  while there is nothing i love more than music, no one i respect more than a hardworking musician giving up everything for what they love, major labels are indeed the major contributors- if not entire cause- of the downfall of the spread of creative thought and creation. its a travesty. in a talk given by ian mckaye last fall here last fall, he made a point in mentioning how music these days is much like bottled water.... music used to be something wonderful and pure, free for all... and it has been monopolized into tight little overpriced packages for pop culture to gobble right up. trends are not decided as they were in past history: good, pioneering music made my people who love what they do and bust their asses in doing it doesn't get anywhere without, for the most part, compromising all ideals and whoring themeselves out as puppets to put on a show for a given market.
although this is enough to make any real music lover nauseous, i still find myself wanting to work in the music industry. vagrant reinforced this.... (big, but indie, but not for long due to the sudden "successes" of a number of the bands on the roster. ) while i see how wonderfully things are really run out there, i also saw what was going on with another unmentioned (major) label... and realized how lucky the 15ish bands on our one measly label were to have a label backing them that let them have creative control.
listening to the hundreds of GREAT demos that would pour in made me, if nothing else, sad, knowing that all this talent was going nowhere. the noble labels can only do so much, and you are right, it is up to us. if i were even slightly interested in any financial gain, i surely have chosen the wrong profession, but i think this is a mission that will, if nothing else, make me feel good about my efforts at the end of the day.
wow. p.s. things really have transpired, huh? funny how that happens, just as it is time to bid you farewell. ironic? no. there is no such thing as a chance occurance. it was supposed to happen this way. i am glad we got to share what we did, in the time we had though. i will remember it. (not that i am giving in so easily, merely accepting what the tides are bringing me. yup......) now on: wilco: radio cure 
