New book: Joe Strummer Portraits 1981–2001

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Silent Majority
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Re: New book: Joe Strummer Portraits 1981–2001

Post by Silent Majority »

Yeah. Nobody's paying for nothing music wise after streaming services made themselves easier to use than pirating stuff and ensured they were close to as cheap as the illegal alternative as possible. For a young band, you can only tour (when there aren't pandemics) or sell merch. If you're a legacy act, you can make a mint giving your back catalogue to a giant corporation for their untrammeled use in selling cars and knickers. If you're dead (like Joe) or as close to dead as pretty much makes no difference (like Shane) then boutique high cost artifacts are the way to go. Lydon had a few similar pricy books out a couple years ago; he's a student of McLaren whatever he may claim.

I'm not gonna rebellion into money this. Whatever. If there's a market for it and you've set your price, like a fish stall, and people pay, then the cash is as rightfully yours as if got it playing big venues for months. We can still enjoy the power of the music and its message, whatever the current business conduct of our favourite artists, their handlers, or heirs. I respect those who aren't doing this stuff more, because it's cheesy and hyper-capitalist, but that doesn't mean that I have any particular axe to grind against those that are doing it. Pull your little red wagon, man, I don't give a shit. The planet's either about to be blown up or catch increasingly on fire over a period of decades.Your mileage may vary, of course, and if a luxury imprint is something you feel you need and you aren't a horrible cunt investment banker, I reckon you should follow the probable example of pre-millionaire Joe and find a way to nick it. Do something, that was his message.

If the punk generation, in their retirement years (as far from the glory days as they were from Hoagy Carmichael) were to really lose their goodwill, they'd be doing something really dumb and destructive like an NFT. I bet Lydon gets there first, too.
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Re: New book: Joe Strummer Portraits 1981–2001

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Silent Majority wrote:
06 Mar 2022, 8:13am
Yeah. Nobody's paying for nothing music wise after streaming services made themselves easier to use than pirating stuff and ensured they were close to as cheap as the illegal alternative as possible. For a young band, you can only tour (when there aren't pandemics) or sell merch. If you're a legacy act, you can make a mint giving your back catalogue to a giant corporation for their untrammeled use in selling cars and knickers. If you're dead (like Joe) or as close to dead as pretty much makes no difference (like Shane) then boutique high cost artifacts are the way to go. Lydon had a few similar pricy books out a couple years ago; he's a student of McLaren whatever he may claim.

I'm not gonna rebellion into money this. Whatever. If there's a market for it and you've set your price, like a fish stall, and people pay, then the cash is as rightfully yours as if got it playing big venues for months. We can still enjoy the power of the music and its message, whatever the current business conduct of our favourite artists, their handlers, or heirs. I respect those who aren't doing this stuff more, because it's cheesy and hyper-capitalist, but that doesn't mean that I have any particular axe to grind against those that are doing it. Pull your little red wagon, man, I don't give a shit. The planet's either about to be blown up or catch increasingly on fire over a period of decades.Your mileage may vary, of course, and if a luxury imprint is something you feel you need and you aren't a horrible cunt investment banker, I reckon you should follow the probable example of pre-millionaire Joe and find a way to nick it. Do something, that was his message.

If the punk generation, in their retirement years (as far from the glory days as they were from Hoagy Carmichael) were to really lose their goodwill, they'd be doing something really dumb and destructive like an NFT. I bet Lydon gets there first, too.
I agree with this to a degree because there is the risk of sliding into demands for purity and poverty when we all know that there isn't that much wiggle room within our hypercapitalist reality. So, sure. But if you choose to play the game of expensive limited editions and NFTs and all that crap, you're ceding much, if not all, of your claim to the megaphone to denounce predatory corporate behaviours. I'm fine with ignoring what you have to say when you assert some kind of "punk" moral superiority on other topics. It doesn't mean I'll condemn fans who are fine with it all—fandom always means making choices over what we'll tolerate—but if you made your reputation as someone outside dominant ideology, as a critic in word and deed, then go to these kinds moves where you're saying having plenty of disposable money matters foremost, I can't imagine why I'd find you a persuasive critic. Enjoy the cash, I'll enjoy the old music, but that's all.

And, yes, Lydon makes so much sense to do NFTs. Him crying poverty over his failed lawsuit against the other Sex Pistols, his personal history of having no real hesitation to make as much money any way he can, and the built-in model of PiL being a fake company—yeah, it almost seems a dumb bet to say he won't do this.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: New book: Joe Strummer Portraits 1981–2001

Post by Silent Majority »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
06 Mar 2022, 8:51am
Silent Majority wrote:
06 Mar 2022, 8:13am
Yeah. Nobody's paying for nothing music wise after streaming services made themselves easier to use than pirating stuff and ensured they were close to as cheap as the illegal alternative as possible. For a young band, you can only tour (when there aren't pandemics) or sell merch. If you're a legacy act, you can make a mint giving your back catalogue to a giant corporation for their untrammeled use in selling cars and knickers. If you're dead (like Joe) or as close to dead as pretty much makes no difference (like Shane) then boutique high cost artifacts are the way to go. Lydon had a few similar pricy books out a couple years ago; he's a student of McLaren whatever he may claim.

