Sunday, April 24, 2005

How to Help The Music Industry Become More Boring Than It Already Is

Or, How To Help The Music Industry Take You Seriously. Take your pick.

Nothing against this guy, he's got a job to do, and I'm sure quality packaging makes his life easier, blah blah blah. And I am certainly anal when it comes to IJG promo packages. So I'm sort of critiquing and yet participating in this madness at the same time.

But, come on! For one thing, packaging has nothing to do with "seriousness." Are there mega-talented, committed-to-music people who don't give a fuck about packaging? You bet! Are there shallow, only-in-it-for-the-money, barely musical nincompoops who have the packaging thing down pat? Oy vey, are there ever! (And I daresay this MusicDish article has just created a few more!)

What exactly does it mean to be "serious," anyway? And why is that a good thing? I turn my ears every which way and for the most part what I hear are people are so serious (and who take themselves so seriously) that it hurts. This, as I see it, is the primary difference between a weepy, lameass radio station like KCRW, and a smart one like WFMU.

So I disagree, Mr. Standring. The "amount of times" you "have to use a frickin' chainsaw to open a package"--that is even funny! Handwritten notes that say "Hook me up, dude"? Funny! Polaroids, unmarked CDs, lack of contact info? Funny, funny, funny!

What the music industry really needs is a sense of humor. See American Idol for what it is: a comedy show!

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