rock club question

[manny at telerama.com]

On Thu, 2 Dec 2004, Mick wrote:

> Manny, if you do not need to dig around to prove something, why should I?
Because you are the one with the computer and the time on his hands, not
I. FOr me, it is easy enough to prove that a band is collaborating with
CLear Channel - you look at the ad, if their name is in the ad then they
have sold out to CC. Simple enough.
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> But I bet you love those vinyl records, don't ya.
what?
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> You have a problem with Clear Channel? Why were you not making a stink ab=
out=20
> this before it was too late? And yes, it is too late. They have the=20
> mainstream in the clutch. And why do you care if they do? They have littl=
e=20
> to do with shows you put on, or the bands you would listen to. Mainstream=
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> radio is clich=E9 and boring, isn't it? Or at least that is what you thin=
k=20
> seeing how you so readily bash people for listening to it.  Mainstream is=
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> what Clear Channel buys. Let them have the mindless flock. Convert the=20
> strays and let them bring others to your side.

Does Fantomas, Le Tigre, Yo La Tengo & The Melvins
look like 'mainstream' to you? Does 'mainstream' include bands that draw
a couple hundred people or less? Not usually. But Clear Channel is paying
attention to smaller and smaller bands that SFX and Dicesare Engler never
used to bother with. That's why I'm making a stink now, as opposed to
before. When the big guys only bothered with big acts, it was not my
concern. But when they start trying to hog the monopoly on everything
(and believe me they are trying, their goal is to wipe all midsizers
out and then to move in on the smaller ones, which they have done in
many areas) then that's another story. Maybe you should know what you're
talking about before you spout your mouth.

> Just so you know Clear Channel has it set so that technically they are no=
t a=20
> monopoly. They allow enough of the market to be owned outside their=20
> interest.  They bought out those stations and media outlets fair and squa=
re.=20
> Why not give shite to the people who sold them? They helped Clear Channel=
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> more than listeners. The people who sold did not need to sell but did.  W=
hy;=20
> M to O to N to E to Y!
I'm not letting off the people who sold them off the hook any more than I
am letting off the entire generation of babyboomer upscalers who sold WYEP
down the tubes.
Of course money talks. You would expect it to.
But there is a difference:
Whoever sold their stations or promotion companies or venues to Clear
Channel was mostly average businessmen. No special integrity there.
You can't 'sell out' when you had no ideology to begin with other than to
simply make money.
But when you talk about bands who have been chanting anti-mainstream
slogans and supposedly adhering  to an independent ethic in their
lifestyles and dealings, and they are all speaking out against Bush,
but yet they can't resist the siren call of Clear Channel's money,
then it is the fault of those bands.
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> You want to change what is heard on mainstream radio or what is seen at=
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> bigger venues, start one up. I am willing to bet you or your partners wil=
l=20
> sell when Clear Channel comes knocking with the millions they will offer =
for=20
> it. That is if you can get enough people to listen to the station or atte=
nd=20
> the shows.
No there is no way to change this. I don't have a ny money or fluence to
do so. THese bands, however, do. They are squandering their influence and
turning their backs on integrity to make a quick buck.

And you are wrong and you don't know what you're talking about.
There are plenty of bands and labels and evenues and booking agents which
ARE resisting CC's call and will continue to do so.
Even Elko and Joker seem to be stolidly resisting CC even though they
would probably be better off selling off their companies to CC.
So there are plenty of reasons and ways not to sell to them, unlike
what you claim.

I have no interest in reforming mianstream radio, it's simply impossible.
I just don't wish to see the underground taken apart, piece by piece, by
the lure of short-term lucre.

> Also, my mind is freer than yours will ever be, homey.
Not in an alcohol-stupored state, it ain't.
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