"You look like Bono."

"Um," I stammered, "Come again?"

"Spitting image, I swear. You must hear it all the time."

I handed Jim Walsh my purchase, not thirty seconds old. It was the book he had just released: "The Replacements - All Over But The Shouting".

Revolver Modele had just finished up their set, and a giant projection screen descended from the ceiling, separating the First Ave stage from the audience. I had just watched Jim Walsh onstage, pouring his drink all over the guitar player, and pushing him to the floor while he played. He even jumped on the mic for a verse or two. He wisely left the bass player alone.

The screen lit up with giant, glowing Tom and Jerry cartoons, as 'One For The Team' began setting up to perform the next set of Replacements covers.

Jim opened the book and paused, pen in hand, clearly drunk, off alcohol or the event or both, and clearly having the time of his life.

"Conrad Zero," I said, holding my right hand up in what I hoped conveyed a manual representation of a 'zero' but possibly also could have been interpreted as jacking off.

He started scribbling my name down in the book.

"Never heard that before?" he asked.

"I guess I've never seen Bono without sunglasses on," I responded, and suddenly wanted to talk about something else. "I tried to make it out to your book reading at Treehouse...," I started, in an attempt to change the subject.

"Oh, what good are book readings?" Jim interrupted with a laugh, "I mean you read the book to people, what is that? People can read it themselves, right?"

"Yeah," I laughed, "...and you had said that the reading was on the Wednesday *before* Thanksgiving, but..."

"Hey," Jim said, turning to one of the ladies at the nearby booth for 'The Onion', "Doesn't this guy look like Bono?"

She nodded her disapproval.

"No," I said, "usually it's Sean Bean. People always say I look like Boromir."

Jim started laughing, and had to pause in the middle of signing.

"Sorry," he laughed, "I don't want to screw up your book."

"It's not my book," I corrected, "it's yours." This just made him laugh more.

"No," he said, finishing the dedication and handing it over, "it's your book now. I hope you enjoy it."

"Um, thanks."

'One for the Team' got a great set of Replacements songs (Skyway among them, my favorite), and did a fine job with them. I left shortly afterward, book clutched in my December-chilled-and-chaffed hands, went home, and looked up Bono on the internet.

Review to come....

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Authors, Concert, Cool Event, Minneapolis Event

The December Fearless Filmmakers is approaching.

For those of you who haven't been yet; if you are remotely interested in Independent Filmmaking, the Fearless Filmmakers gatherings are a great opportunity to see what others are doing, and the Q & A after the showing lets you ask them how they did it. The after-party gives you the chance to do some networking in a safe, secure, and alcohol-lubricated environment.

For those of you who are interested in a cheap date, the $9 ($7 for students and $5 for MFA members) gets you into the movie, the Q&A, and the afterparty complete with entertainment, free buffet, and one free drink per ticket.

Here is the 411 on the next Fearless Filmmakers:

Fearless Filmmakers Presents www.fearlessfilmmakers.com

Midwest Premiere !!
"THE LISTENING PROJECT" thelisteningprojectfilm.com

When:
Thursday December 13th
Box Office opens at 6:30PM
Screening begins at 7:30 PM
Q and A with Filmmakers to follow

Where:
The Oak Street Cinema
309 Oak Street SE
Minneapolis MN 55414

What Else:
Official After Party to follow at STUB AND HERBS complete with FREE FOOD AND FREE DRINKS

Tickets for this event are $9 General Admission, $7 students and $5 MFA members
Box Office opens at 6:30 PM. Come early as this event will likely sell out!


Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Cool Event, indie movies, Minneapolis Event

Not sure who has more free time, these guys for setting up this incredible waste of Diet Coke...



...or me for blogging it. Or maybe you for watching it.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Funny, Videos

The expectations for Hitman were average. I didn't like the video game; staring at the back of some one's shaved and tattooed head was less than gratifying, and the game was nearly uncontrollable, I almost garroted myself more than once.

So I was pleased to see the movie merely paid homage to the game. There were a couple funny references to the game, the best being when Agent 47 interrupts a couple kids playing the Hitman video game.

Did you know the movie was produced by Vin Diesel? When is the last time you heard his name mentioned?

