Commentary

Shut Up (Lead, don’t scorn)

by stinson on October 12, 2011

Where did you hear that the world is a fair place? When, in all the years of your experiences, did you ever get the impression that human nature is to ignore that which is popular, and devote all their attention to the things that are socially important issues?

No, it’s quite the opposite.

And furthermore, there’s a margin to which the specifics of what is “socially important” is subjective. Who are you to decide what is “socially important”? [continue reading…]

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Arrogance

by stinson on July 8, 2011

I‘m a member of a trade organization that recently made some structural changes which affected their members in a fundamental way.

The other day this organization issued a letter to all the members in response to a large member protest, not only stating their obstinate position that they will not consider reevaluating these changes, but also justifying their reasoning for making this decision, as well as reprimanding the member base for protesting in the first place.

And all this from an organization that is supposed to embody, edify, and serve the people they claim to represent. [continue reading…]

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Pride

by stinson on July 7, 2011

You can look for every opportunity to contradict. Every possible space there might be where you could interject a “Yeah, but!”… Instead of truly listening and contemplating what others are saying, you can self-centeredly pre-fashion your counter argument to back up your opposing point of view while they are talking. And you can punctuate all the shortcomings of a simple life lesson with the tiny special circumstances that are meaningless anomalies. [continue reading…]

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Yeah, I bought the new Lady Gaga album

by stinson on May 25, 2011

Many of you are probably already aware that on Monday, Amazon offered a deal on Born This Way, the new album by Lady Gaga. For one day only-Monday, June 23rd, Amazon featured Born This Way in it’s entirety for 99¢. I took them up on the offer, and purchased my first ever Lady Gaga album.

I half-jokingly made this comment on Twitter and Facebook post-purchase: “The entire new Lady Gaga record is on Amazon today for only 99¢. And for that reason only, I’m gonna own my first ever Lady Gaga record.”

A few of my friends/followers jabbed at me with some playful sarcasm for buying the record. I understand that a lot of people like to turn their noses up at Lady Gaga. And in all honesty, I’m not really a Lady Gaga fan. Yeah, it may make a few people raise an eyebrow when a rocker/shoegazer such as myself buys a pop album. But I’m also a professional record producer/artist developer/marketer/etc. An artist that is making this much of an impact and pulling in this much cash is worth taking an hour or so to gain some familiarity with. Actually, it should be required by someone like me, even if this is not the field of music I specialize in. [continue reading…]

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I Just Heard The Most Fascinating Thing…

April 11, 2011

As I was headed to a coffee shop meeting this afternoon, I was listening to Vanderbilt University’s radio station, where they were playing a recorded interview of songwriter Sunny Clapp from, my guess is, 50 or more years ago. In the middle of the interview Clapp made a brief remark about record sales that really [...]

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Artists: DO Give Away Your Most Valuable Asset

March 30, 2011

Yesterday Digital Music News published an open letter from Evan Lowenstein to performing artists to “Stop giving away your most valuable asset.” In other words, stop performing for free-specifically on music streaming websites that don’t include the option for artists to collect payment. While I think Evan has a great idea that fills a need [...]

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People DO! Support Music!

March 29, 2011

When people say, “No one is supporting music, buying concert tickets, etc,” they have brain damage. That’s not true. For example, I went to the Cold War Kids show last nite at Cannery Ballroom in Nashville and it was packed! Further, everyone was singing the songs religiously. Another example… the Lightning 100 Birthday Party Show [...]

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“Good Enough” Isn’t Good Enough Anymore

August 4, 2010

Iremember when I first heard Bush, the band of course, not the President, and I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, this is pretty good. It’s not Nirvana but it’s pretty good”. A few months after I heard them, they played a big show in Nashville. Sold out, as I recall. I had friends that went, [...]

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Years of Conditioning (bad education)

June 9, 2010

I‘ve had a long day. This year has been a really long, tough year. A year of growth and challenges (good ones). And I’m exhausted. So forgive me as I attempt to articulate a relatively disjointed and off-the-cuff thought at 1am… As I was driving across town on the freeway tonite – making my way [...]

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Chatroulette: They figured it out

March 24, 2010

A few months ago I was poking around on Twitter. As I was checking out who the people I follow were otherwise connected to, I came across someone who had shared a link to Chatroulette (I’m not going to link there, due to all the naked weirdos). The next couple days was a weird experience [...]

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