Not news to anyone…Rolling Stone blows

A hangover from my naive and idyllic youth. A (dis)comforting reminder of who I once was. A glimpse at what the average music listener thinks of when “rock & roll” pops in their brains. That’s what Rolling Stone is. I was once an avid subscriber. I honestly thought the magazine mattered and covered new and interesting types of music. When Brittany started grabbing headlines I pulled out. I still have the habit of picking it up at newsstands and flipping through every page, realizing quickly that I couldn’t give a fuck about the status of the new Velvet Revolver album, what Pete Doherty wore when he vomited on himself, or how many stars the newest Fall Out Boy record gets.

I still check the webpage everyday (bored at work) and read a few of the articles. There is no “news” reported on Rolling Stone’s webpage — only links to other news sources with stories about how some dude is opening a bar, or that Russel Simmons thinks rappers should quit swearing so much. This is followed by pages of comments by readers who no doubt consider themselves hip, informed, and down-with-it. After all, they read Rolling Stone.

…I couldn’t give a fuck about the status of the new Velvet Revolver album, what Pete Doherty wore when he vomited on himself, or how many stars the newest Fall Out Boy record gets.

Rolling Stone is a leading reporter on the decline of CD sales. This is a topic that seems to never come up in more independent music magazines. Makes one question who is padding the pockets of the old war horse. What’s the status with CD sales? They’re slipping – in a “post” (not a news story) today, it is stated that CD sales are down 17% this quarter from last year. Then there is the uncanny insight that CD sales are being hurt by internet downloading. There’s even some mournful remarks relating to whenHootie & the Blowfish sold 200,000 CDs they called it “a slow Thursday.” Apparantely the top sellers can only push that many in a week now. I’m fucking broke up on the inside.

All the articles about this (and they exist in every issue since Napster started seven years ago) has the exact same tone: a distant mourning for the bygone days of Shania Twain’s diamond-selling success and platinum artists erupting everywhere. Any music fan who knows two shits about the music industry should be aware that unless you sell 3,000,000 records, money does not come from record sales. It never has. It never will. The record industry’s goal is not to promote music in anyway, but to promote consumption of a product for the profit of those who own the labels. (Like I said, this is not news to anyone.) Artists earn their money touring, merchandising (and sadly) selling out to TV shows and other commercial enterprises. Yet, Rolling Stone is constantly bummed out about the decline of record sales, as though this reflects a decline in music in some way.

Luckily, the opposite is true — as the CD sales numbers for the major corporate labels fall, more and more independent (and not “indie-rock,” which is just the new grunge) music proliferates. Smaller labels have the ability to distribute their records to a voracious niche audience which is not there to consume music, but to experience it. All across the country, dudes & chicks who live around the poverty line still get in their vans and book shows in dingy little clubs & house parties. They call it a tour. They barely make any money, but they have the time of their lives. (Check this feature in this weeks Stranger… http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=200914). It’s about music and experience, not record sales or fashion statements from Rolling Stone.

At the beginning of the year, Ben Chasny had posted a “communique” (as he refers to them) on the webpage of his band, Six Organs of Admittance. He claimed that last year was one of the most wonderful he’d known. He had no rent, fell in love, spent the entire time on the road, didn’t starve, and always had a place to stay. And he got to play music with psych-rock freak out gods Comets on Fire, his own Six Organs of Admittance, and shows with legendary British troupe Current 93. Sounded like a good year. I found recently on his booking agency’s page that the total sales of Six Organs records is something like 30,000 records — and he’s been doing this since 1998. His music is laced with a melancholy happiness — sadness & joy are irrevocably intertwined in his simply guitar patterns and breathy vocals. (Check out “For Octavia Paz” or “School of the Flower.” Here’s a link to Six Organs’ discography. Check them out!!!) I doubt Chasny is too worried about the slipping sales figures of the majors. He seems to be doing fine.