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Subject: jinglejangle-digest V1 #49
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jinglejangle-digest       Sunday, March 29 1998       Volume 01 : Number 049



                               Today's Subjects:
                               -----------------
  [MLL] Selling vs. Selling Out               [bobcolby@tiac.net (Bob Colby)]
  Re: [MLL] MLL Guitars                ["Ata Rivers" <atarivers@hotmail.com>]
  [MLL] "Lights Are Changing" video online!  [SeanJordan <SeanJordan@aol.com]

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 19:01:22 -0500
From: bobcolby@tiac.net (Bob Colby)
Subject: [MLL] Selling vs. Selling Out

As is usual for me, this is late in the day for this particular thread, but
since all the other "regulars" have been heard from, here goes.


First, let's define terms. For me "selling out" means one thing and one
thing only, which is sacrificing your own vision in the name of greater
marketability. It does *not* apply to any music that happens to have some
commercial appeal if it so happens that that's what the artist is into. And
there's the crux of the matter. A lot of people seem to think that they
know who an artist *really* is inside just from their knowledge of what the
artist done *so far*, which I think is incredibly presumptious. None of us
are mind readers.


My own guess (*just* a guess, mind you) is that at least a fair percentage
of today's "lo-fi" music owes its sound as much to financial constraints
(both in terms of what can be dragged around on tour as well as recording
quality) as to true artistic choice. Slim Moon is on record as saying that
Kill Rock Stars could never have afforded to make the album that MLL wanted
to make, and I've never heard any comments from Mary Lou to suggest that
she was nearly as philosophically committed to lo-fi as many of her fans
seem to be (IMHO, some of the fans have made a near-religion out of what
many artists have done out of necessity). Mary Lou's committment (as I
understand it) has always been to the song and what is good *for the song*
(nothing she said in SPIN even implies that her decisions went *against*
what was good for the song). And I really do not believe that she would
ever have made the "compromises" mentioned in the SPIN article if she
disliked the results or thought they were untrue to the songs' intentions.
To use her own bathing-suit metaphor, it was more a question of picking
which of her suits suited the occasion rather than having to go out and buy
another one she didn't like.


Another thing that is *not* selling out is trying to get your music heard
by a decent-sized audience, which is where I really take issue with the
most zealous of indie fans. Frankly, a lot of comments I read on other
lists, newsgroups, AOL folders, etc. lead me to think that there are a lot
of people out there whose real motivation for listening to "underground"
music has less to do with aesthetics than a need to feel that they have a
leg up on the ignorant masses, which in my book is a pretty shallow and
pathetic way to use art.


It's also short-sighted. Art is supposed to change the world (in obvious or
subtle ways), not be hidden away where the only thing it can do is give a
few people an excuse to feel superior to everyone else. As someone who grew
up with the Beatles, Dylan, etc. I often wonder what would have happened if
similar attitudes had prevailed back then (actually, Dylan's "true" fans
cried "Sell Out!" when he picked up an electric guitar and started playing
rock, but he had the guts to stand up to them). Odds are that I would never
have gotten to hear that music, and that at least some of the explosive
social changes of the period wouldn't have even happened without the
influence of inspired art on the general public. Not to mention that my own
life would have been immensely poorer without "Revolver" or "Pet Sounds" or
"Blonde On Blonde". God only knows what'd I'd be listening to now! I
certainly never would have gone on to find the Velvet Underground, Stooges,
Modern Lovers, T. Rex, Patti Smith, and all my other obscure faves leading
up to today's indie-pop and neo-psychedelic scenes. I wouldn't be going to
Terrastock West in SF next month. I wouldn't be having nearly as much fun.
In short, I'm *glad* that some inspired music got out to the masses at the
time I needed to hear it. I'm terribly sad for all the millions of kids who
grow up never being exposed to the great music that could change their
lives because they're not "cool" enough to be told about it. The real stuff
was meant to be shared. Let's share it.


Bob Colby

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TYPECON '98:            Oct 30-Nov 1, '98
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PRINCIPAL SPEAKER:      Matthew Carter
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**************************************************

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 19:23:53 PST
From: "Ata Rivers" <atarivers@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [MLL] MLL Guitars

It's not like she's Louise Wener.


>
>I would agree with what everyone has been saying in response to the 
person who
>says Mary Lou is  a "sell out" because she doesn't play her guitar on 
GNS.  It
>is really stupid to say that.  I'm sure Mary Lou had her reasons vfor 
not
>playing and i think we should respect that.  And it doesn't make GNS 
into
>something less then wonderful.  The album is, to say the least, fine.
>Getting on a major label doesn't make you a sell out. Doing something 
just for
>money is and Mary Lou hasn't done that at all.   One listen of GOS 
whould tell
>you that.  She's stayed very much true to herself. 
>Andrea
>


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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 23:54:28 EST
From: SeanJordan <SeanJordan@aol.com>
Subject: [MLL] "Lights Are Changing" video online!

 I just noticed, MTV has put the video (or at least part of the video) for
"Lights" online at its website. Go to the Tubescan section and then click 120
MINUTES. You'll see the icon of Mary Lou's face.

~Sean

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End of jinglejangle-digest V1 #49
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