“Idol 2 Idle” Song Debut

TheSongDiary : Volume 2

Todays New Track:

“Idol 2 Idle”

This is a new series that will feature brand new songs as I complete them for my upcoming (and often delayed ) “Programmed Response”

 

 

This song was originally recorded back in 2005 in its basic instrumental form , and went through several title changes before finally resting at “Idol 2 Idle” as its final. Originally entitled “Islamabad” and was to be centered around my view on America’s war on terrorism in Afghanistan, and the correlation to the poppy seed industry in that country that fuels multi-billion dollar heorine trade in the West. I couldn’t effectively find the right form of pliable expression that I wanted, and in early 2006 I came across an article about the formation of Isreal by the first Prime minister, David Ben-Gurion in The Nation magazine. This inspired the lyrics first eight bars, and are directly related to the history of the region.

I have always found it incredible the hypocrsy of organized religion and the sanctioning of violence and historical manipulation it uses to control others while furthering its own political and monetary capital for the sake of ‘God’. I have always searched for a way to convey my disgust and disdain in such a way that I could say many things using allusions and phrases containing double-meaning. This song was an on-again, off-again attempt at doing just this, and a strage 2 1/2 year odyssey in that regrard. irrespective of whatever may result, I am pretty fucking proud of it. the song was completed on October 8th 2008.

The Music: The ‘bones’ of the track were directly inspired by a Pete Rock/9th Wonder produced track from their seminal 2005 collaboration called “Class In Session”. Rather than put through a loop sample of my own, I decontructed what they did, and reconstructed using organic instrumentation such as acoustic guitars, piano and a live drum track which were put in place, plus a reconstructed key signature. When a friend of mine first listened to the demo back in the summer of 2005, he aptly named it the “Hill Street Blues ” track ( after a 1980’s television show theme song), which has a similar sound. Extra percussion fills and staccatos and further filtering and arrangement were added during August-September of this year.

The lyrics : a conglomerate of historical references to Isreal, World War II, and the victims of the Exodus , a group of eastern-European Jewish refugees who fled Germany after of the Fall of the Nazis whom escaped the concentration camps and were originally bound for New York, but through diplomatic manipulation by Prime Minister Ben-Gurion of the Truman Administration in 1946 was able to keep the Exodus out to sea for seven months, and eventually had them disembark in the port of Haifa to be personally solicited by Ben-Gurion to fight against the Arab incursion in the name of Israel itself.

The problem : the refugees themselves were never asked what they wanted in this ‘fight’, and the native Arabs were never asked for their input about this new State; this ‘New Centre of All World Jewry.’ The second half of the lyrics is an all-out assault on all three groups involved in the Middle East mess: The Western Christians, the Jews, and the Muslims. There is an admitted empathy towards the Palestinians, however, as it seems they are ultimately the victim of ‘Big Brother American’ and Israel: both of whom are economic and military superpowers, While Palestine is more underdeveloped and poor. It seems to reek of bullying the brown man; the ‘lesser’ one…

Enjoy!.. and *ponder*

And, as always, all lyrics, vocals and instruments are written and performed performed by myself..

Did anybody ask the Arabs exactly what they wanted
Before they smothered Palestine in the Summer of ‘47?
Why didn’t David have the courtesy to send the eviction notice
Before turning Gaza and The West Bank into his bathroom floor?(Main Chorus)
Idol 2 Idle
Car bombs to coffe shops
desecrating mosques and synagouges
F-14s and Hamas..
..The head of Muhammed

Wasn’t enough to screw the survivors of Hitler’s ‘Master Plan’, leave
the Exodus hanging out to sea for all of seven months.
Whoring out the martyrdom for Truman to take the bait..

A ‘Holy’ epicenter for all the suffergettes all assembled for a new
Israeli state..

(Main Chorus)
Idol 2 Idle
Car bombs to coffe shops
desecrating mosques and synagouges
F-14s and Hamas

Idol 2 Idle
Jesus and body parts
all cut and blown to bits
And crimson-colored be the head of Muhammed
Shot 2 shit

In the center of this GodRape
Like flowers trampled underfoot
Menora pre-eminent domain
While the crescent of a lesser prohet
Has no say

It’s a blank space to a blank check
Big Brother American
Got to take up for their Jewish brothers
While making blood in the sand

You know it’s quite alright to just go ahead and take all their lives
Their ‘God’ is Mud for he lacks money, and the big blue eyes
And praise Our ‘God’, and shoot the Devil, cos Allah is a Myth (yeah!)
Stab and shoot and kill each other in the name of stones and sticks..
And Praise The Lord and Pass the Pistol; Christian Armies march
Strap the bomb right to the child and blow him through the Stars

 

Idol 2 Idle
Jesus and body parts
all cut and blown to bits
And crimson-colored be the head of Muhammed

It’s all about your God…..It’s all about your flag (x4)

Copywright 2008 ShoEnTeL Publishing(ASCAP)

“All Is Love” Song Debut

TheSongDiary : Volume 1

“All Is Love”

This is a new series that will feature brand new songs as I complete them for my upcoming (and often delayed ) “Programmed Response”

 

 

The dynamic in composing and songwriting is that it can come lightening fast, or can need some incubation time until the proper inspiration is found to give the song the proper vision and context it deserves. This song was a bit bit of a bastard in that I had elected to commit to transitioning in the mid-bridge in a completely different (but relevant) key signature. This coupled with the fact that the main guitar is electric-acoustic, and the second guitar was electric, both being at completely different tones altogether. It was originally put together in March 2007, but just completed with vocals on July 17th 2008.

The Music: The tonal shift/sound variation I actually liked, but I ended being rather put off about how tricky it was going to be to cumulatively get it cohesive enough to make it a complete song with vocals. If you listen closely, you can here the closing guitar at the last third of the song losing intonation slightly. rather than correct in the original recording, I decided to leave it instead, as I like the character of a ‘build up’ that inhabited with this anomaly. Electric guitars. many of which, do not retain their tuning very well, especially when the whammy bar is consistently applied…

The lyrics : my take on what it means to live in the superficial and perpetual singledom of Hollywood. There is a conglomerate of misery in this town that dwells among those who are trying to run with the hipsters and make their mark in entertainment. In doing so, they fail to recognize the importance of placing human intimacy ahead of attempting to ‘keep up’ with the glamorous lifestyle.

