I have no sympathy
https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/03/26/fixing-the-stream-shaking-up-spotify/
Complaint of the “artist.”
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I know David Rovics and think he’s a great guy, very talented and also very personable. In the above article he says that he’s a “creative” as if creativity is some kind of special quality.
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If you like to write and/or perform music — or engage in cultural expression of any kind — that’s great. Personally, I think it’s one of the best things in life.
And amateur sports.
Challenge, self-expression, mastery, the creation of pleasure for others. Great stuff. I hope that just about everybody gets to enjoy such. As a hobby.
The world doesn’t owe you a living on the basis of your dedication to your artistic expression.
You can expect to get a living from your contribution to “holding up the sky.” That’s the work, that’s what needs to be done by functional adults.
In our society the implementation of that is accomplished through a miserable system of jobs. What misery, what truncation of potential and spirit and satisfaction. The work of holding up the sky should be done simply and directly by sustaining life together in a community in a place.
But, anyway . . .
There is work. And then there is fun.
There can be satisfaction in work, and the more communitarian it is the more satisfaction it yields. But there is more satisfaction and interest and fun in the rest of what we’re motivated to do. Hobby stuff, creative stuff, sports, romance, family, and roller coasters.
Our society has its values so so skewed, mixed up, discombobulated. All the kids want to be rappers and independent film makers. 99% of those fancying themselves “artists” and expecting society to pay them for their hobby efforts wind up disappointed at how little society pays them for their hobby efforts.
You try to become a star and you get involved with the cultural-industrial complex and you get burned.
One of the nicest nights of my life: I was staying over at EVI. There was a concert in the FROG Common House. It was a duo called Little Wheel. They were a couple who used to live in the ecovillage. When they moved into town they remained associate members of EVI. So there was familiarity all around. And they were so good. And it was a dreamy May evening.
And the scale was right and the vibe was right and I felt: “This is the way to create culture and mutual pleasure together.” After all the work is done and we can sit back with our coffee or tea, we create for each other, we enjoy each other.
It’s the best part of life — the culture/hobby/expression/pleasure/fun part. Leave money out of it.
