Why Journalism Is Shit and Art is King... in no real detail

After graduating, I've given some serious thought as to whether I want to be a journalist or not. Being a journalist, at its core, means using other people's words to tell your own story. We gather quotes and video footage of other people saying or doing things and then assemble them into a nice package to be easily digested by an audience that is groomed to believe it's the only way information can be transferred. But in the digital age and with a new audience of readers who grew up with the internet, raw information is becoming king. 

People of my age group are just as likely to get information direct from the source via Twitter or Facebook as they are to hear about it secondhand from a news outlet. The writer is slowly disappearing from the picture, and for me; a non-natural journalist, that's just fine. Because of this, I've decided to focus more of my attention on the interpretation of information, rather than its dissemination. By this I mean that I want to pursue my passion, music, as much as possible. 

Art is the interpretation of information into something that is as much editorial as it is informational. But it also has a personal-emotional context, making it the ultimate, most powerful communicative conveyor. - Me

Unfortunately, like the journalism industry, the music industry has taken a very big hit from the free distribution of its product online. But unlike the journalism industry, music is not restricted by its own stylistic medium. Music is a blank canvas on which anything can be placed. There are no rules, and this appeals to me very much. If the journalism and music industry’s are to overcome this financial hurdle, they must embrace the mentality of my generation as consumers; product will be free or cheap (Spotify), but will also be plentiful (indie bands/Bandcamp). There's been an insurgence of new bands and bloggers since the means of production became digitized and consumer-available in the early 2000s. In some way this is a good thing for artists like myself who strive to be different and original, but it also dilutes the medium. Plenty has been said about this, but as a guitarist, It's even worse. 

If you look at the "music" section of a news stand at your local Barnes & Noble, you might notice that about half of it is populated by these magazine that have the word "Guitar" as one half of their title; Guitar One, Guitar World, Guitar Player, Vintage Guitar, etc. Ever since MTV started the craze of "guitar player as god" during the 80s hair metal movement, more and more young musicians or people who fancy themselves musicians have been picking up the instrument. This is exactly why there is now a shortage of bassists, drummers, singers, and multi-instrumentalists. According to the mainstream media, guitar is all that matter. As a result, there's thousands of young guys with PRS guitars and Mesa-Boogie amps and five years of guitar lessons who think they are the next Steve Vai. Well it takes more than precise playing and cookie-cutter tone to write music that matters. Be in a cover band, I don't care, but quit diluting the internet with your filth that masks the real artists who are working their asses off trying to get a little recognition. Moreover, stop being of the mindset that you have to be in the spotlight all the time. That the guitar is the most important piece of a band, that lead guitar is all you are capable of playing and furthermore, that you are good at it. Because you are not. Maybe you were supposed to be a kick ass drummer or bassist, but the world will never know, because your mind was corrupted at an early age by the culturally-perceived-hierarchy of musicianship (just blew your mind, right?). 

So in the end, it's not the PRS-touting Mesa-Boogie playing guitarists fault that they suck. It's us, as a society for putting people on pedestals and feeling like we must diefy them (looking at you Slash). And if you wanna get really deep with it, it's just another form of the god complex that I love talking about; people need to feel that there is something supernatural, superhuman beyond ordinary existence that they can aspire to. Because Slash will live on forever through his music, right, but I'll die a nobody because I don't play a PRS or a Mesa Boogie and I only took a year of guitar lessons and a million people don't know about my sound? It's eternal-life man, and it's a fvcking joke.  

Musings on my life so far

When I was around eight years old, my father took me out shooting for the first time. Pistols at the break of dawn in some deserted field-turn-shooting range with flimsy cardboard targets and empty bullet casings scattered all about the ground. This memory has little to do with how my life has unfolded so far, but it is just one of many times when my father impacted my life in a meaningful way, just by showing that he cared.

I am a 22 year old soon to be graduate of the Grady College of Journalism. Over the past two years I've written, learned and been made to question. But after a year-long internship with a small music blog from Atlanta, I decided I didn't want to be a journalist. Still I struggle with this epiphany. Regardless, I decided I would finish my degree and after graduation dedicate my time to pursuing my real passion: music.

When I was fourteen I started being serious about the instrument of the guitar. I practiced everyday until it became almost as natural as breathing. I could always pick up the guitar and let the day melt away. But being a musician wasn't enough, so I decided to emulate a full band using computer software and began singing in the school choir to improve my voice. Over time I became good enough to write and record songs that were almost as good as what my contemporaries were doing professionally (at the age of 18, nonetheless). But music was never an option for me when I came to UGA. At least, not on the surface.

My dad told me that I needed to have a “fallback,” in case the music thing didn't work out, so I figured the next best thing would be music journalism. Through my various internships and local connections, I was able t meet some of my idols and learned a lot about other genres of music. But it was always disheartening to know that at the end of the day I would be thousands of dollars in debt for a degree that I didn't really want.

So I've persevered in my field of passion and my field of academia. I've written five albums in three years, earned a certificate in Music Business from the Terry College of Business, gathered 5,000 twitter followers using targeted marketing strategies, filmed music videos and performed live a number of times. The critics may not always like me (and they usually don't), but I like my music more than anyone else's. I listen to my latest album everyday in my car stereo, on my iPhone (which I am super lucky to have. You know how many people in other countries don't even have phones?) and on my home stereo. On top of that I subscribe to Spotify so I can listen to new music from other artists everyday. I am constantly discovering and analyzing new music. Making it a part of my life, a part of my music, sometimes, and a part of who I am. I've dealt with my endless mind-games and those nasty emotional past-traumas that everybody has – another thing I've learned from meeting people in college – through my art. What could be more important than that?

I've decided that my five year plan will lead me to New York. Brooklyn, to be exact. Something else my father doesn't exactly “approve” of. Or at least, he thinks it is impractical. Sure, it costs twice as much to live there, but I've been in Georgia my whole life. I want to get out and see if it's really like everyone says it is, or if it's exactly the same as it is here. I want to see things for myself. I'm tired of being told how the world is. Through coming to college I've been able to formulate my own ideas about the world, people, culture and our society. My opinions don't fit into some cookie cutter mold because I don't want to fit into a mold. I want to be unique and an individual. I find that thought very enriching.

I notice I haven't really said anything good about my Dad since that first paragraph. Well, he's payed my bills and that says a lot, I think. I've spent his money on books, tuition, food, rent, bills. But I've also spent it on comics, movies, dates, eating out, electronics, clothes, games and musical devices. In spite of this, he hasn't cut me off. He hasn't said “You're no longer my son and I'm no longer taking care of you.” In spite of our differences, he's been understanding, and having witnessed families being torn apart by egos and narrow-mindedness, that's a real good thing.

I've still got a lot of the same problems that I had when I first came to UGA, but being here has forced me to find new ways to deal with those problems that are constructive, rather than destructive. I'm naturally a “the glass is half-empty”-kind of person, but I'm trying to be a “the grass is green wherever you stand”-kind of person – which I just made up, but hopefully that makes sense.

I just lost my train of thought, where was I? Oh yes, to fund my lifestyle and my passion for creating music, I plan to stay in Athens until my lease expires next August. I will hopefully be working at a restaurant, waiting tables, which I have experience in, until I find a better job working in Atlanta or New York. But honestly, so long as I am making better and better music, I don't really care what my day job is. If it pays the bills, then it's good enough.

I'd really like to get married someday too, but that's a whole 'nother story and I'll spare you. But I will say that it involves geeks, metal heads, computers, poetry, comic art, fire spinning, yo-yo contests, flamethrowers, action movies and lightsabers, so you do the math.