Anyway, Hitman was a hit. Better than several of the James Bond films. The plot was good. The fact that there was a plot was better. The fact that there was a plot and it was good was better yet. The main character was played by Timothy Olyphant, and he did a great job of being stoic. The other acting was good to average. Fight scenes were mostly well choreographed, except the train fight scene when everyone agrees to put down guns and draw swords in order to 'die with some dignity...' Hmmph.

What made the film better yet was what got left out. There is so much product placement in the James Bond films that I actually noticed there was Very Little product placement in the Hitman film. Sobe, Audi, and McDonalds notwithstanding. I never saw a closeup of his cellphone or wristwatch.

And the hot female lead Nika, played by Olga Kurylenko does a realistic job as well, and gets mostly naked. In a daring First for male-lead-shooter-films, the hero does NOT have a sex scene with her, (despite her advances) although he does treat her poorly at first.

Let's see, take a James Bond film with a good plot, remove the sex scene, remove the main characters hair and sense of humor (possibly the entire personality), and remove the product placement, add a Scotch with Ice instead of a Vodka Martiti, and some great locations in Russia, Istanbul and Bulgaria, then you're pretty close to Hitman.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: movie reviews

The Current System does not work.

If you want to purchase the new Nine Inch Nails CD: "Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D" online, you have two choices: Piracy or DRM-infected files. I do not advocate Piracy. It is not OK to steal the work of others. But, I also do not advocate DRM. But this is the Current System: we have the IPOD for music and video, and we have Kindle for books. We have subscriptions for online newspapers, and paid access to the content of certain websites (you know what I'm talking about...).

But the system is not working: people are still pirating soft products like graphics, music, video, books and software, and the creators of that content are not getting paid for their work.

Why is the Current System not working? I suggest three reasons. Not surprisingly, they are the same three reasons consumers need to purchase a product of any kind - Want, Cost and Convenience.

I suggest a New System be devised, which takes these things into account, in order to reduce piracy, and increase the potential for artists to be fairly compensated for their soft products.

1) Want - The consumer must want or need the product.

Why would consumers want DRM-infected files? Why should they pay for files that come with a list of restrictions on how they are used? Would you buy a car that came with rules for when and where and under what conditions it can be driven? Or a shirt that came with rules for what days of the week it can be worn, and what accessories need to be worn with it? Of course not.

People use DRM-infected content from I-tunes because they don't know any better, or don't care. People who do know and care pass on the DRM-infected files and opt for the non-DRM ones available through piracy. Neither of these solutions is acceptable.

Also, why should consumers tolerate products like Kindle that will only work with one supplier? I wouldn't buy a CD player that only played CDs from a particular Record Label, but that's exactly how the new Kindle from Amazon works. This is not an acceptable solution either.

The New System will have to let consumers use soft products the same way they can use the hard products: WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS.

2) Cost - Consumers must believe the product is worth the price.

There is an underlying rule which never changes: PRODUCTS ARE WORTH WHAT PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR THEM. Get your mind around that. Accept it. It is an infallible truth: it doesn't really matter how much it cost to make the product; it never did. The consumer ultimately sets the price. You can set your price point anywhere along the bell curve, but the consumers ARE the bell curve.

Hard goods aren't a problem. People are willing to pay $30 for a Jagged Spiral hoodie. They know $30 is 'less expensive' than the effort and materials it would take them to make it themselves. But for soft products like music and books, the internet has created a system where the product is an endlessly renewable and instantly duplicatable resource, available anywhere, at any time. Remember the laws of Supply and Demand? Worldwide, instant availability with negligible distribution cost has created a significant shift in what people are willing to pay. It truly has devalued soft products, and the existing system has not taken this into account.

For example, you can draw a picture of your stupid kid with his tongue stuck to a flagpole in a Minnesota Deep Freeze, and hang it on the wall of the local coffee shop with a $200 price tag. But scan and post that same picture on the internet. How much is that worth?

What is the cost of your picture done in Charcoal on Canvas, versus the cost of your JPG? I already told you: They are worth whatever people are willing to pay for them. The questions you *meant* to ask are: What are people willing to pay for Charcoal on Canvas, and what are people willing to pay for digital bits on the internet? OK, how much would it cost them to exactly duplicate your Charcoal on Canvas? Let's see...Art Supplies, Art Lessons, then the time required to duplicate your every stroke, or possibly contract an artist willing to duplicate your work for a lesser price... OK, now how much would it cost them to exactly duplicate your jpg?

