As promised in my previous entry, I've finished the piece I wrote in the wake of Justin Bieber's arrest. You can read it here, or access it from the Features page of MusicBizAdvice.com.
It's an article I've had in mind for years, but it never came together until Bieber's arrest pushed me into finishing it. Its original title was "Mammas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Rock Stars," a takeoff on the song recorded by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson (written by Ed and Patsy Bruce). Corny title for an article, I know--that's why I killed it. It referred to an old industry joke that pops into my head whenever a rock star does something stupid.
Readers, I have to tell you...This whole Justin Bieber thing enrages me. To say I'm so tired of seeing this happen to young celebrities doesn't even begin to cover it. That's why it took a few days for me to post the article: I needed to calm the f*ck down. (Some rewriting was in order, too: the line, "My, what a great big ego you have" probably wouldn't have gone over too well with the party it was directed toward.)
Even if you don't have kids who want to be in the industry, I hope you'll read it. There are things in it that have needed to be said for a long time, that no one is saying. It will probably piss some people off, and I'm fine with that.
By the way...When I point you to an article, I'm directing you toward the content of it--not saying it's my best writing. This blog and the writing style of my articles on MusicBizAdvice.com are slightly cleaned-up versions of the way I actually speak when I'm talking with friends. As most people do when they speak, I use fragments and and begin sentences with "And" or "But". In writing for this blog and MusicBizAdvice.com, I come up with wild punctuation combinations to convey the rhythm of my speech. I also use the words "a lot" a lot because unfortunately, I say it a lot. ;-) (Hey, It takes a lot of work to write this "badly"!)
I mention this to get ahead of the critics who may try to shut off a discussion that needs to be had. Whenever I write something that pisses someone off, the response is something like "poorly-written." It's a petty way of creating a distraction--often orchestrated by someone's publicist--to change the subject and focus the attention on themselves.
You're too savvy to fall for that, however, so when you see something like that, just consider it an inside joke amongst ourselves and have a good laugh. My friends and I do. Years ago I used to have dreams about hitting them over the head with my well-worn copy of A Grammar Book for You and I...Oops Me while shouting "Page 258!" so that's progress.
Meanwhile, here's Waylon and Willie singing "Mammas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys."
I hope your year is going fab so far,
RR
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