Pribek

I get a lot of “this is a great time to be an independent artist” stuff from people who aren’t independent artists. Chris Ruen has taken a look from both sides of the fence and you should read his piece, “The Myth Of DIY”.

There’s a romanticization of that image of the starving artist, someone willing to sacrifice their own well-being in order to live out a higher ideal via their work. But as a music fan, I don’t see anything artful or transcendent in our favorite record stores closing, Touch and Go going out of business, talented musicians saying “fuck it” to enroll in law school because they’re sick of stressing about rent, or a generation adapted to hearing an infinite shuffle of newly-pirated tracks blaring from an iPod dock or tinny computer speakers.