And song downloads from I-Tunes are a dollar each? So a 12-song CD that used to cost $12 is still...$12???? Why should people pay the same price for downloaded, mp3-compressed, DRM-infected files that they pay for the higher quality and unlimited use of the physical CD? Wrong, wrong, wrong. Some people buy the DRM-infected files because they want the song badly enough, but they shouldn't have to. The cost is too high.

The New System will have to take this into account. The more the prices line up with what the consumer is willing to pay, the less attractive the piracy options becomes. That is why bands like Radiohead are jumping onto the model that Jagged Spiral devised: post the media online for free, and let the customer pay what they want. This might be the New System. It might not. But it holds to the rule that the product is worth what the customer is willing to pay. I'm well aware that it could turn out that artists are not able to make a living on this system.

3) Convenience - The customer can't get the product more conveniently anywhere else.

Which do you think is easier; downloading/installing BitTorrent and downloading an album, or opening an account on Amazon with a unique username and memorable but secure password, entering your personal info and shipping address, agreeing to the No-Privacy Statement (without reading it, natch), entering your credit card info, verifying your e-mail address, going through the checkout line with your purchase...

Admittedly, the online purchasing experience has gotten better. It would be better still if someone could devise a system where the consumer's online 'wallet' was usable at all online locations. Consumers should not have to provide any personal information for a downloadable soft product purchase, and they certainly should NOT have to provide their personal info for each-and-every-website they do business at. You don't have to go through all that bullshit when you go to a Burger King you've never been to before! You shouldn't need a username and password to make a purchase at amazon.com, or any website! ID and Credit Card, that's all!

Google, PayPal and Microsoft are working on this, but it just isn't there yet. This is a major holdup to a New System that would reduce piracy, and there is no reason for it, other than businesses that are not willing to cooperate. They want that user info, they want those e-mail addresses. They want it to be difficult for you to purchase from somewhere else.

The New System should let you make your purchase quickly, securely, and conveniently, without setting up an account on the seller's website.

Conclusion
When we look at the Current System from the perspectives of Want, Cost and Convenience, Piracy makes more sense; it offers better product for less, and it's easier to access. I'm not advocating piracy, I'm saying the existing system is fucked up, and here is why, so let's get it fixed so I can buy music online at a fair price and without DRM restrictions.

No System is going to eliminate piracy, there are people who will pirate works simply for the fun of it. But a New System that takes Want, Cost and Convenience into account could significantly reduce piracy by filling consumers needs, and help artists make a living selling their works online.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Business Phenomena, consumerism, DRM Sucks, Music Industry

Did you know that Hollywood screenwriters are on strike?

I did.

Did you know that they came Off the strike that happened in 1989 (around the time that the first reality show COPS started up)?

I didn't.

Now I will have to come up with a new theory about why Network Television Programming is so bad.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Culture, Hollywood

In a previous blog post, I raved about Neil Gaiman after reading 'Good Omens' (which he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett), subscribing to his blog, and starting on his latest work - Fragile Things.

I knew Fragile Things was a collection of short stories, and I thought it would be a good way to cover more ground with Neil Gaiman and get a more definitive sense of his writing style. I was right, but I was wrong to approach his writing that-a-way. In the end, Fragile Things was a slight disappointment.

Don't get me wrong, Neil Gaiman is a very good writer. He has a good tongue, (or voice, or pen, or penchant, or keyboard, whatever...) for telling stories. Fragile Things runs through past, present and future periods of fantasy and poetry, adult fairy-tales and Gothic nearly-horror. He writes with clever turns of phrase, alternate realities, twisted mythologies, and interesting points-of-view.

But, the Things inside Fragile Things are just too Fragile; unfinished snippets or unused plot branches from other works; roughed-out ideas collected and published once the name "Neil Gaiman" on the cover of the book would sell more copies than anything inside it. (Hint: Check the last few pages to see where all the stories came from and when.) few of the stories let me in deeply enough to really enjoy them.

So I got what I wanted, but it turns out it wasn't what I wanted after all. Like I said, the ideas were clever, but not very flushed out. Fragile Things is like walking past the bakery and having a look and a sniff of the whole lot, instead of a solid taste of anything in particular.

