Justifying The Music Industry's Downfall With Stevie Nicks

[Jondalar]

A perfect example of why the record biz is doomed
BY JOHNNY FIRECLOUD
APR 15, 2009
I don't know who Kim Stolz is, except for that she works for MTV and is a contributing writer for Huffpo. I also know that her writing is on par with that of a retarded chimpanzee- but that's another issue entirely. Miss Stolz recently interviewed classic rock relic Stevie Nicks on the state of the music industry, its relation to the digital revolution, and whether or not all these tech advancements are "worth it" in the grand scheme of evolving interpersonal communication.

In last week's interview, Nicks trotted out the sour-grapes for the form complaint that the digital revolution is ruining the industry and kids have no real grasp of what true rock music is anymore. Finally getting to her product pitch, she explained that part of the reason for releasing her new Live In Chicago DVD was to show "the kids" a real rock show.

What Miss Stolz fails to point out is that Nicks, in her state of complete irrelevance in today’s music scene, has no concept of what a real rock show is in today’s world. She may have been the reigning Queen of Cocaine and pre-disco shimmer pop back in the ’60s and early ’70s, but those days are buried under the detritus of several younger musical movements, most of which passed like fads in the wind. Buried with them is the ideology that rock stars are entitled to a mythical status, a godlike level of adoration, a misplaced sense of self-worth. The middleman is a dying breed, as are the distractions and detractions he represents to the music world.

Unsurprisingly, in the interview, the way, way-past-her-prime singer (who was recently on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon casting “good energy spells” on the host) raged against the digital transition, promising that ”downloads are the end.” The end of what, exactly, remains unclear, although Stolz goes on to bemoan the “utter destruction of the music scene.”

Funny- from where I’m standing, the music scene looks more alive, thriving and vibrant than ever before. Sure, the industry’s pampered relics are rallying against the changing of the guard, but when the music itself once again returns to central importance, rather than the musical product it was replaced by so many decades ago, we will look back on this period as the Great Tipping Point in music.

Nicks goes on in the piece, sharing her unabashed loathing for social networking and convenience of collective awareness: ”You will never see a Stevie Nicks Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or anything else, because I think it’s cheap and it’s sleazy and I hate it!”

It’s at this point where Miss Stolz shows her journalistic colors, musing on the horrors that would’ve unfolded “if Romeo could have just texted Juliet,” and the death of romanticism itself rather than exploring just what it is about the internet that frightens and disgusts the sexagenarian. What’s interesting, and another point that Stolz fails to point out, is that without the internet Stevie Nicks’ words wouldn’t be reaching anyone at all. She’s two generations past her prime, and the market value for the musings of 25% of a band nearly four decades old isn’t hitting any highs these days (shut up, Paul, you’re the exception- not the rule).

Stevie’s part of a beautiful piece in the tapestry of Rock ‘n Roll. Fleetwood Mac was a band our parents smoked their first joints to, learned how to drive to, conceived us to. Their albums, her chief contributions to the music world, is undiminished by her antiquiated philosophies and social ideals. But five years from now you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone under 30 who’s seen the Live In Chicago DVD, because Nicks represents a different time, a simpler time, a time wildly alien to the present state of music.

However, if she were to put out a five-song EP for free, maybe rerecord and reclaim Landslide from King Pumpkin and Bush’s favorite country bumpkins, adding a cover/collaboration and perhaps even a new jam or two, she’d be the talk of the town. She’s made her millions- she should be moving to set an example these days, not standing on the shoreline rallying against the inevitable tide.

Raging against the internet while trying to get the message out to kids about her new DVD seems wildly backhanded, given that the internet is very likely the only reason any “kids” know about her at all. If she’d leave her yupsy (gypsy yuppie) ideals behind and gave some thought to leaving the past there as well, she could very well be seen as the Cool Grandma of Rock, a bridge between the old guard and modern trends & technologies. The kids would take notice. Hell, if all it took was a click or two they might even give the old lady a chance- provided that their parents were nowhere in earshot, of course.

[RockALittle250]

The person who wrote this article is a disgusting piece of crap and is just a pathetic individual with a chip on their shoulder

[Moz]

How was she the queen of rock when she was still in high school in the 60s?

[LikeAWillow]

Originally Posted by RockALittle250

The person who wrote this article is a disgusting piece of crap and is just a pathetic individual with a chip on their shoulder

I thought the guy was spot on. Might just be because I'm one of those kids she can't connect with anymore, though.

