Yesterday, there was an article in the NY Times about CMJ.  It was nice to see them mention up some bands that have played Tick Tick shows, going on to be highlights in the big city, including Arbouretum, Wye Oak, and of course, WOMEN, who stopped in Burlington on their way down to the festival.  Well done, beloved bands!!!!

But the NY Times article is missing the point.  The article is basically about how nobody there is about to make lots of money, and “the large-scale music business might as well have been on another planet.”  Well, dude, “indie” can still be short for “independent.”  The reporter doesn’t actually talk to any of the bands about what they actually get out of CMJ, or what their financial or career goals actually are.  I bet that if he did, he’d find that there are many different ideas about what success is, or how realistic bands are about it. Some musicians see CMJ as an ultimate attainment.  Some bands are grateful to be on tour at all.  Some musicians resent showcases like CMJ or Pop Montreal for the degree of industry involvement they incorporate.

But I should cut him a break, since his role writing for the NY Times about this is to explain indie music for the NY T’s boomer readership, by writing sentences like “In the 21st century it’s more important to draw listeners to a Myspace or iTunes or Emusic page than to find a limited-edition vinyl manufacturer, as in the ’80s.”  Although that’s wrong too, since vinyl manufacturing has experienced a 77% increase from 2007 to 2008.

Too bad records are made out of oil!