THE ART OF AWARENESS

I've been busy compiling material for my forthcoming book slated for a summer 2012 release. However, two short business trips to Berlin and New York respectively have given me a booster to include this post in order to keep this blog (slightly) active. What you find below is my thoughts on the contemporary music industry and the fact that very, very few artists have what can best be described as awareness.

Perhaps originating from punk/hardcore aesthetics - but not long ago it mattered what surrounded a show, what values and views a magazine had, whether the radio was commercial or not, if the event or tour you were offered to play was corporate sponsored or what the ticket price of your show was projected to be.
These things, this mindset used to matter to musicians back in the days when integrity was still a word in the daily vocabulary. The fact that these views and perceptions are pushed so far in the background or  erased altogether has to do with a change of values that makes us even more shallow than in the 80's and is certified proof that apathy is the new black.
And we're not just talking about the world-renowned "punk" bands you see touring Europe and the US, charging ridiculous amounts of money resulting in sky-high ticket prices. It's across the board really - the so-called Indie scene is probably the worst exerciser of this paradoxical double standard but naturally the perception of the case-study becomes much clearer by using the prime example of the "punk" or "hardcore" band not being aware.

The essential meaning of punk and/or hardcore is opposition. It's underground; it stems from the underground and it remains underground. If underground goes mainstream it looses its effect, meaning and danger. It's as simple as that - and there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. But when it happens it's over and a new underground movement must be created out of real initiative, real creative, real problems and real danger.
It all has to do with politics. Because being apolitical, in my opinion, is not possible. Every choice we make in life has a clear political dimension and our personal relations and situations are directly affected by politics. There is no denying this. This means, in all its simplicity, that by not taking side, by not taking a stand, you are indeed taking one!

So when a band (let's for the sake of the story say it's a random US hardcore/punk band) is claiming its hardcore roots and referring to their socio-political lyrics on injustice while still participating in a corporate sponsored event, promoted by a corporate monopoly-promoter at a ticket price a regular punk or hardcore kid have no chance of paying - then we indeed have a paradox. Or rather a double standard.

Why this happens more and more often is beyond me. Well, perhaps is saddens me much more than it baffles me.
However, I cannot fathom that artists, despite the volume of shows they may have in a year, don't have an interest in these things. By not participating you're basically cutting fans of - by age (e.g. if it's 18+, 21+, etc.) and class (e.g. ticket prices and outrageous box office fees).

Everything we do, or rather don't do, has it's effects, as mentioned. This is a political action on the artist's part, because what they're saying with these actions is: we support the corporations. We support what is happening around us.
Whether or not they do it out of convenience or because it's more lucrative is not for me to say - but that would be the likely response.

I genuinely believe that you're bringing the music industry, or more accurately the live industry, in danger by being apathetic to this extend. If even the bands claiming integrity, awareness and justice are accepting the above-mentioned (and so much more!) we're headed for destruction. Because this is just starting.

THE ART OF AWARENESS is a kind reminder to take notice and responsibility. There is no hiding, no label, management or agent to hide behind. The artists have the power, then they just need the awareness!