Years pass, and being perputually single has become its own inprisonment. The inability to not only acheive the dream of stradom but also having a genuine sense of true campanionship leaves nothing left but the bitterness and deprevity of the self-subjection to the material world. The very thing that was hungered for has consumed and devoured them, leaving nothing left to show but an acute sense of ’sour grapes’ at those who have found love, while they themselves have only found it through the conditional dynamic of pet ownership and selfishness. Enjoy!

And, as always, all lyrics, vocals and instruments are written and performed performed by myself..

All is Love
Hide behind veneers and wasted years
And Times; and lines of empty voices
Filling Empty Rooms

All is fine-
An Easy smile, the madness of solitude
Break lights on a chance that you have
Set Ablaze

All is Love
closer to the Dog , than to your Neighbor
And Favor, what you can scold that has no Voice
To talk back…

And hatred’s like a noisy anger
That burns the House inside your Head
No tears with eyes wide and dry..
So just fight and die instead..(X2)

..All is love;
Party favors wet with flesh
Dissolve in the morning haze..
What tasted like Fire, Now is Dead
In Your Gaze…

And Hatred’s like an orphans’ blanket
That wraps the cold inside your Head
No tears with eyes burned and fried..
You’ve earned the right to be Dead

..(And)All (that) Is Love, Has Died…(Repeat Until Fade, With Ad Lib)

Copywright 2008 ShoEnTeL Publishing(ASCAP)

Bottle Rockets and Space Shuttles

The New Age Of Fear, Apathy, and Complacency Has Killed True Ambition..Except Mine

KC Shoen

ShoEnTeL Music

‘Aim High’ has long been the Air Force recruiting mantra of the ages. The obvious implication being to dream big; go beyond assumed levity and expectation. Reach for the seemingly unattainable and achieve the lofty and daring which for most may appear impossible.

 

The concept also has great acceptance and admiration in the American lexicon. The crevasse between its sloganeering and actual application is, to say the least, incredibly vast.

 

Almost beyond being cognizant of one another.

 

George Carlin once said about the purchasing of motivational books, “ if you were already motivated to go and purchase the book in the first place, then your motivated. What do you need the book for?” I began thinking about the complexity of that seeming rudimentary observation while at a previous gathering. Talking with a friend of mine who recently acquired his necessary qualifications as a paramedic, it suddenly began to dawn on me how little Americans at current devalue true risk taking in the face of more ‘traditional’ career aspirations.

 

This friend worked like a goddamn dog to achieve this goal, and he was met with a large round of indifference by members of his family, some I overheard complaining about all the ‘wasted time’ he spent studying in various schools to acquire the degrees necessary to be an EMT. The most common complaint was that there was so much money he ‘lost’ in his schooling. It didn’t matter that the end-result is his finally achieving his goal, and is now working in his given field of choice, and that the money and time invested will now pay off thrice fold. He is living his dream.

Americans at current devalue
true risk taking in the
face of more ‘traditional’ career aspirations

It still didn’t matter.

 

No, he should’ve been more willing to just get out there and work some mid-level corporate bullshit job, overpaid for an expensive car, then bought a house to prove his immediate worth while still under thirty. Never mind the incredible unhappiness and sense of self-loathing it would have caused, affecting every personal relationship with those close to him. Just get the material necessary right away to prove your worth. It’s the American Dream.

 

Fuck being the Space Shuttle. Be the Bottle Rocket.

 

The economy being so incredibly fragmented and irreconcilably damaged has prompted more fear, and more leniency to this type of linear aspiration. ‘Just get a job that pays well, shut up, and stay there’. In the last eight years that I have been perusing music on a serious level, I have found a much more vehement willingness to hold on to such rancor in light of the jobless rate edging higher. There are times I’ve had to go back to a regular job to get money up and support my craft that I have dealt with employers who bristle at me when they discover I actually have ambitions beyond than what they are offering me within their company. I have even been cornered with “who the fuck do you think YOU are?” on many occasions. I attribute this defensive loathing to me being a musician and a label owner simultaneously. How dare I think I am competitive enough in the current abyss that is the industry to have confidence enough to strive for greatness and success!

How appalling to have ambition that breaks with the rank-and-file of American corporate sheepishness! The gall to sacrifice and skip on the finer material trappings for something more meaningful, and potential greater reward!

 

How dare I portend to be a Space Shuttle in a sea of mediocre compliance, fear, and culpability in the vox populi of Bottle Rocketry!

There are times I’ve had to go back to a regular job to get money up and support my craft that I have dealt with employers who bristle at me when they discover I actually have ambitions beyond than what they are offering me within their company

I don’t have much, really. What I do own is semi-functional to completely dependable. I do skip on eating out, turning instead to try to grab a special once-in-a-while moment with my lovely wife whenever there’s a little extra. My studio is about the only area in the home that is ‘new’, and this was (and is) obtained, to this day, through discounts and hook-ups through one of the many places I’ve worked at in the past. I have to mind my money, like everyone else, but it has forced me to become creative, and take more risks with my art.

 

Imagine that. Broke as hell, yet taking expanded risks..what a novel concept!

 

I decided in 2000 this is absolutely what I wanted to do, and only in the last few years has my vision for myself as an artist and a label started to come more into focus, and gain some fanfare. The dream is coming into realization. And this is the time to step on the gas. Work harder and smarter. Try to gain more traction. Try to get YOU to be a fan of me.

 

Because I am that damn good, and you would love what I have. And I believe that.

 

So should you.

 

Of your OWN aspirations.

 

Don’t settle for what it is in front of you, if your soul craves more. If you do, it is a slow and painful suicide of mundane and esoteric proportions. Fear creates hesitation, and hesitation is the gateway to failure. You can’t act if you can’t think clearly and without doubt.

 

You will be the bottle rocket. Small, short spurts of mediocre and meaningless achievement followed by an insidious ‘pop’ as the ceiling stunts your rise; coming to crash quickly on the asphalt.

 

Be the Space Shuttle. Go for the long distance; the incredible flight. See and do what others will hate for, as they can’t even aspire to such potential greatness, let alone take the risk to make that journey in the first place.

..and can you explode in mid-air? Yes. But you control that dynamic. Your decisions will determine whether you will remain buoyant, or if you will crash and burn. You own it; so do the maintenance to keep the machine flying.

 

I believe that.

 

Or else I wouldn’t bother with the passion I have for my art in the first place.

 

So, to hell with the bottle rockets. I gotta go fly…

 

Easy With That Wire Hangar, Joan..!

