Sold Out? (or Sellout?)
By Alex WendtThanks to Doug for pointing me to pair of articles coming out of the Duke University Chronicle this week. In the first article, titled "Dave Matthews: Sold Out", there are some legitimate concerns brought up about the sky-rocketing popularity of Dave and the band.
"...In concert, the change is pernicious. Screaming middle-schoolers drown out the band in mid-song. People puke instead of dance; tapers erect their mic stands in puddles of vomit. The setlist, mindful of new fans, spans the hits. The improv jams are hardly so-some concerts, like the recent Greensboro appearance, run under two hours. The scene has morphed into a vanilla mob alien to many music fans."
I'm not sure how much I agree or disagree with this article, but if you have a a strong opinion one way on another, you can direct any comments to comments@www.chronicle.duke.edu (be sure to mention the author Jonas Blank in any email you send so it can make it's way to him).
The second article from the Duke Chronicle is titled "Dave Matthews: Sold Out or Sellout". This article focuses more on weather or not you want to be associated with the umpteen million teenie-bopper fans, or if you have to take your love of DMB and hide it "in the closet."
"...What followed was a moment of personal clarity that seemed to last forever. Had I been deluding myself? Could I actually be in love with a mainstream pop group? Was it possible that I could actually be one of these people? My reputation as a pompous music snob was suddenly in jeopardy..."
Personally I'm not afraid to say that I like "good music," weather or not it's "pop" or "mainstream." As long as I know that I like the music for the right reasons, and not because it's trendy, then it's all good.
I'm thinking that you could also get through to Craig TenBroeck at the comments@www.chronicle.duke.edu if you'd like to send him any comments.