Walking the line with my dad
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
For a really long time I've avoided a deeper exploration of Johnny Cash and his music. While appreciative of his legacy, it was always one of those things that I never got around to. Was I too caught up in flavor-of-the-month, chick folk singers? Were all those Tanita Tikaram CDs worth the time I gave them in the 90s? Probably not. Well, I'm all grown up now--and I have a budding appreciation for an artist that I can share with my retired father. And that's pretty cool. Thanks to the film, Walk the Line, many will be connected with both the story and music of Johnny and June. The film is extraordinary--great star performances and great music without robbing the story of its poignancy.I guess it's too easy for me to think my parents didn't mix in too much of the more worldly music in their younger days (they were pentecostal ministers). Then last week, as I'm telling my father about the new film, he starts to sing, "We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout..." the lyrics to Jackson, a duet made famous by Johnny and June and covered more recently by one of my favorite bands, Hem. I played him the Hem version on my iPod, which is much slower. Any way, it was a cool conversation and musical connection with my Dad. And my fixation on female singers comes full circle with Hem and Cash.
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Fight the power, free the artists
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
EMI’s CEO in Europe recently said he expects Apple to change iTunes to offer variable pricing of tracks within 12 months. Read the entire clipping for yourself for more on the back story.
It’s hard to accept the assertion that more popular artists should garner higher prices. At first blush, classical economic theory would say that an increase in demand, all other things being equal, would lead to higher prices. And the inverse would be true of lower demand. But there’s one crucial difference. With digital music in iTunes, supply is infinite in scale (practically speaking)—meaning there will always be enough (and then some) supply to meet demand. That being the case, greater demand only drives more clear profits for the distributor, record labels and artists with next to zero supply costs (Apple bears the bandwith costs associated with demand). Because digital music is an intangible with infinite supply, the labels think they can make the market on price as demand increases (not unlike a cartel). To my mind the labels have to make a much stronger case for variable pricing. I think I know what that case is: greed.
Music labels have finally accepted the fact that the economics of music distribution have been forever changed. And now they want in on a bigger share of the profit. Of course, they did nothing to bring this new age of product distribution about. There’s no merit or logic to the claim that their popular artists should get a greater price tag on top of greater unit volume. Yet, they say they deserve a raise. I guess that’s what I’d do if my artist roster just didn’t pull in the jingle it once did and shareholders were breathing down my neck. It seems a lot easier than the hard work of finding and developing better artists.But it may be even more insidious than simple greed. It also may be the hoped-for method of label negotiation with artists, similar to the promoted radio airplay environment of the past. Joel Spolsky lays this out well in his “Joel on Software” blog:
“What they really want is a system they can manipulate to send signals about what songs are worth, and thus what songs you should buy. I assure you that when really bad songs come out, as long as they're new and the recording industry wants to promote those songs, they’ll charge the full $2.49 or whatever it is to send a fake signal that the songs are better than they really are. It’s the same reason we’ve had to put up with crappy radio for the last few decades: the music industry promotes what they want to promote, whether it’s good or bad, and the main reason they want to promote something is because that’s a bargaining chip they can use in their negotiations with artists.”
So maybe it’s about greed + power: power over artists, and power over the consumer.
Should Apple cave in to what amounts to petty extortion, I think it may be time for the consumer’s voice to be heard. Seek out the good artists on iTunes that are cheaper—and frankly more deserving of the money. Buy direct from the artist when you can (via a festival or concert). Urge your favorite artists and independent labels to hold the line on iTMS price. Avoid labels and artists that attempt to extract more than the accepted market price of $.99 per track (which is already more expensive than it really should be). I’m not suggesting an all out boycott, but let your wallet send a message. If iTunes and iPod really is driving the music market the way I think it is, such a message can be heard loudly. If you think there was a backlash when the industry began to sue people for illegal downloading, get ready for legions of iPod owners with a legit cause. Don’t think record labels are immune to the effects of motivated state attorneys general, the DOJ or class action lawsuits.
This news comes at a time when the iTMS has moved from fourteenth in 2004 to become the seventh largest retailer of music worldwide. Also announced this week, Apple has sold 30 million iPods so far.
Needless to say, the stakes for artists and music fans are high.
Internet fads you never needed to know about, but now do
Monday, November 21, 2005
You can thank me later. I came across this list on CNET.com recently, which will most certainly include the Numa Numa and Chinese Students sing Backstreet Boys videos of more recent fame at some point. Number 7, the Ellen Feiss Mac Switcher TV Ad from 2002, provided the vague photo for by Nov. 11 post. I’m so trendy (three years late). You don't need to know about these to be hip, but once you do, how could you not be hip? And who could forget Hampsterdance (sic) or that poor Star Wars kid?
Been there, got the t-shirt
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
It’s a little disturbing to read about your spiritual journey in the context of an article about the stages people experience with church involvement and disillusionment. But there we are—right there between stage five and six. It’s a lot to swallow when you see yourself so easily (and accurately) categorized, and then see the other stages laid out ahead of us. Are we really kidding ourselves here? Is our inward urging and nascent calling really just a tidy little justification for being dissatisfied with church life?Link over to this blog entry by pastor and writer, Dan Kimball to read up on the 10 stages of Reality Church. Where do you find yourself on this continuum?
As for us, we certainly need to take this to heart and consider it very carefully—no doubt about that. One can’t ignore something so blatantly obvious. At the same time, some thoughts do rise to the surface that make our future direction seem more like a calling than a coping mechanism.
