[ASTRO] Re: MOAM on mtv (or anywhere else)

[Michael Kepler <kepler@metro1.com>]

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<SNIP!>
> Methinks both sides of this argument give way too much power to mass media. 

This point is well taken.  The "mass media", like so many things, only
has as much power as you give to it. 

> The
> masses might rely on the likes of MTV, Rolling Stone, "alternative" radio, etc.
> to expose them to "new" music, but they're only really getting exposed to what
> the money-people deem worthy. 

This is a capitalist society.  Who isn't neccessarily a "money person"?
"The money-people" is a label of derision applied by those who have less
to those who have more, and is nothing more than a manifestation of
simple envy.  (Hey, am I flame-bait or what?)

> Bands like MOAM can only be understood on a
> personal level--the thought of seeing them do a stadium tour curdles my blood.

I strongly agree that most music, including MOA?, is better enjoyed in
a smaller venue.  But why bother curdling your blood over it?  This seems
to be more class-envy-driven emotionalism (please take this with a pound
of rock salt, I obviously do not know you well enough to make such
a judgement).  I wish MOA? every success, including stadium tours.

> Seen through the prism of the masses, they become a novelty item. 

Ummm... Guys who say they're from Outer Space, seem to be conciously
presenting themselves as a "novelty item".  So what if they're a novelty
item?  I _like_ novelty items, especially when they RAWK the socks off
of every other band on earth!

> Besides,
> anyone who's really interested in exploring and expanding the universe knows
> that the true key to power is the local scene!

Now you're talking.  Decentralization of power is the key.

> 
<SNIP!>
> 
> I'm not trying to be elitist. 

In my experience, people who start a sentence with "I'm not" are
usually attempting to convince themselves and others of something they
know to be untrue.  It's ok to be an underground elitist. If that's
what you are, wave your freak flag dude!  I'm a ME elitist.

> But the underground cannot be underground and
> popular. That's why it's called the underground.

Can't argue with that.  Well I could argue with it, but I agree with
is, so what's the point?

> 
> The point is to laugh at the likes of MTV and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SCENE! 

Ding!  We have a winner!  This is exactly right.  Don't waste your time
actively hating MTV, just change the channel to Cartoon Network or
SciFi (or CSPAN, if you're a freak like me).  After you're done
watching Johnny Bravo, grab your mace, say your prayers and head down
to the sleazy little clubs for some REAL musical entertainment.

Wasting your time hating MTV is being a slave just as much as wasting
your time watching MTV.

> Where
> ever you are...not just the bands but the small clubs that book the perverse
> out-of-town groups like MOAM. Sure, the neighborhood is bad, the club reeks of a
> thousand sweating bodies that have come before, the P.A. system is worth s***,

Actually, one of the biggest reasons I prefer club shows over stadium shows
is the sound.  It is almost impossible to turn a sports stadium into a
good place to listen to music, acoustically speaking.

Maybe I am blessed by a better-than-average club, although I find that hard
to beleive.

> and there may be vomit on the floor. But it's where the real work is happening.
> It's where you can meet other humans cheek-to-cheek and trade disks. It may take
> a band longer to influence, but our concept of time is fairly irrelevant, no?
> 

Despite all of my minor criticisms peppered throughout this reply, I gotta
say you've got some darn good points.

Mookie

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