Lately, as we march deeper into the nastiness of recession, I’ve seen those whom I consider good people become less than honorable. The fear of many things -mostly financial- has whittled away their sense of idealism, decency, and simple tact. And this ultimate loss of idealism, in all honesty, reduces me to tears and raises me to absolute rage.
To my colleagues – we are all, with varying levels of success, musicians. At some point in our past, we felt the pull and allure of music. It shaped us, moved us, and caused us to react in a way that emanated from our innermost souls. For me, I’ve had to make so many decisions in my life, and I know that quite a few I’ve probably botched. But choosing to work within the world of music is not one of them. And within every decision I make, is that small spark of excitement that I can still channel everytime I so much as hear a great song, a brilliant progression, or even just a smoothly resolving major cadence.
But then I see others, who chose less than altruistic routes and reasonings. They hide behind their egos and project rhetoric that is equally astounding and asinine. The music industry, they claim, is a great way to make a buck. You don’t need talent, you just need a product. And don’t worry about putting in your time, paying your dues, and busting your ass. That doesn’t matter. If the product isn’t perfect now, then you just don’t understand it. It’s never us, it’s always you.
Brilliant artists have constantly sacrificed for their art. Some lose an ear. Others in this day and age lose their house. Compassion, it seems, and the willingness to accept another’s idea as better than your own, has been lost in the pursuit of either trampling your competition, or simply trying to assuage your own ego.
I’ve taken my share of abuse for being an idealist. But it comes from being harder on myself than I could ever conceivably be on others. It means standing up for my beliefs, and those of others, at the expense of not just being wrong, but also being punished. I’ve lost jobs, relationships, and good friends simply by supporting the virtue of an idea over any supposed rhetoric or “it’s not good for the business” type claim.
The coward dies a thousand deaths, and Shakespeare was dead right – the hero dies but one. As the music industry evolves, and the cowards who hid behind their pompous claims of supposed knowledge and instant success fall by the wayside, my musical heroes, through their own idealism, continue to inspire me.
David Bowie wrote, and I believe in, “the Good of the Fight for the Right to be Right.” I champion those causes, musical and otherwise, with all the tools of support at my disposal. Look around, and ask yourself: when’s the last time you were a hero?
