Hello Richard,   
      
    ak>> I think that one of the most perverted thing in this   
    ak>> world is that people invented many wild professions   
    ak>> and occupations: a professional singer, a   
    ak>> professional poet/writer and so on. Any job that   
    ak>> requires inspiration must not be professional.   
    ak>> Inspiration is a very rare thing. You can meet it   
    ak>> just several times in your life. And any singer,   
    ak>> beginning his musical carrier, must be aware that, or   
    ak>> his life will be short.   
      
    RW> IN many ways all too true unfortunately, but for somethe   
    RW> profession is truly a labor of love, but they're not as   
    RW> prolific as the money machine would like, because they only   
    RW> present their creations to the world when they're up to the   
    RW> standards of the writer/creator.   
      
   Music is like any other business.  Successful musicians know this.   
   Some musicians are excellent performers.  Others not.  And music is   
   so much more than performing.   
      
   Separate the business of music from the art of music.  And then   
   it is much easier to understand.  The art of music is indeed a "labor   
   of love".  Not so much the business of music, which is always about   
   profit.  Big difference.   
      
   In our society, we place a premium on youth.  We expect our   
   entertainers to be young and full of energy.  Even though our   
   population continues to age.  Whitney Houston was 48 years old   
   at the time of her death.  She could no longer hit the high   
   notes as she could in the days of her youth.  Nor did she have   
   the same energy level.  Sure, she could use cosmetics and pretty   
   herself up to the point of maintaining a youthful look, but she   
   was far from being the self she was in her late teens and early   
   20's.   
      
   Could Whitney Houston have made a successful comeback?  Ask   
   Michael Jackson.  He'll tell you.  If only he could.   
      
    RW> As a little perspective on my background for you ... I've   
    RW> been a professional musician and also work in the support   
    RW> side of the business as what i call an audio techician,   
    RW> commonly called an "audio engineer" although i disagree with the term in   
    RW> some ways.   
      
   There are three main divisions in music -   
      
   * Teaching   
   * Performance   
   * Composition   
      
   Certainly there are other related areas, such as audio technician.   
   As well as the business aspects.  Some musicians limit themselves   
   to teaching.  Others combine different divisions/aspects of music   
   as their career.  Depends on their abilities, as well as their wants.   
      
    RW>> Indeed, bt you can't blame these professions for all   
    RW>> of this. Those who have a long career soon learn   
    RW>> perspective. IT's easy to "burn out" because of all   
    RW>> the pressure one puts on oneself as well as that put   
    RW>> on one by others. Yet you look at people like MErle   
    RW>> Haggard, a man who probably wasn't expected to see his   
    RW>> sixties, let alone his seventies. YEt MErle is still   
    RW>> making music, still writing and producing his songs.   
      
    ak>> Well, any rule, as a rule, has exceptions. ;) But if we   
    ak>> talk of the rule or the general tendency in this area - we   
    ak>> see it clear - almost all modern show biz stars have   
    ak>> severe problems inside themselves, and cannot enjoy life   
    ak>> as normal people.   
      
    RW> Right, but these are often the "show biz" stars, and not   
    RW> the people who write and create because it's what they do.   
    RW> Again from the country world, look at Willie Nelson.  Has   
    RW> been writing songs since he was a teenager.   
      
   Most performers do not write their own stuff.  But some do.   
   Madonna is an example of a musician who does.  Lady Gaga also   
   does the same, and really is genius with some of her music.   
   Kenny Rogers writes some, but not all, of the songs he performs   
   in public, one of his biggest hits - "The Gambler" - having   
   been written by himself in fifteen minutes.   
      
   Some of the greatest entertainers never wrote their own stuff.   
   For example, Elvis performed a whole shitload of songs, in every   
   musical category, none of the songs being his own.  He also won   
   four grammys - all of them for gospel.  And yet he is in every   
   music Hall of Fame there is.   
      
    RW>> Why can MErle turn it around from drunkenness and all   
    RW>> the dangerous parts of the profession? Perspective. He   
    RW>> pared his life down to the simple things that give him   
    RW>> joy, that give his life meaning, so that when he's not   
    RW>> performing he can get back to that world and recharge   
    RW>> his mental batteries. He has land in the country,   
    RW>> grows a lot of his own food, enjoys nature. I'm sure   
    RW>> it's a great contrast for him between the two. On one   
    RW>> hand there are hotel rooms, producers and other people   
    RW>> with the constant push push push. "TIme for the meet   
    RW>> and greet now Merle" "TIme for the sound check, after   
    RW>> the sound check there's a meeting with the promoter, a   
    RW>> planning meeting, then a rehearsal ..."   
      
    ak>> It perfectly illustrates my idea too -- a person must live   
    ak>> as a normal human. His art making must be his hobby. One   
    ak>> day he has inspiration, and he writes a song, maybe the   
    ak>> only great hit of his whole life. But it is a very poor   
    ak>> idea to do it every day, squeezing out himself a scheduled   
    ak>> mediocre love(!) song or something of this kind, just to   
    ak>> make money for living.   
      
