tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23625880.post115948241431378134..comments2024-03-27T19:55:21.033-07:00Comments on <a href="http://www.dennisdread.com">The Battle For Art!</a>: Underground EconomyDennis Dreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05037053480261444958noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23625880.post-1162955631567683142006-11-07T19:13:00.000-08:002006-11-07T19:13:00.000-08:00That should read GDP per capita...That should read GDP per capita...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23625880.post-1162955577652364142006-11-07T19:12:00.000-08:002006-11-07T19:12:00.000-08:00Except that Singapore is hardly "underdeveloped". ...Except that Singapore is hardly "underdeveloped". It has Britain's GDP, a so-called first world oasis in a third world region. You should have charged more ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23625880.post-1160009774669632512006-10-04T17:56:00.000-07:002006-10-04T17:56:00.000-07:00Hey Dennis! Bet you didn't expect me to be commen...Hey Dennis! Bet you didn't expect me to be commenting here, but what you're describing hits close to home for me. I've met more amazing people in the last two decades in the underground music "scene" than I can ever hope to remember, people who were setting up gigs, booking tours, trading music, or just establishing friendships with people on the other side of the world long before Napster, Hotmail, eBay and MySpace made it a matter of just downloading mp3's or "approving" a new friend. Not that I'm knocking the internet; I've used and abused it and regrettably become pretty dependent on it since the late 90's, but I know that underground art and music would still be doing just fine without the www, and I guess that's exactly my point, which I think ties in pretty closely with what I take to be your point: that we do what we do out of love and from our hearts, not for instant gratification or a huge (or even not-so-huge) paycheck. I can think of very few things as humbling as meeting people who were harrassed by the KGB for being punks in Estonia in the 80's, or watching helplessly as El Paso's finest clubbed the shit out of a sixteen year old kid (I say "helplessly" because two other uniformed cowards held us back with shotguns while this was going on), again simply for being a punk in the 90's. What motivation is there for going on in the face of apathy and under-appreciation at best, and condemnation and physical violence at worst, if it's not coming from some place deep inside that absolutely needs to express itself, no matter if one person, ten people, or no people are ever even aware that it exists? Trends will come and go, and every form of expression will be exploited and quickly tossed aside by the mass-market meatgrinder, but those of us whose motives are simply to create something that is our own will never disappear. So thanks for reminding me of that, I feel a bit less jaded than I did a half-hour ago.<BR/><BR/>Anyhoo, hopefully this absolves me at least a little for not showing up to watch movies since what, last spring? I know, I know...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com