So, I can't really recommend Fragile Things to anyone but the most hardcore Neil Gaiman fans who have read Everything Else and still want more. I've added 'Neverwhere' and 'Death: The High Cost Of Living' to my Christmas list, in the hopes of getting something a little less fragile...

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Authors, Book Review

The name Jim Walsh is nearly-famous here in flyover land, as was the band he writes about in his new book, "The Replacements: All Over But The Shouting". The book release party is coming up, one week from today. (See details below) I've mentioned this gig before, but it is worth mentioning.

As a musician, your art will be referenced to where you make it, and I suspect that if the Replacements had been birthed in California, they wouldn't have made a single wave, but to flaunt that kind of arrogance and energy here *Here* in Flyover Land? It's all about being in the right place at the right time, and the Replacements certainly were.

For those of us who "missed out" on the heyday of the Replacements Era, Jim Walsh lived through it, and kindly provides us a look back into what was happening at the time. His unauthorized documentary on the band, "The Replacements: All Over But The Shouting" was just released on 15 Nov 2007. I haven't read it yet, and in fact, I meant to go to the Treehouse Records reading/signing tonight, but I discovered that what Jim Walsh meant by "The Wednesday before Thanksgiving" was actually "The Wednesday BEFORE the Wednesday before Thanksgiving" In other words...I missed it. But I fully intend to pick it up at the release party, and I'm really looking forward to some cool bands like Revolver Modele maybe covering a bit of Replacements material for us? (I bet the bands all will fight over who gets to play "Bastards of Young"...)

Wednesday, November 28
First Avenue Mainroom & The 7th Street Entry 7:00 PM / 18+
89.3 THE CURRENT PRESENTS...
JIM WALSH'S THE REPLACEMENTS:
"ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTING"
BOOK RELEASE PARTY FEATURING

THE ALARMISTS, BIRTHDAY SUITS, THE EVENING RIG, THE FALLS, THE HONEYDOGS, JEREMY MESSERSMITH, KRUDDLER, THE MAMMYS, MARTIN DEVANEY, ONE FOR THE TEAM with DAVE CAMPBELL, RED FLAGS, REVOLVER MODELE , TERRY WALSH, and TODD NEWMAN
$6.00 advance / $8.00 door

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Authors, Concert, Cool Event, Ubercool

Those of you who don't have e-mail are missing out. A trip through my spam-filter revealed these beauties:

• Tiny dic'k can never attract woman's attention


• The most powerful weapon for your s'e_xual bat


• Sail down the love canal more confidently


• Your masculinity just needed Megadik and large ...


• Don't let her laugh at your small stick anymore


• Set your lassie on fire with your new giant rod


• Make your beloved woman worship you as a man


• Let your size never spoil your private life!


• Your wife will always crave for your new big r


• I've gained an inch and a half so far


• We are here for you and your penis! Megadik ma ...


• Tiny diks are doomed to be ignored by hot wome ...


• Sanford's capacious cock


• Forget about failures in bedroom. With your ne

and of course...

• Check out Bling Bling watches

And there was one I wouldn't even post here, although it did include the word "twat" which you really don't hear much anymore.

I couldn't help but wonder who comes up with these things. There must be a group of people who sit around and drink together and hash out ideas like this, and make pictures like this:



I wonder if they are accepting applications...

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Funny, Writing

Unfortunately, the full article on billboard.biz requires subscription, but you can read enough excerpts from the Motley Crue fan club site to get the point:

Gene Simmons is an Idiot with a Capitalist I.

He really thinks that all of this "Free Music" nonsense could have been prevented if the Recording Industry had taken action from the beginning. Quote:

The record industry doesn't have a f*cking clue how to make money. It's only their fault for letting foxes get into the henhouse and then wondering why there's no eggs or chickens. Every little college kid, every freshly-scrubbed little kid's face should have been sued off the face of the earth. They should have taken their houses and cars and nipped it right there in the beginning. Those kids are putting 100,000 to a million people out of work. How can you pick on them? They've got freckles. That's a crook. He may as well be wearing a bandit's mask.

Gene Simmons must be the RIAA's wet dream, so entrenched in "the way we've always done it" that it is simply outside of his understanding that the rules have changed.