Kanye West’s Bonnaroo Meltdown and Proceeding Fallout shows His Ineptitude at Taking Justifiable Criticism

KC SHOEN

www.myspace.com/shoentel

The Bonnaroo incident is now becoming the albatross Kanye West can’t seem to shake, His recent all-caps tirade-riddled blog is the latest series in the Kanye Unholy Trinity of Megalomania that becomes further evidence of what he defines as confidence is nothing more than self aggrandizement. Worsening this debacle into an unredeemable interstellar melt down of epic proportions is the rationale of ‘Ye assailing the one group that he shouldn’t have dare blasted..

 

The fans themselves.

 

I don’t condone their littering the stage with bottles to the point of making the stage into a three-inch deep pool of overpriced urine-flavored libations, turning his overly-convoluted techno concerted performance into a living electrical hazard replete with the opportunity for him to break his neck, much like having newly cleaned naked skin making unsure contact to a slippery floor coming out of a shower. West was right for addressing this in his mostly-adolescent temper tantrum-ladened bitchfest of a blog.

 

Kanye West went completely off coarse when he decided to channel Joan Crawford, splitting hairs and ‘wire hangars’ about having his payday cut in half by the damage the pelting created, blaming the organizers for their poor coordination, and going as far as holding the same organizers accountable for not issuing a statement of apology on his behalf. The most entertaining bit of this Man-Diva drama was his blaming the fans themselves for not pulling off the performance the way he envisioned, ending his ‘Kanye Dearest’ rant with ‘(You) can never say I didn’t give my all’.

 

Well ‘Mr. Crawford’, yes we can say that.

Joan Crawford died May 10, 1977..Kanye was born June 8th the same year. Could his latest tirade be a convincing argument of him being Joan Crawford reincarnated? Hmmm….

 

And as much as I have bean-bagged WhutDoYaMeanGene Simmons for his inability to stand in on his ignorance with debates he starts, the one area he has completely got it on the mark is his interpretation of the fans role in Kiss’ sustainable star power and revenue garnering, being simply this:

 

‘The fans are our bosses. Without them, we would be nothing.’

 

Prince doesn’t do a whole lot of speaking, but his performance at Coachella spoke volumes as to his understanding of what his role was at the festival, covering Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ mid-repertoire; letting the fans know he understood His Purple Badness was NOT the focus of the night, and lending musical props to the band themselves, who actually were the anticipated centerpiece of that event.

 

It was respectful, even galvanizing.

 

But not ’ol ‘Joan’. Kanye decided this was all about him. There are a few things ‘Ye could’ve done to make the experience have more value (not to mention more tolerable) starting with a few simple rules for playing at a festival with multiple performances by various acts:

1)Keep it simple: There was really no need for the complicated neo-Funkadelic staging for his performance. Joan could’ve spared himself much aggravation and risk of technical failure had he just stripped-down the staging involved. This is a festival, not a ‘Kanye and Friends’ collective tour. This shows respect to the other acts involved, and allows room for any minor delays. The fans will appreciate seeing you perform, but will also appreciate you getting your ass on, and off the stage quickly.

2) Expect delays: Joan doesn’t have a good grasp of the concept that
even when it comes to His High Hip-Hopness, shit happens. Tech delays, staging
malfunctions, wardrobe difficulties, lighting gaffs all can occur without warning, and will, especially at a multi-act venue. Show some patience, girlfriend..go have a wine spritzer and a Zoloft. The whole world is not ‘waiting to see (you) fall’:many of us haven’t seen you rise. And so many more don’t care, BabyJane.

3) Communicate to the fans at the end of a long set delay ‘Ms. Crawford’ could have really done his ManDiva-ass a favor with this simple sentence “Hey, people, really sorry for the long delay..hope y’all ready for a really good set…!” This could’ve done wonders for the whole situation. Would’ve killed the ‘Kanye sucks’ chants, possibly turned to cheers and might’ve become the most memorable performance that evening. The entire coarse of events now that are happening would have resulted in the positive adulation ‘Ye so craves constantly.

 

What Kanye forgot in all this was the fans themselves. Rather than take charge of the debacle by way of an act of contrition to the audience, he elected instead to go on stage, make no acknowledgement of the horribly long delay, and then bitch when he rightfully got bean-bagged for it by the fans themselves. Joanie the ManDiva chose to blame the fallout on everything and everyone else except the real person who was responsible.

Himself.

 

It is his fault because he owned no accountability to it. And in the process, committed one of the worst cardinal sins:

 

Taking it out on the fans themselves.

 

So, listen closely ‘Mildred Pierce’, before you decide to have your fingers wrapped around the soft, pillowy buttons of your MacAir laptop, here’s a few things to consider before you attempt to ‘clear out some more wire hangars’, and beat us all down a la Christina Crawford.

 

Fans do not care how much revenue loss you took. They paid to see you, alongside other acts. That is your problem..

 

They are also not concerned about your fettered opinion in regards to your beleaguered tech delays and over-excessive staging and props, and whose fault it was that it didn’t come off correctly. You wasted their time, and then had the audacity to whine like a 5-year old.

 

 What you see as an injustice and disrespect to your art, they see as you acting a little spoiled bitch, crying over your lost baby bottle. Fans also got a glimpse of your shortsighted pettiness and your over-indulged sense of self-importance.

 

If indeed you’re going to vent online for the entire world to see, and put out a screamer-blog, do us all a favor and UNDO the ‘Caps Lock’. Screaming in all caps is for children, and last I checked, you just turned 31.

 

And lastly, Joan-Kanye, you cannot defend the indefensible. Redirecting blame, getting huffy and defensive in a poorly written and ill-advised blog, then trying to assert your dominance in the game just makes you look and sound a right jackass. The fiasco is your entire fault because of your failure to plan properly, and to address this to the audience at Bonnaroo, before you started attempting to perform in that slippery beer-soaked pool of a stage.

 

If you lack the insight and common sense to understand the fans angle in this, you should check to make sure you have proper circulation of blood going into your cerebral cortex..

 

A good start is maybe to find some loose-fitting clothes. And take some accountability, and stop pissing off fans. No one is digging your act

 

‘Kanye Dearest’

 

 

A Farewell To ‘Uncle George’

George Carlin’s passing is sad, indeed, but also personally filled with irony

KC Shoen
www.myspace.com/shoentel

Danny Kaye is about as humorous today as dried fruit.

 

At least by today’s standards, anyway. But Danny Kaye, in the infinite scope and breadth of his outreach of talent in comedy essentially gave birth to another whose prose in stand-up would be unmatched by any of his contemporaries for five solid decades.

 

One George Denis Patrick Carlin Of Morningside, New York.

