ok did anyone catch the hint in that last post? *grin*

i just found the coolest site... www.artofthemix.org . It's a collection of mix tape track listings that people have posted... you can search and see what people are listening to. very cool. i think i'll be discovering some cool stuff here... what a great idea and a great way to turn other people on to bands!

all my criticisms aside, i can find one good thing to say about these "Idol" shows... it shows the public how their support can directly affect someone trying to find success (in music, or in anything else). Like in government elections, in many areas of this industry, what matters more than talent is how many of your supporters take the time to show up to the "polls". Except that away from tv, in real life, the "polls" are the live clubs, the in-store performances, the website messageboards, the chatrooms. far too often the bands that get the most gigs are the ones that, talent or no, have people that show up to their shows, people who tell their friends, people who get involved and make their support known whenever they can.

sometimes i think the modern world is suffering from a general feeling of helplessness. in canada there are loud concerns that the mass population under the age of 40 is simply not interested in voting and elections. in the usa, there is question as to whether the person who wins the popular vote will actually end up in office. it seems like society is becoming dissassociated, detached, sectioned off, numbed out, kept distracted, or just overwhelmed. it's nice to see a show that promotes the concept of interactive decision-making... and inspires people to feel that their opinion could make a difference, if they act on it.

i've see this in the live music scene on a large scale. i haven't yet seen a place (city, town, etc) where there hasn't been a some level of shift AWAY from supporting the local live music scene. Too interactive maybe? Far too often it seems that people would rather numb themselves out by seeing a movie in a suburban movie theatre. (i like movies too). Maybe we're becoming too used to being bombarded with our information and not expected to give much back. This would explain the audiences at live shows that seem loathe to react when someone is up on stage... it's like they think they're still watching TV.

what causes this? am i just not meeting the right people these days?

it's my party and i'll cry if i want to -

with tequila,

and a blue feather boa

happy birthday me.