    RW> And, though he made it a profession, he refused to succumb   
    RW> to the demands of the money machine.  When one of his songs   
    RW> is good enough, in his mind, he'll present it to the world.   
    RW> He enjoys entertaining an audience, but he understands that   
    RW> other things are important to him so he can maintain that   
    RW> enjoyment.   
      
   Elvis Presley had no choice, wanting to maintain Graceland.   
   Michael Jackson had no choice, wanting to maintain Neverland.   
   Other musicians also felt they had no choice, wanting to   
   maintain what possessions they had or the lifestyles they had.   
      
    ak>> The main rule is the following -- a person of art must not   
    ak>> fully depend on the money he makes from things connected   
    ak>> with inspiration. If you are a composer, you can teach   
    ak>> people in your school, to do something useful else, and   
    ak>> your job prevents you from the torture of art making   
    ak>> without inspiration.   
      
    RW> Or, if teaching isn't your thing, as it isn't mine, finding   
    RW> ways to do what you love that enable you to keep your   
    RW> sanity.  i enjoy helping others realize their "vision" even   
    RW> though that's audible and not visual per se.   
      
   I know a musician who went on to become an accountant, got   
   sick of the accounting profession, and then for his own sanity   
   went back to music.  Literally saved his own life.  :)   
      
    RW> IN this case, Whitney was a talented singer, but she wasn't   
    RW> a songwriter, and did nothing else but sing the songs   
    RW> presented to her which were created by others.   
      
   Nothing wrong with that.  Lots of musicians have done the same.   
   Most musicians today perform the works of others.  Including the   
   best professionals, not just amateurs.   
      
    RW> She allowed the money machine to control her life, let her perception of   
    RW> herself be dictated by others, and all those others only gave her positive   
    RW> reinforcement when she was making them money.  IN other words,   
    RW> and this is going to offend some, Whitney was shallow, as are a lot of   
   these   
    RW> glamorous people.   
      
   I can't really say she was "shallow", having never met the woman.   
   It seems to me more likely she was grasping for straws, trying to be   
   someone she could never be.  In this case, the young woman she was   
   once before.  She took her 18-year-old daughter to Los Angeles in   
   order to show her off to her friends.  This was one week before the   
   Grammy Awards.  That was unheard of, as most entertainers of her   
   caliber would show up only a day or two before the awards show.   
   Her handlers were with her, but Whitney made her own choices.  And   
   yes, you are right, she was used by what you call "the money machine".   
   They knew what they wanted, and they knew how to get it.  Unfortunately   
   for them, and for Whitney, their money bag is no longer available.   
      
    RW> HEre's another one, JOhn Lennon.  Until he was gunned down   
    RW> on the street in front of his apartment building JOhn was   
    RW> growing, developing, and coming to grips with it all.   
      
   After he left England for what he thought was a better place.   
      
    RW> Although the Beatles were pushed and pulled from every direction by the   
    RW> money machine John opted out, pulled back, spent a few years raising his   
    RW> son, and when inspiration came to him was ready to record and perform   
    RW> again.   
      
   John left England (and the Beatles) because he could not stand   
   the racism directed toward him and his Japanese wife, Yoko.   
   Once he left England, he never returned.  And had absolutely   
   no intention of returning.   
      
    RW> One has to have other ways in life to be fulfilled outside the narrow   
    RW> track controlled by the money machine.  That might be teaching, might be   
    RW> volunteering for other causes, might be rebuilding classic cars, or   
    RW> helping make life better for people in less developed places.   
      
   John had Yoko.   
   Until Chapman murdered him.   
   Elvis had Priscilla.   
   Until Priscilla left him.   
   Michael Jackson had Elvis' daughter, Lisa.   
   Until she left him.   
   Lee Liberace had ???   
   Until ??? left him.   
      