 

Kaye’s influence drove the ninth-grade drop-out, and dishonorably discharged Air Force veteran something to aspire to: tell jokes, and get paid for it. Carlin found his way out of the orchestrated and mundane world of over-obedience and decaying original thought that was American culture, then and now, by way of making fun of it.

 

But George really didn’t come in to his own until a repeat appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show with a bit called ‘The Hair Piece’, in which he traded in the signature clean-cut suit-and-tie for a pair of faded jeans, a tie-dye shirt and long hair.

Carlin also decided to do away with impressions which had been his mainstay of his comedic routine in the 1960’s, and instead became a counterculture icon. This was due to two significant events in his life that occurred almost simultaneously: the arrest of Lenny Bruce on obscenity charges (which he was present for), and that marijuana was not only useful in summoning the Muse of his art, but was also a goddamn great high.

 

It was 26 years ago, on a hazy and cold Utah evening in November 1982 that I discovered who, and what this George Carlin was. ‘Carlin at Carnegie Hall’ was the one I must have watched a thousand times, even recording it on audio cassette so that I could learn and mimic his act. It was hot stuff to a twelve-and-half year old. Especially his introduction of the Original ‘Seven Dirty Words’ which, in this particular HBO special, was expanded to about five hundred which he read off a scroll at the end-credits.

Not only was this remarkable in that he found new and improved combinations, but the fact he parlayed it into many variances and phrases both profound and ambitious..some never heard of before.

 

I can’t tell you what kind of havoc this brought me in Mormonland Salt Lake, when I decided to repeat segments of his act to my schoolmates while in class. So many were offended, but so many more were incredibly amused. Many conservative members of the faculty at Hillside Junior High viewed me as ‘mind poison’: keeping a watchful eye on the ‘little demon’, and since I wasn’t a part of the bleating Mormon sheep-machine, I was especially handled with great underlying disdain and vitriol by these figureheads. Even as far as being excluded from special school events due to my ‘negative influence.’

 

And I don’t regret a single moment of this. And it’s all thanks to good ol ‘Uncle George’

 

A strange and wonderful education began with listening and watching Carlin over those formative years. I discovered something rather intrinsic and deeply fascinating about his work: He was an idealist with a pessimistic view about those who have an unyielding loyalty to the ‘rules’.Waiting for either natural or human created catastrophe to spell the end of mankind, where he could have a front seat like a spectator sport was another: so that life could ‘start over’ and perhaps bring about a better outcome than what currently seems uncorrectable and insurmountable at present, given our ‘reptilian’ tendencies.

Even his disdain for authority had an idealist nuance: presenting total anarchy as a means to discover genuine and original thought that could bring about real change, above and beyond what we call ‘establishment’. Carlin’s knack for attacking Corporate empires in his latter years gave glimpses of idealism that suggested if only these entities were removed (even violently) it would promote free thought: unregulated, unfiltered, and without commercial saturation. Free thought and Being were always central to his themes, in one facet or another, much like Hunter S. Thompson and his brand of ‘gonzo journalism.’ the two were most definitely cut of the same cloth…

But the real strangeness in all this for me started here..

It was 11:00 at night, and I decided to breeze through some e-mails on that 22^nd day of June. Routine check-backs, reviewing the days messages, checking my Myspace, and whatever else needed tending to, that I suddenly found myself screaming at the Yahoo! Default page on my laptap. An entire part of my history had suddenly gone straight to the ‘past tense’ , and was no more in the living. It did feel like, in an abstract sense, a ‘relative’ had died; suddenly and without any pretense or appearance of impending expiration.

It was over.

All those Carlin-joke retellings ; all that preadolescent mimicry which evolved into true appreciation in adulthood now seemed vaporized. So suddenly, without a living being to attach it to. The being is now suddenly memorialized, no longer of the flesh, but now a eulogy. An epitaph. A weird and freaky little Uncle had transcended, taking with him his unyielding and nuanced humor that many to this day among the ‘family’ are still scared shitless to touch. A real funny sonofabitch, who would seem to have gone on boundlessly, is now absent.

Your favorite Uncle who knew your darkest thought patterns, and displayed them with incredible insight and verbal conciseness has disappeared from the barbecue, leaving only just the resin of time/space memory to quickly fill the void…and leaving you to deal with the other ‘pack of mutants’ at the cookout.

 

Uncle George has gone to The Great Gig In The Sky.

 

And this is where it gets very strange and melancholy:

 

-My current song “I Am The Air”, finally debuted after two weeks of delays and programming errors on the part of A&R Limited, the company that features ‘The Indie Revolution’ show and podcast. The original date of it’s premier was June 8^th. Instead it debuted this past Sunday..

 

June 22^nd

 

-The song debuted in one of the largest music markets in the world, on a station that has an audience of approximately 1 million listeners locally. WMIR 100.9 FM, which is located in Long Island, near George Carlin’s birth city and in his birth state..

 

New York

 

-George Carlin passed away at St. John’s Hospital at approximately 5:55pm. The hospital is located in Santa Monica, California..

located about 4 miles from my front door

 

‘I Am The Air’ is a song about transcendence from the material plain; rising above the violence and sheepishness that seems pervasive in our times, and finding true spirituality from within, not without. Because of all of the strange coincidence involving his passing, and because he was truly a hero of mine, I would like to dedicate the main chorus of the song to his memory, as I think it is fitting, oddly enough…

I am the air above the sea

The sky above your debris

I am alive beyond your sight

I am the ghost leading this fight,

Clearing off where you sling mud

Reaching for god, as you draw blood

And I won’t come down…

…And I won’t come down…

 

Whatever these strange coincidences are suppose to validate, I’m not sure..but I just want to say goodbye, Uncle George. Thanks for validating my weirdness, and giving me a ‘place’ for my ’stuff’

‘Guerillas’ In The Mist?

New Cooperative Merlin Seeking To Be a ‘Major’ Player with No Gameplan Other than Its Size

KC Shoen
www.myspace.com/shoentel

It is amazing what travels under the media radar as it pertains to the industry of music.

It would seem that Charles Caldas, a long-time veteran CEO with Victoria, Australia-based Shock Records has taken on the role of “Biggest Gorilla in The Room”, successfully launching Merlin Network, an internet-based co-operative basing its ‘conceptual mandate’ to act as a guardian for the rights of independents to fairly gain a share of the marketplace via distribution through alliances with SNOCAP, and engaging in negotiations with soon-to-be launched Myspace Music for fairer placement and representative exposure, which is tantamount for any indy artist to assist in gaining traction and monetizing their art.

