There is a little Asian lady that lives in my apartment building. Sometimes in the mornings or the evenings I see a car picking her up or dropping her off from work. Sometimes I see her in her housecoat, smoking. As she smiles and gives a little wave to me, I wonder where she works and the particulars of her life. There are some Sundays I see a woman my age, most likely a daughter, drop her off in the middle of the afternoon. They unload utensils and big pots and I imagine her and her family folding sheets of wonton wrappers over steamy little meatballs and wonder what this tastes like. They speak to each other in a frantic dialect I can’t even begin to understand. There are no subtitles in real life, and even if there were my senses can’t comprehend the symbols that pour out of their mouths.
My stereotypical self thinks that she may work at a laundry and remember that I need to clean my scarf. Instead, I decide it’s more crucial to give my fish a bath. They are my babies and just as someone would talk to a cat or a small dog, I speak to them in the morning as I am dressing, promising them food when I get home from my own menial job and that if they would die, I would cry for them.
When I finally decided to clean their water (this is what I call giving them their bath), I am angry with them and my tears mix with the fresh water. If I were really a mother, I feel I wouldn’t be kind but rather rough with my offspring, crying tears with them because I am frustrated to have to look out for this small being when I can’t even take care of myself. I imagine my mother-ish self as the typical Jewish mother (even though I am not Jewish nor pay credence to any other religion), seemingly overbearing but in the end just wanting a better life than this fish bowl I’ve know all of my life.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
My "sound opinion" Experience
I decided to brave the rain and the snow to attend the Sound Opinions College Tour's first stop at Columbia College and here are my notes:
1. The music industry is going through a seismic change (the guys say this happens about once every 100 years) so now is the time to reinvent positions within. While technological revolutions cause people to cry "foul," each turn tends to stick around. In the advent of recording, naysayers said the population would stop turning out for live music, but this did not turn out to be the case.
2. Because of these technological changes, there is an opportunity for the "musical middle class." Many great artists are the work by day, play by night variety e.g. Effigie's drummer is a prosecutor (citation needed) and the drummer for Wilco gives lessons to young hopefuls. While these guys have day jobs, they still bring in fans and audiences to their shows.
3. This being said, they do not rely on the "majors" to market and produce their work. Instead, they work smaller labels. While one major may rely on blockbuster artists to bring in revenue, many smaller labels can produce many "little" artists --> if each of these is equitable, it could prove to be profitable for the label.
4. Children + Ipods = Disposable Music: This may not be as bad as it sounds since more music can be heard this way. Yeah, yeah, these kids listen to Rhianna's "Umbrella" 15,000 times in a row, but they get tired of it and move on to the next biggest hit. If an artist is good enough on a little label, they could be the next biggest thing.
5. If you want your music to be heard, don't pass out those tired demo tapes but instead e-mail reviewers with a direct link to your single. It will be easily accessible and will grab his attention. For good measure, include an interesting story to accompany this song.
6. Don't expect the artist to do all the work, they're too busy making art. There will always be a need for a band manager to book, do accounting and the likes (hey, call me! i'm up for it!)
7. Speaking of art... there are always those die hard fans that will buy anything GG Allin pooped on e.g. if a member paints a picture, designs a clothing line, knits a scarf or stiches a quilt, it could equal revenue
8. And finally, give the piano man a tip. If you think his worth it, say so.
1. The music industry is going through a seismic change (the guys say this happens about once every 100 years) so now is the time to reinvent positions within. While technological revolutions cause people to cry "foul," each turn tends to stick around. In the advent of recording, naysayers said the population would stop turning out for live music, but this did not turn out to be the case.
2. Because of these technological changes, there is an opportunity for the "musical middle class." Many great artists are the work by day, play by night variety e.g. Effigie's drummer is a prosecutor (citation needed) and the drummer for Wilco gives lessons to young hopefuls. While these guys have day jobs, they still bring in fans and audiences to their shows.
3. This being said, they do not rely on the "majors" to market and produce their work. Instead, they work smaller labels. While one major may rely on blockbuster artists to bring in revenue, many smaller labels can produce many "little" artists --> if each of these is equitable, it could prove to be profitable for the label.
4. Children + Ipods = Disposable Music: This may not be as bad as it sounds since more music can be heard this way. Yeah, yeah, these kids listen to Rhianna's "Umbrella" 15,000 times in a row, but they get tired of it and move on to the next biggest hit. If an artist is good enough on a little label, they could be the next biggest thing.
5. If you want your music to be heard, don't pass out those tired demo tapes but instead e-mail reviewers with a direct link to your single. It will be easily accessible and will grab his attention. For good measure, include an interesting story to accompany this song.
6. Don't expect the artist to do all the work, they're too busy making art. There will always be a need for a band manager to book, do accounting and the likes (hey, call me! i'm up for it!)
7. Speaking of art... there are always those die hard fans that will buy anything GG Allin pooped on e.g. if a member paints a picture, designs a clothing line, knits a scarf or stiches a quilt, it could equal revenue
8. And finally, give the piano man a tip. If you think his worth it, say so.
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