing from the rich and putting back into the pockets of the poor; however, when you hear a band or see a movie that is "indie" and you like it, buy it. When you start buying the media that you want to buy, then the power is back in your hands to truly promote the industry to look for talent, innovation, and possibly even brilliance instead of a tight ass and/or some tits. A pretty face is nice, but we should not lower our standards in order to see porn and I, for one, am tired of being sold shit with a nice cover. If you were wondering what prompted me to write this, here is a rolling stone article that helped shape my opinion…