[louielouie2000]

While this person's views may be harsh, I think they are spot on. If Stevie wants to remain in the music biz and public eye, she's gotta embrace the internet and all it's trappings. If she'd take time to understand it AND her fanbase better, it'd only benefit her in the end. I might even have to start calling her a "yupsy" myself... that's DAMN cute! In the end, this person ended up giving Stevie props for her accomplishments (even though it's through a backhanded compliment). And I really think this was meant to be constructive criticism more than anything. But that's just my two cents... I can view most any criticism as constructive.

Just out of curiosity, where is this from? I'm guessing it's someone's amateur blog?

[PenguinHead]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

While this person's views may be harsh, I think they are spot on. If Stevie wants to remain in the music biz and public eye, she's gotta embrace the internet and all it's trappings. If she'd take time to understand it AND her fanbase better, it'd only benefit her in the end. I might even have to start calling her a "yupsy" myself... that's DAMN cute! In the end, this person ended up giving Stevie props for her accomplishments (even though it's through a backhanded compliment). And I really think this was meant to be constructive criticism more than anything. But that's just my two cents... I can view most any criticism as constructive.

Just out of curiosity, where is this from? I'm guessing it's someone's amateur blog?

I agree, he does make some very valid assessments.

[David]

Originally Posted by LikeAWillow

I thought the guy was spot on. Might just be because I'm one of those kids she can't connect with anymore, though.

The guy was getting a little het under the collar, a little violent, even. But I sympathize with his fundamental argument. It is goofy of Stevie to lash out against the Internet, against computers, against social networking, & all the other paraphernalia we all use to varying degrees at work & at play. She sounds like an ignoramus when she does so because she doesn't marshal compelling or rational arguments against the new technologies. Instead, she speaks generalizations about how kids are all turning into zombies starved for genuine human interaction or brats who have no respect for anything, etc. If she were saying all of this tongue in cheek, it might be amusing. But it's very obvious she is absolutely serious about it all.

Stevie can say, "I don't twitter & I don't have a MySpace page -- I have no interest."

[RockALittle250]

Originally Posted by LikeAWillow

I thought the guy was spot on. Might just be because I'm one of those kids she can't connect with anymore, though.

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

While this person's views may be harsh, I think they are spot on. If Stevie wants to remain in the music biz and public eye, she's gotta embrace the internet and all it's trappings. If she'd take time to understand it AND her fanbase better, it'd only benefit her in the end. I might even have to start calling her a "yupsy" myself... that's DAMN cute! In the end, this person ended up giving Stevie props for her accomplishments (even though it's through a backhanded compliment). And I really think this was meant to be constructive criticism more than anything. But that's just my two cents... I can view most any criticism as constructive.

Just out of curiosity, where is this from? I'm guessing it's someone's amateur blog?

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

I agree, he does make some very valid assessments.

So you all agree that she is completely irrelevant in the music industry today and that she's way-way past her prime? Yikes, don't think Stevie would enjoy hearing that coming from her "fans". It's one thing to say Stevie isn't as popular as she was 20 years ago, but this guy was down right mean and he completely ripped her apart.

[David]

Originally Posted by RockALittle250

So you all agree that she is completely irrelevant in the music industry today and that she's way-way past her prime?

I think she's way past her prime, yes.

Yikes, don't think Stevie would enjoy hearing that coming from her "fans".

I can't be bothered worrying about whether Stevie would enjoy hearing or reading my views.

[RockALittle250]

Originally Posted by David

I think she's way past her prime, yes.

I can't be bothered worrying about whether Stevie would enjoy hearing or reading my views.

She may be past her prime but i don't think she's completely irrelevant at all. If anyone on here thinks that she is irrelevant, then i would find it completely odd that they would be a member of a Stevie Nicks fan forum.

[David]

Originally Posted by RockALittle250

She may be past her prime but i don't think she's completely irrelevant at all. If anyone on here thinks that she is irrelevant, then i would find it completely odd that they would be a member of a Stevie Nicks fan forum.

Well, you know, people have widely different views of Stevie. Who knows why some people post here? I post because I like conversing with y'all.