First, the rise of participatory technologies coupled with the postmodern shift has created a challenge and opportunity that the modern evangelical church is not addressing (in large part) in its current structure. Subsequently, our ministry is squarely aimed at people that find no welcome in many of those churches today. Secondly, I’m still convinced that once you stop drinking the current evangelical mega-church flavored Kool-aid (another nod to Doug Glynn for the Kool-aid remark), there’s really no going back to where you came from in terms of that particular church form, mode and method. So, we’d either be finding a church community of some type that was on different path, or we’d be doing what we are thinking of doing in this case. In other words, we’d never get to stage 10 with a smile on our faces.
The perspective I’m trying to keep in all this is that there is a certain domain of effectiveness in the modern evangelical approach even with all its flaws. That is to say, the Sunday-centric/building-centric/preaching-centric method reaches certain types of people very well. If we take that at face value, then what we are looking at doing reaches out to a different domain—attempting to reach a segment of society where the traditional approach is not effective. And certainly we will have flaws too.
At the end of the day, if this really is a ministry calling, it’s not about us and how we feel. It’s about Him, and expanding His kingdom. We must avoid becoming dissatisfied consumers of church product. Rather, defining ourselves as co-laborers in the kingdom mission, we are expressing a different vision of how that mission can be conducted. It’s not a mutually exclusive vision, but one that complements other expressions of The Church.
(A shout out to Derek--and a happy birthday soon--for turning me on to the musical stylings of David Brent earlier in the year via DVD. Brent is pictured with this post and responsible for the flippant headline.)
Substance abuse
Monday, November 14, 2005
So here’s a little opinion poll (and I hate applying emerging as a type of label, but I will in this case): Link over to this church web site. Would you define this as an “emerging” church? Is this a postmodern ministry church? Why or why not? Okay, go! Your comments are welcome.
Judith Hougen, writer, blogger and English professor from my alma mater, posted about this new church after seeing a promotional postcard they sent out (apparently targeting NWU students, faculty). I recommend her post on the topic. Check it out after you consider my poll above.
You know you want it that way
Saturday, November 12, 2005
As much as I could say about this linked video clip, words just fail me. It's simply another Internet fad. Just enjoy it and don't ask too many questions. Thank you, China.Switch now, or pay later
Friday, November 11, 2005
I really liked the Apple Mac “Switcher” advertising that ran a few years ago (even Ellen Feiss’ infamous stoned-eyed testimonial—pictured here). What is amazing to me now is how far Mac OS X has come since then, while, at the same time, Windows has stagnated. People pretty much face the same problems contending with viruses, spyware, etc. that they did four years ago. Does anyone care to know that I have never, ever, encountered a virus on any of my Macs in the 14 years that I have owned them? My father-in-law recently put in a new motherboard and hard drive into his Compaq P3—to the tune of nearly $500. He’s also spent sums on anti-viral software in the past. Now, hardware can fail—so I’m not saying I’m immune to a hard drive crash or motherboard meltdown. It could happen to anyone on any platform—even a Mac. But my real question to everyone in my Windows using family is, what has Windows done for you over the years to make you so loyal to it? If you ask me the same question about Macintosh, be prepared to listen to me blab and blab for hours on end. And you’re saying, “Yeah, but you’re a nut case.” Okay. I can accept that. But don’t you think there’s a little bit of insanity inherent in putting up with Windows abuse for all these years when an alternative is available? Will you still stick with Microsoft when they begin asking you to rent your software instead of buying it? You heard right—that’s what’s coming next from Redmond.She's a beauty
Friday, November 04, 2005
As if I needed another reason to appreciate the artistry and ministry of Sara Groves, she is featured in an online interview for Relevant magazine where she is remarkably forthcoming about her spiritual odyssey and its interplay with her songwriting. She has traveled much of the same spiritual ground that Dawnshelle and I have in the past 24 months. While she avoids the label of “emerging” (and avoids labeling it altogether), it’s apparent that this is where she has arrived thus far in her journey. And she has good insights to share, especially when it comes to the temptation to become cynical about The Church:
“I think it’s a growing pain. At least, that’s what I feel like I went through or am going through. About two years ago or so, when I was in the middle of that pain, I was looking for God to move or break through or just do something. I was talking to a friend about what I was going through, and I looked at a him and said, ‘I am going to be so bummed-out when they actually come up with a name to express what I am experiencing at this moment, when they actually categorize what I am going through.’ And he looked at me and said, ‘They already have named it; they’re calling it the emerging church.’ And I was like, ‘No! Don’t name it!’ It’s such a bummer that it’s in our nature to name things like this. Because…in naming it, it’s like we’re making it something exclusive that no one else gets. Too often when we create something new, everything else seemingly becomes dumb or wrong or silly. But everything we’ve been (sic) doing or have learned is not dumb. Our grandparents are not dumb. They have a lot to offer us. And our parents are not dumb. They have a lot that they can teach us on this journey.”
It’s nice to know we are not alone. Definitely make a point of getting a copy of "Add to the Beauty" (linked here in iTunes). It is most unfortunately being sold track by track instead of by the entire album for $9.99. Although I don't begrudge Sara any of the extra money that garners, I think it is a greedy sales tactic by her label to extract the maximum profit. So, I must protest this while I also recommend the product.