Charles Caldas-CEO/Merlin Network

The launch itself, which took place quietly on November 19^th, 2007, has (according to a May 5^th Article in ars Technica) garnered support and alliances from 12,000 independent labels worldwide within the last month of Merlin’s official door-opening to applicants desiring its umbrella services. From notables such as NettWork , Koch, Razor and Tie, and Charles’ alma mater, Shock Records joining the alliance, Merlin’s CEO believes that by galvanizing these vast numbers for the sake of being a one-all ‘licensing rights clearinghouse’ will better position itself at the bargaining table against the likes of Universal, SonyBMG, and Warner Music Group, being brandished as a ‘Fifth Major’.

The fragmentation that has always been the crutch of the independent label has been widening within the last five years due to the slow death of the Majors themselves, the imperative becomes to regain that lost stronghold, and according to Mr. Caldas “where it is clear that a central negotiation is the only way in which to achieve access to, or an equitable share of revenue streams.” It is no secret that the Big 4 are still trying to reassert their dominance via the constant outpouring of mainstream mediocrity and band-brand recognition in hopes to retain control of the very market it help to create. The same one they are losing in droves. Indies accounted for 27.5 percent of total music sales worldwide, which amounted to be the largest portion entirely for 2007.

Conceptually, this makes sense. The fragmentation now reaching epic proportions represents a sort of untapped market in itself: a vast and valuable hidden treasure waiting to be unearthed, with Merlin presiding over it, assuming the position to deliver back to its coalesced indie alliance by way of trickle-down revenue sharing that would give greater ability to launch new acts who are up-and-coming, and sustain operations for each label without encumbering the way each one runs day-to-day. Allegedly, all would benefit, including my label.

The Bigger Gorilla would be a Nicer Gorilla.

And disintermediation would be to the advantage to all as part of our participation. Disintermediation, at present, many of us have already substantially taken advantage of in many forms. Enhancing competition is very important indeed, and Charles Caldas understands this. His work at Shock Records and some of their incredible success as an independent label is attributed to his work He states further to the intent of Merlin “ I believe that all independent labels, distributors and aggregators should join Merlin. The broadest possible membership will not only maximise the impact of Merlin but also allow us to enhance the ability for our members to compete in the market.” which would imply safety in strength of numbers. This Gorilla having many arms and legs.

But Gorillas become guerrillas when unchecked.

EMI and Warner music in their earliest beginnings brought forth this type of all-in mentality: for the greater enhancement of lesser-known, but talented artists and bands. And look at what they have become. It is not to suggest that Mr. Caldas has any ill-intent with the creation of Merlin, and the organization offers an opt-out policy, with no fees or percentages attached for membership, but this approach leaves questions as to its validity and viability. Sure, as a united front , Merlin now has something that the indies separately never acquired and that’s clout, but as all of us are trying to eek out monetization and control over our respective destinies the question becomes at what cost?

I have a difficult time adjudicating to the perception I stand an equal chance at consideration for distribution/licensing/exposure amongst the likes of more visible labels such as Koch, or Nettwork Records. Arguably, how much of the revenue-sharing is going to be as protractedly meaningful with lesser known labels and artists, whose rosters are equally as strong, going to gain in that system? And as being purported as a ‘Fifth Major’, what good is it to be part of a large monolithic cooperative that encompasses so many labels, each with their own agenda, dynamics, and revenue stream? The logical assumption would be that the smaller guys still lose out by virtue of their obscurity against larger, more well-known independent labels which leads to the last, more important question: What can Merlin do for labels such as mine that I can’t do for it?

One would think I could go directly to Merlin and ask, but the truth is, they don’t even know. After poring through their website, all I found amounted to be nothing more than a collection of mission statements and subdued ‘cheerleading’, with nothing concrete in the mix. To be fair, they have only in existence since last November, and are still in a development phase, while currently negotiating with the likes of Myspace, which is pretty heavy in itself. The clout is there by it shear numbers, but numbers alone does not automatically equate to a lucrative outcome for all.

Here’s a really extreme example: The U.S. Government sent our military into Indochina (Vietnam) with the sole intent of “relinquishing control of the Southern region from the communist scourge” The French bailed in ’59, and the U.S. began a ‘police action’ where in by it attempted to train the southern Vietnamese to take arms against the communist infiltrators that where trying to unite the country under one governmental regime. By 1962, John F. Kennedy, in several meetings with his Cabinet, noted how the southern Vietnamese seemed uninterested in taking up such arms, almost willing, in some respects, to join with the North in unification. Seeing no sense in further participating in an attempted democratization, Kennedy began to move towards withdrawal altogether, but due to the Bay Of Pigs fiasco, the Arms Race, and The Race To The Moon (NASA Program) he was unable to follow through with his intentions. By November ’63, it was time to turn focus toward re-election..and then came that fateful day in Dallas. The Vietnam War itself became the war we meant to loose, and a large reason for that loss was three-fold:

1) The politicizing of the War at home; with politicians not allowing military brass to complete their mission as they were intended.

2) The growing antipathy and hostility among the general public, whom were not in line with the vision of the war, exasperated by the lack of vision given by the American Government as to what our purpose was in Vietnam

3) The internal corruption at the highest levels of the both the U.S. Military and The U.S. Government, further expunged for the general public to witness, which furthered the hostility and drained any potential public support for the war itself.

There was also the component of jungle-style guerrilla warfare administered by the Viet Cong on the ground, the likes of which never the American Military was unaccustomed to dealing with at the time. No game plan was properly administered by the U.S. Department of Defense to cope with such deviate warfare. Could it have been? Yep. But just because you’re the Biggest Gorilla on The Block, does not mean you can’t be taken down by Other ‘Guerillas.’

Numbers alone won’t win the day. There has to be a discernible gameplan. Merlin at present doesn’t possess one. It seems banked upon the sole fact that 12,000 labels are ready to go to war at the bargaining table against the Big 4. This is all very romantic, to be sure. But in that room it will be a Gorilla verses several Guerrillas, and given the abbreviated historical reference I’ve given above, who do you think stands the better outcome? And given the intended internal design of Merlin, what would stop this group from becoming palm-tree snipers in the rain of gunfire in this war, just to compete?

It will be bananas verses bullets, really.

To join a group of evil music industry veteran Snipers, or to join a group whose only brinkmanship is standing 12,000 labels tall ?

My bet’s on the Guerrillas..and, potentially, the Big Gorilla to turn the same way after all is said and done..

