Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Zezima's Eleven, Antigone Rising, and the price of fame
Eleven years ago today, Michele and I were married by a Justice of the Peace on the beach: Field 5 @ Robert Moses State Park on Long Island. Our current chaotic situation (re: my Mom) has prevented us from truly celebrating this anniversary in style but, since the flight to Texas has now been switched to Saturday morning, we were able to use tickets we bought in advance to see the band Antigone Rising (AR) last night in Manhattan.
We’ve rocked to AR long before they were discovered, I interviewed band member Kristen Henderson in 2003 (http://www.home.earthlink.net/~rubberjoel/id28.html), have come to know her a bit, and she might even write a blurb for an upcoming book of mine. Now, Kristen and her bandmates are gonna be on Jay Leno, VH1, and The Today Show, and Starbuck’s is sponsoring their first “real” record...which is selling like hotcakes (or should I say lattes?).
Tricky concept...this fame thing. More than one person has e-mailed to tease me that AR “sold out.” Sure, all the trappings are there, but AR still rocked as hard as always last night. They’ve paid their dues, never compromised their sound, and have inspired girls and women from coast to coast. Now, more people will get a chance to hear them and perhaps this will challenge silly stereotypes about women and rock...all thanks to the corporate music machine.
Here’s the conundrum: Does the end justify the means? If you could reach a wider audience by signing with Starbuck’s, would you do it?
In my case, if Starbuck’s wanted to sell one of my books at their establishments (I know, this is ludicrous by definition), would I be selling out by saying “yes”? What if they didn’t ask me to change a single word in the book and suddenly millions would be introduced to my decidedly non-mainstream viewpoints? Since I happen to like coffee (although not Starbuck’s coffee), I could potentially muster the gyrations to justify this...but what if it was (heaven forbid) McDonald’s offering the same deal? What about The Gap, Nike, or Disney? Should I automatically say no to them but consider Starbuck’s?
I’ll never have to answer these questions, of course. No corporation is gonna knock on my door. But the deeper issue remains: In a corporate capitalist society, how can an artist (and/or activist) attain success, reach a wider audience, and perhaps inspire others to work for a better world...without some compromise? And does that compromise automatically reduce the value or purity of one’s art? Would, for example, a book by Arundhati Roy lose power if it were available for $4.99 with every purchase of a Big Mac or Air Jordans?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Copyright © 2005-2007 Mickey Z.
