Rain Dance in Traffic: I Heart Controversy

Hey everyone!

I spent a bit of time looking for something to write about today.  I wanted to write something that has been in the music news over the last couple weeks.  I found a lot of interesting articles that would make interesting blogs, but there was an interesting thread running through each.  The music community loves controversy.  Music reporters love publishing it.  Music fans love expounding it.  Music websites love to keep them going for weeks after they should've faded away.

Here are some I've run across:

http://flavorwire.com/453477/cultural-appropriation-is-the-last-resort-of-the-lazy-pop-star

The music business is a fast moving game.  Many artists find themselves with their heads under the water when the moment before they were bobbing safely above the surface.  There is a distinct opinion that popularity is survival and obscurity is death.  The unfortunate reality is that many has-been artists will reach for controversy as a way to stay relevant instead of more traditional means.  Avril Lavigne's public flop of a music video is still an act of desperation, but her actions may not have been so unintentional.  Her image, like that of Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry, is based off of the idea of controversy.  She is supposed to be rebellious and make the parent nervous about their kids' music.  Avril has not lived up to that ideal in many a year so, the next best thing she can do is start a controversy.  Her recent music video might not have been a smart move on Avril's part, but it certainly wasn't an unexpected one.

http://thequietus.com/articles/15031-record-store-day-2014-problems-distribution-vinyl

I respect the vinyl-buying community like the way I respect the thrift stores that sell them.  They are trying to preserve a part of the past that is very important them.  I can't fault them for that and I know for sure I have done things in the ilk without a second thought.  However, I just don't understand them.  I am by no means tossing my own hat into this controversial argument because I simply do not have enough of a grasp on the independent music world.  However, from an outsider's perspective, this whole controversy seems a little nitpicky.  Record Store Day this year did exactly what it intended to do and any unintended side effects are simply that, unintended.  If trying to revive a dead medium of music is the goal, what's the problem of stores and artists making money?  Are we that intent on making the sharing of music a free enterprise that we criticize any attempt at a profit?  Just food for thought.

Thanks for reading!