[starshine]

Well, maybe ...IMO they did make some valid points too. I don't by any means look at Stevie & Fmac or ANY other rock band (or person/actor/actress etc)....I don't look at them with rose colored glasses anymore. Well they all are kinda old...they don't want to change. They do think its still the 70's or want to in someways. They do want to be godlike or worship from afar....Stevie chose's not to be current. Of course someone is doing the 'Twitter' thing for her....I'm sure she isn't ...someone loaded the music on her ipod she didn't......I mean (not that it matters to her/Fmac either) Stevie's web site is a joke & it still looks like it did during TISL times & that was '01 already. Like I've said before & I'll say it again. Fan sites are better than the actual artists site.....thats sad cause her site should and could be the best around but its not. I agree that she doesn't stay current even with her OWN fans really. She could keep in touch more. She could answer those questions on her web site. She could sell tons of stuff on her own web site. The list is so endless.....but because of the Net everything is 'dead' to her. Remember she did call us fans out for stealing her music. It sounds like we get blamed for her not wanting to take some responsibility as an artist & for her own career or her own creativity or something like that. I'll always love her music but its sad that really since what 1990 we've had only 2 solo LP's by her the rest compliations or GH sets. Even though the 'live' cd is great and long over due its still a GH set just live at least to me. Anyway, I don't take what the person said as a bash but the person does make some great points. Points that don't go unoticed by me. No offence......its good to have a different opinion.......

[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by LikeAWillow

I thought the guy was spot on. Might just be because I'm one of those kids she can't connect with anymore, though.

But isn't that the way it's always been? The younger generations rarely connect with the older generation.

Even if Stevie completely embraced new technology and digital downloads, that's not suddenly going to turn her into the new darling of the teens and twenty-somethings. Ann & Nancy Wilson have MySpace pages and are fans of the internet, yet they're not exactly selling millions of albums these days (or even hundreds of thousands of albums).

I love technology -- always have. If I were a richer man, I'd have just about every new gadget that came down the pike. I also love the immediacy of being able to go to Amazon.com, type in the name of a song, and buy it. In seconds, the song is mine. But I also lament how ephemeral everything is now. Sure, I can easily snag the songs I want, but I can't say that I appreciate that as much as I used to when I'd go to the music store and hunt through all the new 45s (or, later, the cassette and then CD singles) to find the songs I was looking for. I can't lay on my bed and pour over the liner notes of digital purchases. And even if I burn them to CD, it's just a crummy CD-R that I made myself.

I also think that the Kindle device is pretty damn cool, but I certainly hope books don't go the way of the Dodo.

So, yeah, even though I don't agree with Stevie completely, I can see her point and understand her concerns in a lot of ways.

Meanwhile, if Mr. Firecloud had been less hostile and biased in his article, maybe I'd give more respect to what he had to say. I see no "constructive criticism" there -- only bitching.

[RockALittle250]

Originally Posted by starshine

Well, maybe ...IMO they did make some valid points too. I don't by any means look at Stevie & Fmac or ANY other rock band (or person/actor/actress etc)....I don't look at them with rose colored glasses anymore. Well they all are kinda old...they don't want to change. They do think its still the 70's or want to in someways. They do want to be godlike or worship from afar....Stevie chose's not to be current. Of course someone is doing the 'Twitter' thing for her....I'm sure she isn't ...someone loaded the music on her ipod she didn't......I mean (not that it matters to her/Fmac either) Stevie's web site is a joke & it still looks like it did during TISL times & that was '01 already. Like I've said before & I'll say it again. Fan sites are better than the actual artists site.....thats sad cause her site should and could be the best around but its not. I agree that she doesn't stay current even with her OWN fans really. She could keep in touch more. She could answer those questions on her web site. She could sell tons of stuff on her own web site. The list is so endless.....but because of the Net everything is 'dead' to her. Remember she did call us fans out for stealing her music. It sounds like we get blamed for her not wanting to take some responsibility as an artist & for her own career or her own creativity or something like that. I'll always love her music but its sad that really since what 1990 we've had only 2 solo LP's by her the rest compliations or GH sets. Even though the 'live' cd is great and long over due its still a GH set just live at least to me. Anyway, I don't take what the person said as a bash but the person does make some great points. Points that don't go unoticed by me. No offence......its good to have a different opinion.......

It's not considered a greatest hits, because barely any of the songs on there are considered "hits" anyway...jeez, everyone ALWAYS tries to minimize anything that Stevie does. I don't even know why i come on here anymore because most people on here complain about everything and make all these demands of her...it's really annoying and every thread turns into the same thing. It's like beating a dead horse.

[Johnny Stew]

I forgot to add that I find it ironic that Mr. Firecloud's bright idea for Stevie to be the "talk of the town" again, is that she should re-record "Landslide," as well as a couple of covers or collaborations. I guess he didn't glance at the 'Soundstage Sessions' track-listing. Or does it not count because it wasn't a digital-only EP?