|
The realist:
"what a wonderful world we're living in...
for you, for you, ...NOT ME!" -Devo
"Going totally DIY is best but the current practive of only selling
your music and zines by mail order, gig-stalls and small distros is keeping
your music out of reach from the normal, non-scene people. This is defeating
the intention of the scene to affect masses with new ideas and ultimately
offer alternatives away from the mainstream. People like me wouldn't know
it existed unless we stuble across it in some remote situations."
A lot of "punks" scoff at the idea of getting
a wider audience. For them it means selling out. Well, if the band softened
their music, mellow-out their lyrics and clean up their sound for a "wider
acceptance" then of course I would agree that its fulla shit. But what
happens to bands who want their music to be heard NOT only by the scene
but everybody else out there; the people on the streets, in the kitchens,
in the sweat-boxes, the prisoners, the politicians, etc.
Back in the 80s, Crass had a flexi disc inserted free inside a nationwide
teenage magazine which was really popular in the UK. The song featured
inside that flexi (a flimsy, plastic version of vinyl) roundly criticised
and ridiculed the royalty via Princess Diana and Prince Charles' wedding.
That action created a huge uproar all over England, making Crass a notorious
[infamous] name, but their voice was heard and thought upon. Crass wouldn't
have got so big and influential without such actions, and they didnt tune
down their politics or fervour to have such a wide audience, they just
opened up the floodgates of possibilities without compromising their stance.
Nowadays there are no bands creating such an impact. Why is this so? I
would say that this is because most of the good bands which have a lot
of good ideas to put across, are just keeping it withing their own small
circles. And these circles are getting smaller and smaller since there
are more and more new boundaries created with the arrival of dogmatic
ideals in the scene.
In such situation, great, throughtful and powerful bands just end up preaching
to the converted NOT the people they want to change. On the international
front, influential bands such as Born Against and Los Crudos could have
reached for a bigger audience rather than a few hundred squatters and
anarcho punks. But they split up in their prime, realising that they had
done as much as they could in that self-restricting context. They dug
a hole and buried their ideas with the select few, the crew.
The possessive, exclusive and rather elitist nature in DIY punk rock is
actually killing a lot of the impact it could have on the public. It has
turned into very insular, self-congratulatory and selfish movement which
is not concerned about the people who exist outside of its increasingly
tightening self-imposed boundaries. Punk rock's immense potential as an
agent of change (either socially or musically) is self-consciously restrained.
Are we supposed to end up in the same way? Burned out and defeated?
- top -
|
The Idealist:
"Keep punk rock with the punk rockers, not the businessmen"
-immortal words in punk circles.
"Dealing with the usual music distribution companies means that
you're playing the usual corporate game (which is nothing but creating
profit for people who dont even care about music.)"
Out of every recording you see at the shops, roughly 60% of the price
tag goes to the distribution company, salesmen, wholesalers and the
shops. This hierarchy is the sole reason why it is hard to have the
prices low and reasonable. Record labels (especially those who are run
out of love for the music and the power of ideas), have to run the risk
of not getting back the amount of money or the effort spent in producing
your recordings but the hierarchy can return your tapes and CDs at anytime
they want. They don't share the risk.
But if you're running a label that needs such a distribution to sustain
and finance your operation, you can't escape from this system, [otherwise
you'll disappear after the first release].
The fairest way is of course to go DIY, take control and keep it fair.
Its also a more humane, personal, participatory way of making and distributing
things you love and uphold. There's a certain high level of dignity
and goodness in the act. Most of all, it abolishes the imaginary walls
between the "producers" and the "consumers". In
short, it's beautiful. A dream job for all concerned.
But it also mean a long wait for the money spent to come trickling back
in, that's why the few DIY labels around us need around 6 months or
more to put out a new tape. As Greg Spiral Objective [band and DIY Label]
said, it is frustrating and the only way he and his friends can counter
that is to have more DIY labels that take turns producing stuff; keeping
the DIY scene active and not just relying on one outlet.
[Regarding the Malaysian Scene] We dont have such a unified and supportive
DIY scene just yet. Some distros and labels around here are at odds
with each other (mostly on the differences of ethical conduct and beliefs).
(...) We need some form of a loose coalition which is supportive of
each other, sharing the work load and that covers the whole country.
We need such a network to abolish the need to rely on those blood-sucking
capitalists around us. Things have just got to change.
- top -
- Next Page -
- Back to the DIY Knowledge Oracle -
|