There was a man at the show with what appeared to be a DAT and MiniDV setup recording the whole show from the middle of the sweaty throng of primitive, thrashing beasts who would normally constitute what is referred to as an "audience".
While poking around the net hoping to find some information about this recording, I stumbled across the Tucson Weekly's Tammies blog, on which Monotonix were featured with a sparse interview containing some golden quotes from singer Ami Shalev. Check it out, solid read.
But that is all just incidental information. I digress (to my main point):
Also on the site was an entry listing the top sales for local record store Zia Records for last week (ending March 22). What I saw astounded me. Occupying the #1 and #4 spots were Twiztid and Hollywood Undead, respectively. Amongst a scatter of other shitty artists (and a couple of good ones), the fact that these two acts alone are not only selling records, but selling enough of them to be given space in a top 10 list, blows my mind.
People are actually buying this shit?? We're in a fucking recession, and a lot of people can't even afford to put gas in their cars. People are canceling their phone service, not going out to eat, and sending birthday cards with apology notes instead of cash. Where in the fuck is Johnny Juggalo getting the money to buy the new Twiztid record? And how many fans does Hollywood Undead really have? This mostly-digested, fully regurgitated force-fed bullshit doesn't even pretend to be pop, and it's moving units faster than a Britney Spears box set.This happening was initially disturbing, but after a grace period of incredulousness, it became ultimately satisfying, and I'll tell you why. Our lives have been almost fully-automated and digitized by the advance of modern technology. Technology where we can, for instance, find any album by any artist at any time for free, as long as we have access to an internet connection (and who doesn't?). Stealing vs. paying for music is a tired issue at best and a ideological zombie at worst. The only two reasons I can think of for buying physical copies of CD's from anywhere other than directly from the band anymore revolve around two types of people:
1.) Those who feel they are decent citizens of the musical community, who'd like to support not only the artists they love, but also the local record company that carries said artists' catalogs. Unfortunately, they are deluded into thinking any large part of their hard-earned cash actually goes to either of these parties in the end, but their intentions are respectable, and they deserve recognition for trying to save a dying animal. Most of us see the dead cat in the road and adjust the steering wheel accordingly.
2.) Those who are too fucking stupid to figure out how to turn on a computer, let alone navigate to a music site and utilize the vast array of abundant resources that have been available to assist in downloading music, movies, etc. for YEARS.
Somehow, I don't think the Twiztid and Hollywood Undead fans fall into the first category. It bums me out that these people still exist and can do things like speak, leave the house, and procreate. But on the flip side, falling into category 2 affirms their behavior as a stereotype which me and my friends have joyfully exploited for years, and just when I think that Juggalos and trailer park rock 'n roll trash bags have gone the way of the buffalo (mostly due to my choice of avoiding their favorite watering holes and piss-stained 24 hour daycares where you can always find a low price, always.), something as seemingly innocent as a top ten selling records list pops up and reminds me that sometimes, stereotypes are so accurate, you'd be a category 2 not to embrace them.
And that POV feels very at home here.
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