Sorry Gene, that the internet has made things complicated for you. Here is something for you to think about (when you can break away from the book you are writing about all the prostitutes you've slept with): I can go online and view the Mona Lisa any time I want. For Free. I can also go to the Louvre and pay to see it for a short time. For slightly more money I can own a print copy. For an ungodly amount of money I could own the real thing.

Now, why on God's Green Earth would people pay to see the Mona Lisa, or pay for a copy of the Mona Lisa, or pay to own the Mona Lisa, when they can see it online for Free? OH MY FUCKING GOD! HOW CAN THE ARTIST MAKE ANY MONEY WHEN YOU CAN ACCESS THE ART ONLINE FOR FREEEEEEeeee..... [insert sound of Gene Simmons screaming as he falls into the abyss of his own stupidity here]

Gene, here is another thing for you to think about when you aren't reducing KISS to a laughable product (because we all need an electric toothbrush that plays "Rock & Roll All Night"): As a musician, I would rather give my music away for free (as a matter of fact, I do give it away for free) than to see a DIME go into the pockets of the Recording Industry. They are irrelevant. They are the middlemen who have leeched the money from the pockets of talented people for DECADES. THEY are the real thieves, and the internet has eliminated their usefulness. You think they still have some value because they helped make you rich? You are a fool. I bet you still listen to terrestrial radio.

It gets better:

Billboard: But some artist like RADIOHEAD and Trent Reznor are trying to find a new business model.

Simmons: That doesn't count. You can't pick on one person as an exception. And that's not a business model that works. I open a store and say "Come on in and pay whatever you want." Are you on f*cking crack? Do you really believe that's a business model that works?

Someone points the way out of Gene Simmons stupidity, and he asks them if they are on drugs. This is where it becomes clear why he is so upset; it isn't about the music with him, its about the *Business* of music. Music is just a vehicle to MAKE MONEY. No wonder he is upset.

You know Gene, as a matter of fact, opening a store with almost negligible overhead, upkeep and distribution costs, with GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION and open 24x7x365 then asking for donations is a fucking phenomenal business model. How do you think wikipedia.org is still in business? How do you think the projects on sourceforge are funded? Are you aware that Radiohead are actually making an average of $6 per download by Giving Away their art and letting people donate what they want? And not a penny goes to the RIAA middleman. $6 average per customer, Gene. Do YOU make that much?

This is all overlooking the fact that the music is more important than the money, but this is also outside Gene Simmon's frame of reference:

Billboard: So what if music just becomes free and artists make their living off of touring and merchandise?

Simmons: Well, therein lies the most stupid mistake anybody can make. The most important part is the music. Without that, why would you care? Even the idea that you're considering giving the music away for free makes it easier to give it away for free. The only reason why gold is expensive is because we all agree that it is. There's no real use for it, except we all agree and abide by the idea that gold costs a certain amount per ounce. As soon as you give people the choice to deviate from it, you have chaos and anarchy. And that's what going on.


Gene, you almost figured this out. Things have Always been worth what people are willing to pay for them. Now, change "CD"s into "Digital Bits on the internet", and stir... Calling this change "chaos and anarchy" is incorrect. It is Change; change from one system to another system, one that you don't like, because you can't see how it will make you money.

Gene, as a young boy, I looked up to you as a Hero, and now you tell the world there is no real use for music unless you sell it to make money.

Blow me, Gene Simmons, you're a fucking idiot.

You worked hard, and made some good music and you made some good money using the system you had available at the time, and it worked out well for you. You got yours. Hooray for you. But the system has changed, and it's time for you to shut the fuck up and let people work with the system they have.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Business Phenomena, consumerism, idiots, Music Industry, Open Letter

Ah yes, so this is what this blog looks like. I'd almost forgotten about it; guess you could say I've been away on vacation, the way some people go up to the cabin for hunting, or south to their summer home for the winter. For those wondering what I've been up to, you can check here:

http://www.jaggedspiral.com/

I did all of the code and 99.9 percent of the content. The band is gearing up for it's first CD release, two years of work entitled "Days From Evil". The songs are licensed under Creative Commons, which means they are free to download from the merch page, although you can make a donation through strategically placed buttons on the website. One new track from the album will be released each week, you can check the countdown timer on the website for the release date of each track.

