As a person who loves and values music as much as I do, I think I absolutely have the right to condescend to common fucking criminals. Theft is theft whether or not you get caught, and you know what? Eventually they're going to work out a system that is going to grab you by the balls for it and I can not fucking wait.
People bitch about concert ticket prices going through the roof and then turn around and torrent two dozen albums? Are you not even thinking about this? It's not an aesthetic choice, it's not because I like the pretty pictures on the sleeves or because I really need more jewel cases cluttering my shelves. I'm not lashing out against a system that will never changed, I'm engaging in a conversation with the same people on a daily basis and hopefully appealing to a little common sense (which clearly excludes Peatrick, regardless of what his habits are).
Never once in my life have I punched someone, but the closest I ever came was when I allowed a friend of mine to stay in my guest room for a couple months and he settles in and uses the internet access that *I* pay for to steal every record he hears coming over my speakers knowing full well how I feel about it. Being intellectually dishonest with yourself, about the effect this kind of behavior has on musicians, or really about anything, is one of the most despicable things I can think of.
i'm talking about being condescending with listening tastes. it's not you who decides mediocre music. and just because i listen to a lot of new albums doesn't mean i steal music either. i know asking for restaint on a board will never happen, but i might as well ask. i mentioned enjoying the miniature tigers album, and you immediately made terribly incorrect assumptions.
as for the stealing.. yes, i agree. i am a huge proponent of attending shows.. as that is where the bands make their money these days. i know so many people that download, so i force them to come with me to see bands live. since i work at the radio station and get the albums for free, i do all i can to go to philly once a week for something to give back. and i also can't wait for a system where people have to actually pay for things that please them. it's not because i want to support artists that are trying to make a living off of music, it's because people should be rewarded for their art - especially if it leaves a lasting impression on people.
It's not me who decides what music is mediocre, but there have been dozens of bands that sound just like your 'Miniature Tigers' and your 'Owl City' and your 'Freelance Whales' (are we noticing a trend here?) which have come and gone in just the last five years. So maybe I'm just paying closer attention?
Maybe I just like typing and yelling at teenagers. I should have been a loan officer.
The implication was that you are the one that is drunk, Pea. I hope you are, anyway, I'd hate to think you're the kind of person who would call someone a *** when you're sober, especially over something like this.
To answer your question, even though I've said it before: I'm a normal, generally friendly, entirely laid back dude who caught both barrels of the recession right in the face. I'm an Eagle Scout, a pinball wizard and a hardcore reader. I have mild Asperger's and sometimes my emotions bottleneck between my brain and my mouth. I use this board as a creative outlet ( http://sasquatchfest.proboards.com/index....play&thread=878 ) and as a pressure valve that allows me to vent my irritability towards people who speak before they think in a relatively socially acceptable way so that I don't browbeat my sisters' boyfriends and childhood acquaintances on Facebook.
Not to play devil's advocate (I'm on your side when it comes to downloading music, HG, even though I do download music, and I feel awful for it), but even when people do buy albums, the artist ends up getting such a small percentage of it, that I start to wonder if it really matters THAT much. One thing I've learned from my music industry class is that in this modern age, live music is how artists make money. Granted it's BECAUSE of people stealing/downloading that the industry has gone to this (the only way labels can stay in business is buy compensating for lack of sales with taking a huge percentage of the profit), but I think CD/album sales have gone past the point of no return.
Though I do think there is an exception when it comes to vinyl collectors (including myself. I try to buy records as much as possible.).
My view is this: if you would buy the album anyway even if you couldn't download it for free and are financially capable, then for Christ's sake, buy the album. However, if otherwise you wouldn't/couldn't buy the album, I'm all for downloading. Being a musican that's done some albums myself, I'd much prefer someone download my music and listen to it rather than have to never listen to it because they can't buy the album.
As a person who loves and values music as much as I do, I think I absolutely have the right to condescend to common fucking criminals. Theft is theft whether or not you get caught, and you know what? Eventually they're going to work out a system that is going to grab you by the balls for it and I can not fucking wait.
People bitch about concert ticket prices going through the roof and then turn around and torrent two dozen albums? Are you not even thinking about this? It's not an aesthetic choice, it's not because I like the pretty pictures on the sleeves or because I really need more jewel cases cluttering my shelves. I'm not lashing out against a system that will never changed, I'm engaging in a conversation with the same people on a daily basis and hopefully appealing to a little common sense (which clearly excludes Peatrick, regardless of what his habits are).
This education in morality is very fascinating from our druggist poster who has more than once stood behind the motto of "know your dealer". Apparently Gramma hasn't been informed of the Narcotic Laws in America. Last time I checked weed (even the best in the country), LSD, mush, molly, ect... were not on the "good" side of the legal line. Your sense of reality has clearly been warped if you feel you are serving as a better friend by stopping their downloading, but don't blink an eye by supporting their "business of choice" that is way more likely to really end up putting them, their families and others in a world of hurt if discovered by the authorities. But I guess "that's their choice" right? Nice picking and choosing. Also, before you attempt any "it's all local growers, not gangsters I'm dealing with" type bullshit, save it. I've plenty of places to direct you to if you would like to see how even "local growers" play a large part in the very nasty side of life. Does piracy also help support the same sphere of terribleness? You bet. I'm just saying get a back bone and be real with yourself in terms of who is and who is not the criminal here.
To clarify, I am aware that "know your dealer" is a helpful attempt at harm reduction. My whole point is to take a look in the mirror before you start calling others criminals.
I'm not being morally ambiguous at all. Just because this country hasn't yet learned that prohibition has never and will never work doesn't make drug use in and of itself immoral. Prohibition is what gives the 'Bad Guys' the ability to do so much harm in the first place. I buy weed from growers that I know personally. The same goes for MDMA, which is the only chemical I really use anymore (and really, only at Sasquatch): I know a chemist. I'm too picky to smoke dirt weed from large operations, and I'm too paranoid to swallow what some dude tells me is molly.
Like I said, I'm not taking on the system, I'm encouraging the people here to make a decision which is (hopefully) in line with their own personal sense of morality instead of taking the path of least resistance.
Any attempt to stem widespread piracy is as futile as the "War on Drugs". Most people under a certain age have never had to pay for an album; have probably never really even considered why they should or shouldn't because there are no readily apparent consequences attached to doing so. Morality aside, it stunts the way that they interact with music. It's weird to me that this is a message board devoted to music and I'm the only one who thinks that is a big deal.
The futility isn't lost on me. I am thirty years old an unemployed, I do not claim to be a paragon of functionality. Two things that have vastly improved my life and sense of self, though, are careful experimentation with psychedelics and an intellectual approach to music. I say 'Never take more than you can handle and always know your dealer' with the same set of lungs that I use to say 'Pay for your music' because I know from experience that there are great benefits to be had from doing those things, and things to be lost which you can't anticipate if you don't.
P.S. - Thank you! And thank you for, as ever, being more articulate than most.
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