Me? I’ll stand watch. And stay on patrol..for now

Gene Simmons: Egocentrics and Aging

Correspondance is evidance of Rockers’ lack of Relevance, and lack of accountablity of ignorance in his Twilight Years

KC Shoen: CEO and Artist

ShoenTeL Music

Letter One On Gene’s Site

Letter Two On Gene’s Site

These two links amounts to the discussion I had with Gene about the industry back in November of ’07 on his website. It is important to read as to understand my angle, and why I stand by my contention about him:

Gene Simmons doesn’t know shit about today’s music industry.

I now understand why Bob Lefsetz comes after him on his blogsite with such accentuated vitriol, and, to be honest, I have withheld criticizing the very man whose business acumen I highly respect.

But I don’t respect the manner in which Gene actively engage me in the aforementioned discussion, only to withdraw in silence after I called him to task about his ignorance, and his indirect assumption that my label, ShoEnTeL Music, equates to running a ‘charity’, not a business.

And as a musician, the music of Kiss itself I have always found to be rather overly-wrought with simple chord delineations, garage-style antics, adolescent anthems, and preaching the repetitive theme of Rockin’, Rollin, and Fuckin’. Substance was never a priority: money and sex were. The nuance in this is I still love AC/DC, and their themes are consistent in that same vein. The difference, however, is ‘DC has an important element that is wholly lacking from The Simmons/ Kiss’ repertoire of pyrotechnics, demoniac make-up and vaudevillian showmanship:

They have actual talent.

And the many decades that have passed since both bands have been in existence, AC/DC holds another talisman over the heads of Gene Simmons/ Kiss Inc.: Relevance. Nearly 35 years since “Jailbreak ‘74”, AC/DC is still putting out new material to this day, and still garnering new fans, continuously augmenting the original, aging core.

Kiss, however, hasn’t managed to muster material of any new heat since 1983. Animalize was the last album that brought any new fans onboard to “discover” them. Since then, it’s been an entire rehashing of old catalog familiarity to keep that machine going, alongside the touring in full costume regalia that has been in regularity since 1996. Even at the time of this article, they are currently on a world tour (May 2008), as the fully made-up version that dominated the rock scene during the 1970’s.

This alone speaks volumes as to the mind and culture of Simmons himself: Kiss is but a product, much like Coca-Cola and Frito Lay. Unchanging. The rabid fancore is reflective of this, as there seems to be the need recapture the old ‘glory’ that was in vogue during those formative years. And they don’t want their band to tamper with the legacy by releasing anything new or evolved that would in any way stray from that sentimentality. It would wreak havoc to the senses to accept anything outside of “Kiss Alive”, “Destroyer”, or “Double Platinum”: progression be damned

Gene Simmons in the past has complained to various media outlets that “I can’t sell a million copies anymore in today’s music market”, and he’s right. He can’t..but it is not due to illegal downloading nor the depreciative value of the music itself as he has surreptitiously and repetitively contends . It is because Gene himself can’t do it. And beyond the expansive catalog, nor could Kiss. Why? Because of one other element alongside talent is needed to achieve such ends:

Relevance.

And musically, he and Kiss possess zero of that.

Gene’s last solo release is evidence of this, when, in 2004, he, alongside his new protégé, BAG, dropped his first solo effort since 1978, called ‘Asshole’. Though the production was tight, and the music somewhat affable, the critics killed it, (the worst rebuke was AllMusic, stating ,.“Everyone else who is merely curious should wait till it hits the cutout bins, get the edited version for the sheep bleats, and be happy that Kim Deal and Shannon Tweed are getting paid.”) It bombed straight out the gate. Failure is something the egocentric Chaim Witz is not accustomed to, and since then, Simmons has not really broke out commercially with anything new, lest you count his seemingly sheepish attempt at marketing a two-song CD enclosed in his “Money, Sex, Kiss“ book as a proper ‘commercial’ release.

Gene’s not an idiot, however, but he is in complete denial about the New Reality of the Music Industry: unwilling to see past the illegal filesharing which he seems to think culminates it entirely. It doesn’t. Gene’s problem is not that the industry’s dead, it has merely changed, and he is ‘dead’ to it.

He is not the only cronky aging Baby Boomer that has this latitude. Legendary producer and musician Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, and Kiss as well) has echoed similar sentiments. I have personally, in my own business dealings, seen this up-close and personal with such archetypes. It’s what I like to call ‘The Bitter Old Codger’ syndrome: the dis-allowance of change they can’t understand, and bitter that they, in their elderly state, can’t ‘play the game’ in the same manner at which they were accustomed to in their more successful younger years. Change has left them behind, as it is easier to rest on what you have done, than to attack it in a new way and take the risk in re-entering the music market when you’ve been out of circulation.

Change is harder when your old, especially when you get too comfortable with the way things were.

This is the last correspondence I sent him which was in response to ‘Letter 2’:

“Well written, but misguided. In simple terms, IF YOU want to put YOUR STUFF (and that means music you own) on the internet for free. You have that right. Ideally and legally, no one else has the right to: share files, copy songs or send them to anyone without (a) getting approval of the owner of the material and/or (b) paying for that privilege. Last time I checked, it was called the MUSIC BUSINESS…not the MUSIC FOR FREE BUSINESS. And, it’s not a charity. It’s an enterprise.”

Hey Gene,

Please pardon my brazenness and confusion, but what the fuck are you on about? Amazing how you have colluded my business with ‘giving music away’. Let’s review briefly my points that I have previously stated, because it’s obvious you’ve missed it…

“(music)file-sharing, …. is illegal. Period.“

” Truthfully, the real damage to the recording industry brought about by’ person-to-person’ file sharing is to Artist’s catalogs.”

“As far as mp3 downloads, I’d rather pay .69 -.99 cents for a quality track I know will sound good, then illegally download the same track that might sound shitty, atop of possibly containing a virus that will bugger my already-terminally-ill PC”

“… As an unknown Artist, I’d rather offer a decent ‘giveaway’ that fans could have for their own. I also want to offer them little ‘perks’ now and again for their loyalty…”

” I don’t have any misalignment with you about illegal downloads”

“…. And I choose to be at the forefront..much like you have done..but in my OWN way….”

And I did state that filesharing will remain a part of The New Reality. But this doesn’t imply that I wholly sanction it, nor that I am going to turn over my entire catalog for free. I would be a complete moron to be in the business of music only to give it all away just to gain traction. It not necessary and is counterproductive. And, through all my correspondence, I never once suggested that this is what I am doing. My exact stance, in as far as my progress was this:

“..This internet label I own IS gaining TRACTION. It’s still early, but the momentum is there. My music is gaining interest..and sales. Again, it is STILL early.”