The band is working on art for the Days From Evil CD and hope to have it done by the end of 2007.

Oh, and I've also been known to camp out here for some lengths of time:

http://www.adagioholistic.com/

I did all of the code and none of the content, and it is my first paid venture in web programming. Kim Hart is as close as Minneapolis is going to get to a spiritual healer, she makes frequent trips to South America for training on healing techniques, and her business, Adagio Holistic, offers all kinds of alternative medicinal treatments, therapeutic massage, energy work, etc. Check their treatments page for more info.

If either of the sites looks screwed up, shoot me an email.

So I think the vacation is over, and it's good to be home again. Hmm, seems this place could use a little sprucing up...

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: A Day In The Life, Cool Website, Days From Evil, Jagged Spiral

For all of you Replacements fans out there (sorry, but I refuse to call them 'Mats'. They aren't fucking Mats so stop calling them that. Call them 'Mints' or something.) Writer for City Pages and Reveille Magazine, musician and all-around local troublemaker, Jim Walsh, has written a book detailing the rise and rise of the Replacements.

The book release at First Avenue should be quite the shindig, and has a slew of bands covering Replacements songs. Revolver Modele will be there, so you should too.

Wed Nov 28th
First Avenue
7PM
18+

Tickets are $5.50 plus whatever "Fees" TicketBastard charges. I recommend stopping by First Ave and pick them up in advance yourself.

I have a couple 'essential' Replacements CDs, and I recorded "The Replacements A to Z" when it aired on KQ92 many years ago. But I don't share the popular opinion that they were the Greatest Minnesota Band That Never Was (although I do allude to that in The Demonslayer's Handbook) Then again, I never saw the Replacements live, and it sounds like they got more reputation from their live antics than their music. So it should be interesting to experience them second and third hand from people who lived through the chaos.

I can't wait to read the book, and might even make it out to the Reading/Signing at Treehouse Records on Thanksgiving Eve.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Authors, Concert, Cool Event, Minneapolis Event, new release

Page 51 of this week's City Pages has an ad for the opening of a new Musical Instrument Store at the Richfield Best Buy. The grand opening party on Sat, Nov 10 will feature in-store performances by Shannon Curfman and local staple GB Leighton.

I am not surprised. Check out the latest Best Buy advertisement; the FIRST FOUR PAGES are Guitar Hero gear ONLY. I've said it before, the recent surge of popularity in shows like American Idol, Rock Star, and the smashing success of the Guitar Hero video game are jacking the interest in releasing your inner musician and goosing musical instrument sales. Guitar Center added on a Third store here in the Minneapolis metro area, which seems to be doing well, and now Best Buy is poised to dip a toe in the water.

Best Buy has always dabbled in music gear, carrying the Donkey Konga Bongos and maybe a Casio keyboard or two, and a smattering of Yamaha gear on their website. But it seems they have slipped into bed with a couple major distributors, Gibson, M-Audio, Suzuki, and Fender (although I've never heard of a Fender STARcaster before. Sounds kind of sketchy...)

Anyway, I read about a Best Buy in California which did the same thing. According to that blog post, it sounds like they really are giving it more than simply lip service, and even added on an isolated acoustic room in the store. Guitar Center certainly has to be nervous, because the distribution power of Best Buy far surpasses that of Guitar Center, both in Brick and Mortar stores and websites.

My suspicion is that if Best Buy's Musical Instrument Flagship takes off, they will add it as a feature to their larger stores in the same way they added the Magnolia Home Theatre section to certain stores.

I don't think Guitar Center needs to worry unless Best Buy spins off their musical instrument sales into separate stores and starts carrying real gear. Real musicians won't be fooled by the name 'Starcaster' and they will go to a real music store for their gear. And Guitar Center employees know music (for the most part) and while this might be a passing fad for Best Buy, making music is Guitar Center's lifeblood.

The worst thing that could happen is that a bunch of talentless and spoiled brats who look up to Nickelback and Bruce Springsteen get their hands on a Starcaster and post a bunch of shit-rock to their myspace page. But the internet has plenty of room for more music, and I'd rather see kids writing bad Emo music than selling Crack, and even playing a Starcaster poorly is better than playing Guitar Hero well.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Business Phenomena, Minneapolis Event, Music Industry