    RW>    
      
    ak>> When a person has inspiration and talent his work makes   
    ak>> itself, and the person produces a bright thing. In my   
    ak>> opinion, only these things are worthy to be called songs or   
    ak>> other pieces of art. This world is sunk in a bog of   
    ak>> mediocrity, up to its ears. And, however paradoxically it   
    ak>> can sound, the main balk of mediocrity came to us from   
    ak>> people who make art professionally. They are forced to make   
    ak>> money for leaving and forge piles of things without   
    ak>> troubling themselves to wait inspiration. That's why we can   
    ak>> take the work of any so called "stars" and to see in it   
    ak>> just a few real things.   
      
    RW> True enough, and look at most of the work they present, it was not created   
    RW> by them, but created by others for them to present to the world, just to   
    RW> have something for them to put out there.   
      
   We have been trained to like certain kinds or styles of music.   
   If we hear a different kind of music, we call it trash.   
   Even though it is music par excellence.   
      
   In the beginning, we had classical music.   
   And everybody loved it.   
   Then we had ragtime.   
   Some folks loved it.   
   Most folks hated it.   
   Then we had jazz.   
   Some folks loved it.   
   Most folks hated it.   
   Then we had the blues.   
   Some folks loved it.   
   Most folks hated it.   
   Then we had Elvis and rock 'n' roll.   
   Some folks loved it.   
   Most folks hated it.   
   Then we had punk.   
   Some folks loved it.   
   Most folks hated it.   
   Then we had hip hop.   
   Some folks loved it.   
   Most folks hated it.   
      
   Whatever comes next is sure to be both loved and hated   
   - at the same time.  And then later to be loved by all.   
      
    RW> AGain, Whitney was not a writer, was not her own producer.  Whitney may   
   have   
    RW> been a good singer, but that's >all she was.   
      
   So much more talented is Madonna.  And Lady Gaga.  :)   
      
    RW> This is why I give so little attention to most "celebrites" and the like.   
    RW> These are usually people with no character, and little class.   
      
   But what a great voice she had!  Much better than yours, I dare say!   
      
    RW> As both a sound person, and as a musician for hire I've worked for  a good   
    RW> number of folks that perceived themselves as 'stars" even if they weren't   
    RW> really.  ONe can usually tell if this is a person with some depth of   
    RW> character within the first few minutes of encountering them.  Those with   
    RW> character treat their support personnel with dignity   
    RW> and respect.  The others don't.   
      
   I've run across some singers who looked upon themselves as   
   being a real "diva" when they really had no talent at all.   
   One young lady was so pretentious and so much into herself   
   that I walked out and let her sing a cappella.  That kind   
   of brought her down to earth, but still left her without   
   a pianist.  :)   
      
    RW>> everyone who supposedly works for you. The sound and   
    RW>> lighting people don't make any money if you stay home,   
    RW>> they only make money when you're touring. To keep your   
      
    ak>> Well, brothels also cleate jobs.   
      
    RW> Yes, but there again, from the support side, it's easy to   
    RW> tell which sort of person I'm dealing with as soon as I   
    RW> arrive.  Those with class and depth of character understand   
    RW> that we are partners in their presentation to the audience,   
    RW> yes i need them to perform to get paid, but they need people like me to do   
    RW> what they do.   
      
   If you guess wrong, it can be costly.  For example, I was   
   offered a gig on a cruise line some time ago.  But I suspected   
   a rat, having met with the people in charge of the operation.   
   I turned the offer down, and glad I did.  Two weeks later   
   headlines in the paper read a drug raid on cruise ship...   
      
    RW>> IT's not these professions that are bad, it's the fact   
    RW>> that people who enter these professions forget their   
    RW>> humanity, because the great money machine pushes them   
    RW>> to lose sight of it.   
      
    ak>> That's it. To be a human and don't put true art on an   
    ak>> assembly line. It's not a canned good. Every masterpiece   
    ak>> must be a _piece_ of art. It must be rare, unique things.   
    ak>> And ordinary people also must not perceive them constantly.   
    ak>> Then they will preserve their sensitivity, and among the   
    ak>> people of art will be less perversion, because they will   
    ak>> work for another kind of people.   
      
    RW> Right, and these folks are pushed, often from childhood to   
    RW> believe that they are something extra special and that   
    RW> attitude keeps them insulated from the parts of life that   
    RW> can ultimately make for better art, and keep them from   
    RW> developing as well rounded people.   
      
   Whitney was a child prodigy, singing in the choir of her   
   local church.  As a young woman, she auditioned for an agent,   
   who signed her at once without delay to a contract.  That's   
   the way it is with show biz.  Grab 'em when you can, as fast   
   as you can, as cheap as you can.   
      
   --Lee   
      
   --- MesNews/1.06.00.00-gb   
    * Origin: news://felten.yi.org (2:203/2)