From any of this, where did you get the impression that what I am doing is connotative to ‘charity’? Would I allow a free download on occasion for free as a means of promotion? You bet. Particularly, if fans have been proactive in BUYING and SUPPORTING what I’m doing. It’s much similar, in many respects, to giving free merch away at a concert.

I have gathered two dynamics with you in as far as the subject is concerned

1) Beyond your definitive stance on internet piracy (which I concur), you are overwhelming ignorant about the current status of the music business in cyberspace.

2) As ignorance does breed contempt, you are also unwillingly to absorb the nuances of this subject beyond what you ‘see’. There is no presence of a ‘360’ view, for you have not researched. Hence why your response is so categorically out of context.

….which I have found incredibly irritating about your recent comments. Since you haven’t looked into any of the information I’ve offered to you, lemme fill you in on what you DON”T know…

1) LEGALLY downloaded music files (i.e. PURCHASED), exceeded “plastic” CD sales for the first time in music history, in 2006. As of September this year, it is estimated this trend will possibly double by the close of 2007, according to SoundScan.

2) “Independent’ music labels garnered 28.4% of world-wide revenue in sales in 2005. It is the first time in industry history that the ‘independent’ outpaced the ‘Big 4’ (SonyBMG, WMG, Universal, and EMI) on a one-to-one per capita basis. It has been projected by various business analysts that the ‘independent’ sector’s portion could crest to 40% by 2010. Mergers/Acquisitions, changing consumer tastes in music, the advantage of personal music catalog customization utilizing the popular iPod mp3 player, as well as illegal filesharing, are the indicated factors.

3) The recent multi-million dollar 10-year contractual agreement between Madonna and Live Nation inked in Oct of this year, is this first time an Artist with that level of ‘brand recognition’ in the music marketplace has waived their ongoing contract with a ‘major’ (Warner Bros. since 1982), in favor of a more lucrative, independent contract that involves multi-level merchandising and digital distribution of both live and studio-recorded material exclusively through the internet. It sets the possibility of lesser-known, emerging talent to enjoy a broader level of exposure not seen previously, and that live events now take on a greater roll than ever before.

As far as being ‘misguided’ is concerned, your lack of insight and vision has made YOU more intolerant of change, and has caused you (at least with me), to appear trapped by ‘tunnel vision’. You seem to despise what you can not fully understand. Maybe this time, even if you disagree, you can keep it IN CONTEXT. Piracy is only ONE dynamic of MANY that are currently driving the continuous change in the industry. Not the ONLY one

I have also the proof that you don’t know shit about what I’m doing, for if you had investigated it, you would’ve found I have a fully operating digital store on my website, and the fact that that my company logo contains the FULL name of the label:

“ShoEnTeL Music ENTERPRISES”

His response? Nothing.

I am one who likes to engage people on such issues, and I myself don’t mind standing corrected, especially if I come away learning something I hadn’t known before. My biggest peave in regards to ‘WhutDoYaMean Gene’ was his obvious withdrawal from the discussion, which he willfully took part. And in the following months since then, I have tried to re-engage him, and he has since not posted ANYTHING of my multiple correspondences since.

It is an obvious snub.

It is also obvious he has nothing of any value to offer to this, and does not like being cornered, in particular, when he’s made to look an ass on his own website.

And for all his success with product endorsement, the merchandising of the Kiss franchise, and reality television, Old Man Simmons is a stodgy old codger when it comes to the very industry that made him. An industry that has gone through some miraculous changes. Of which I’ll close this article with a line quote from Ben Folds:

“The ‘WizMan’ will never fit you like like the ‘wizkid’ did/
So why you gotta act like you know when don’t know?/
It’s O.K. if you don’t know everything…”

And the title of the song from which this quote comes from, encapsulates this whole sordid mess of ignorance, assumption, and egocentrics in regards to this elderly yutz.

‘Old Bastard’

The Resurrection of Melba Moore

The adjective maybe overused, but this is no ordinary ‘come back’

KC Shoen

Artist/CEO

ShoEnTeL Music

http://www.myspace.com/shoentel

Melba Moore in a live performance in Lyon,France May 3rd, 2008

There is no logistical reason for Melba Moore to be anywhere near relevant in the music scene as it is now.

The 1993 divorce from Charles Huggins wasn’t just your average celebrity carnival melt-down scrapper between two megalomaniacal cads who wish nothing further than to dowse each other with ad hominem just to get some media attention for their respective selfish causes, real or imagined: what we normally expect to see in our tabloid-obsessed media culture.

Not even close.

This divorce had so much more toxic potency than that. It had all the makings of being a bonifide coup de grace. Huggins, a ne’er-do-well liar, thief, and boarderline sociopath spent sixteen years absolutely raping the Peach Melba of all her earnings by maliciously defrauding her name in by way of numerous account openings, land investments, and opening lines of credit without her knowledge or consent. But he wasn’t done there. Just to seal the deal, he set about going public to whine about what a lying, crazed loon she allegedly was. In the court proceedings themselves, Huggins tried every available legal angling to make Ms.Moore the poster child of morbid delusional paranoia. And to add a bit more arsenic to the open wounds, Huggy-Bear almost achieved complete destruction of her relationship with their only daughter, Charli.

All this under the harsh reality that her marriage (at least on Huggins end) was a complete façade, and a platform for which a coward could use the sanctity, and legality of the marriage and business partnership for his own gravy train ticket to ride. Doubly insulting, was the way the vermin of the New York media ate up the financial toll put upon her, further putting more salt in the gash by way of violating her privacy, humiliating her for their own ends. Any lesser individual might have gone clock-tower sniper, maybe dissolved their will by way of chemical abuse. Even as far as suicide. And Charles might have had his way entirely on all counts, but he had one problem:

Melba Moore.

Rather than lie down and surrender out of the entire intensity of that debacle, she fought back, never losing her calm in public, refusing to let intimidation make her react irrationally, and staying focused on the fact that she had the truth. As the years went on, and as her visibility waned, she never stopped working, even going as far as doing a three-woman play in a regional theater in Florida. She was even evicted from her apartment, as the years of fraud coupled with litigation left her destitute, having to even go as far as to apply for welfare for a short period. Yes, I said it: Melba Moore and food stamps in the same sentence… There is no logistical reason for Melba Moore to be anywhere near relevant in the music scene, and given all this, even remotely sane enough to hang on…

Enter Ron Richardson.

