It all simply boils down to two methods of change.
Some people believe that to make change you need to
completely overthrow the system. Just destroy it
and rebuild it properly. It's he stuff toppled
governments are made of. Other's believe the only
way to make real change is to work within the system,
expand yourself to a position of power, and then use
that power to affect change upon the very system you
detest. Silent revolution.
Some choose to work outside the system, and others
within... Until now working within the system
was basically the only option, but we seem to be
at a crossroad of sorts with the evolution of
online digital music distribution. Either method
has merit as far as I'm concerned. I mean, who
wouldn't get a smirk on their face to see the Pubahs
up on TRL? Just an extra poke from the many thorns
in the major label's over-corporatized side...
Dale
At 11:43 AM 8/18/00 EDT, you wrote:
>gord <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>On Wed, 16 Aug 2000, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
>> Not necessarily my rebuttal, but an interesting one, from Jeremy Gilbert
>and
>> Ewan Pearson quoted without permission from "Discographies - Dance Music,
>> Culture, and the Politics of Sound":
>>
>> "The only reason for staying underground is that in relation to dominant
>> structures of power, you are weak. To celebrate that weakness rather than
>> to try to overcome it is to concede social authority to those dominant
>> discourses. It is, in fact, to _choose_ too remain in a subordinate
>> position and to condemn others to a similar position."
>
>I find this statement to be rather naive and reductionist in a number of
>ways.
>
>Firstly, what if you don't support the dominant structures of power and
>the political stance you impose upon yourself by working together with
>them? This has nothing to do with being weak or strong, and everything to
>do with supporting and influencing change. By staying underground, you
>are making a statement that you have no interest in supporting these
>structures. This is done in hopes that reasonable people will recognize
>this and be influenced by it (thus affecting change).
>
>Secondly, it assumes that everyone is interested in power and that people
>are only either in a subordinate or dominant position (depending on the
>power they wield). While to a certain extent it is true that the desire
>to affect change is a struggle for power, it is certainly not individual
>power that is desired (this is often why those wanting to affect change
>don't reveal their identity or make public apperances). It is a struggle
>for power of reason. To open people's minds to something they might not
>have thought about, not fully understood, or not cared about before. One
>certainly does not gain individual power by supporting a cause greater
>than themself, nor are they in a dominant (or subordinate) position by
>making lifestyle decisions to help affect change (namely staying
>underground and often poor because of it).
>
>Good points...I would say though , If as an artist you creative talents
should
>speak for themselves....if your good enough you dont have to ask for
people to
>vote for you ,or check your info/website etc ........
>
>
>As for things said about not making a website and not telling anyone about
>your music in order to keep it underground... that's just missing the
>point entirely. Underground is about a state of mind, not crawling under
>a rock. Anyone who uses the term underground in an elitist, exclusionary
>way doesn't get it.
>
> g
>
>
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