HushTown Entertainment was originally ran by Huggins from its earliest beginnings in 1976. As Melba began to win lawsuit after lawsuit to wrest control of her career from Huggy-Bear’s clutches, she installed Richardson: the son of Donald Raysor, the replacement for Ronnie Bright in the famous doo-wop group The Valentines, and godson of the legendary (and rather notorious) producer Richard Barrett (for you youngins’ out there, just google “The Valentines”, or go to Wikipedia and do the same). Having come from such great stock, Ron had a predisposition for what he calls “classic acts”, and began his career booking such acts to venues that otherwise they could not obtain themselves, particularly if they had been out of circulation. As time went on, he went into management, specifically focused on, as he explains “these classic divas (who) suffered in the business and with their so called ‘soul mates’”. Melba couldn’t have asked for more qualified candidate than Ron, not just because of his experience, his passion for the “classic” sound, or the unique music bloodline he came from. It was something deeper..unusual, even by today’s standards.

He actually gave a damn.

Ron Richardson, by nature of his strong Christian values, nuanced by his real-life earthiness in life experience, was a natural fit to lead in the New Era at Hush. As Melba poignantly pointed out on a recent on-air interview I was a part of, she said of Ron “He developed my philosophy—‘if you don’t know-learn’” adding “ ‘if you have a passion (for it) you can learn’” A simple statement that encapsulates the entire complex position that the Peach currently resides: She has learned..

It took up to as recently as 2007 before complete justice was served on Huggins (by way of incarceration), and for Melba to start receiving the full-on royalties she was long overdue. A testament to her faith, she is more than just a survivor. More than just recovered. She has learned, and from the learning an impossibly imagined growth now finds her at the precipice of regaining that top spot..and keeping it.. “Nobody But Jesus” was the featured track on the Virgie Lindsey Show, and although the playback through the radio program was scratchy as sandpaper, I heard something while on the line that stunned me almost to a hault…

She’s gotten better. Vocally. Emotionally. Spiritually. Don’t take my word for it..Listen for yourself.

There is no logistical reason for Melba Moore to be anywhere near relevant in the music scene. She is, however relevant. Her music is evolving. Her marketing strategy is evolving, Her management is nails, and she’s due to release her first commercial CD in years. Melba is relevant. It’s not logical.

But neither is faith.

…As Ron would say “ *ponder*”

This is from the live radio broadcast in which Melba Moore and I talked about the music industry and new artists. Her advice is gold to anyone trying to make headway into the music world. A solid listen. Thanks To the Peach for taking the time

KC Shoen And Melba Moore Discuss The Industry

www. myspace. com/melbamoore

http://www. myspace. com/hushtown

The Redefinition of an ‘Indie’

ShoEnTeL Music

There are times, due to shifting social,cultural, and technological changes that syntax has to go through some type of metamorphic re-defining. In the 90’s, there was these burgeoning group of songwriters, producers and bands: genuine independents ,showing the conglomerate recording monoliths that they, too, could impact trend, style, and content without corporate interference and A&R mainstream polishing. It was from this sort of self-promoting meddle that eventually gave rise to grunge. By 1992, terrestrial radio stations completely altered their playlist to accommodate the maelstrom of bands bringing this new fire:Mother Lovebone, Temple of the Dog, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Blind Mellon and many others suddenly found themselves in regular rotation on mainstream radio and MTV.

But then there was this sudden silence. Nirvana disbanded, STP sold out and broke up, Soundgarden disappeared, Blind Melon, like Nirv., lost their frontman to premature death…and the two most horrific events that put the revolution collectively in a coffin: Mariah Carey was back on top by the beginning of ‘94..and indie bands and labels coughed up their vanguard status, and began to sell there wares to the highest bidding conglomerates willing to pay out. And for the next 7 years, the airwaves would again be besieged by effeminate boy bands, one-hit wonders, pop divas, and Alt-Rock wannnabe’s. It was in 1999, that the ‘majors’ would be in possession of the largest revenues in recording history. CD sales went through the roof, execs and A&R slugs were in a position of great control of driving the very market which they sold to, and the once great ‘indie’ didn’t just pass away. It malignantly mutated; watered itself down..and became just ‘alternitive’.

Grunge was comercialised for a few years. And in this new commercial state, was borne a new breed of so-called ‘indie’ artists like Blink 182, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Strokes, Local H, Nada Surfer, Weezer, and The Offspring, which weren’t reallyindependent at all. They were able to duplicate the grunge style, and make it more palpable for the mainstream, but they all shared one major similarity: they got their big break through a conglomerate recording company.Although many of the bands listed above did cultivate their fanbase independently, it wasn’t until a commercial distribution/recording agreement came along that they experienced any kind of mass appeal. Their predecessors in this genre had already acquired this appeal before inking any contracts with a major.

Now the tie-in: what people construe as ‘indie’ , isn’t indie at all. Many is the time I’ve surfed through various music-related blogs, grouping themselves as an ‘indie fan community’ that reference bands like The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, The Artic Monkeys,The White Stripes, and other similar-sounding bands as their favourite independent acts. The irony in this, (though each band I’ve listed have their own merits), is that NONE of them are even in that category.

The word ‘indie’ is defined in wikipedia as:…”characterised by perceived independence from commercial pop music and mainstreamculture and an autonomous, do-it-yourself (DIY) approach.” The key adjective is perceived. And this convaluted use of this word has created the very vague interpretation in context as demonstrated in the prior paragraph. Indie is the DIY-er, the one-man artist/producer/label making music in his/her living room….generating flyers, pimping their myspace and soundclick artist profile to everyone that will even dare to listen, following up with radio station programmers and internet radio archetypes for the billionteenth time in hopes of airplay. Indie is that reallyGOOD band you have NOT heard yet. It’s that kat you work with at your punk-ass 9-to-fiver always bringing in shit he’s worked all night previous and wants YOU to hear it..(or anyone withing audable range, for that matter). And most of all, Indie is independent:Not controlled or coalesced by any major conglomerate..and willing to put his ass on the line for the belief of his art. Come hell, high water, OR haters. Elvis Costello said it best during an interview in 1985, when talking about Rock trends: “Rock n’ Roll isn’t wots happenin on the radio, or wots on the charts..Rock n’Roll is wots happenin’ every time some young kid in his room plugs his guitar to his amp and dares to be free (creatively). That’s Rock n’ Roll”. Thats the definition of an ‘Indie’.