I'm not gonna rebellion into money this. Whatever. If there's a market for it and you've set your price, like a fish stall, and people pay, then the cash is as rightfully yours as if got it playing big venues for months. We can still enjoy the power of the music and its message, whatever the current business conduct of our favourite artists, their handlers, or heirs. I respect those who aren't doing this stuff more, because it's cheesy and hyper-capitalist, but that doesn't mean that I have any particular axe to grind against those that are doing it. Pull your little red wagon, man, I don't give a shit. The planet's either about to be blown up or catch increasingly on fire over a period of decades.Your mileage may vary, of course, and if a luxury imprint is something you feel you need and you aren't a horrible cunt investment banker, I reckon you should follow the probable example of pre-millionaire Joe and find a way to nick it. Do something, that was his message.

If the punk generation, in their retirement years (as far from the glory days as they were from Hoagy Carmichael) were to really lose their goodwill, they'd be doing something really dumb and destructive like an NFT. I bet Lydon gets there first, too.
I agree with this to a degree because there is the risk of sliding into demands for purity and poverty when we all know that there isn't that much wiggle room within our hypercapitalist reality. So, sure. But if you choose to play the game of expensive limited editions and NFTs and all that crap, you're ceding much, if not all, of your claim to the megaphone to denounce predatory corporate behaviours. I'm fine with ignoring what you have to say when you assert some kind of "punk" moral superiority on other topics. It doesn't mean I'll condemn fans who are fine with it all—fandom always means making choices over what we'll tolerate—but if you made your reputation as someone outside dominant ideology, as a critic in word and deed, then go to these kinds moves where you're saying having plenty of disposable money matters foremost, I can't imagine why I'd find you a persuasive critic. Enjoy the cash, I'll enjoy the old music, but that's all.

And, yes, Lydon makes so much sense to do NFTs. Him crying poverty over his failed lawsuit against the other Sex Pistols, his personal history of having no real hesitation to make as much money any way he can, and the built-in model of PiL being a fake company—yeah, it almost seems a dumb bet to say he won't do this.
Absolutely agreed. It's a shame we're stuck playing this game. I wish we had more MacKayes in the world.
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Dr. Medulla
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Re: New book: Joe Strummer Portraits 1981–2001

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Silent Majority wrote:
06 Mar 2022, 9:30am
I wish we had more MacKayes in the world.
I've said many times that a serious, rigourous, critical biography of Ian MacKaye could be an incredibly valuable guide to help lead a moral punk-inspired life.

(Alternately, a comparative biography of IM and Biafra could be immense, as they each represent two poles of punk expression, one of modest self-discipline and modeling and defiant operation outside the mainstream, the other of shocking, engaging politics to spur action. There's an old comparative biography of Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson called The Warrior and the Priest, and I could see framing Biafra and MacKaye, respectively, in similar territory.)
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: New book: Joe Strummer Portraits 1981–2001

Post by Silent Majority »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
06 Mar 2022, 9:52am
Silent Majority wrote:
06 Mar 2022, 9:30am
I wish we had more MacKayes in the world.
I've said many times that a serious, rigourous, critical biography of Ian MacKaye could be an incredibly valuable guide to help lead a moral punk-inspired life.

(Alternately, a comparative biography of IM and Biafra could be immense, as they each represent two poles of punk expression, one of modest self-discipline and modeling and defiant operation outside the mainstream, the other of shocking, engaging politics to spur action. There's an old comparative biography of Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson called The Warrior and the Priest, and I could see framing Biafra and MacKaye, respectively, in similar territory.)
Well, I'd definitely read it. Hell, I might even pay for it
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Re: New book: Joe Strummer Portraits 1981–2001

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Silent Majority wrote:
06 Mar 2022, 10:41am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
06 Mar 2022, 9:52am
Silent Majority wrote:
06 Mar 2022, 9:30am
I wish we had more MacKayes in the world.
I've said many times that a serious, rigourous, critical biography of Ian MacKaye could be an incredibly valuable guide to help lead a moral punk-inspired life.

(Alternately, a comparative biography of IM and Biafra could be immense, as they each represent two poles of punk expression, one of modest self-discipline and modeling and defiant operation outside the mainstream, the other of shocking, engaging politics to spur action. There's an old comparative biography of Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson called The Warrior and the Priest, and I could see framing Biafra and MacKaye, respectively, in similar territory.)
Well, I'd definitely read it. Hell, I might even pay for it
Heh, I was going to add that I'd readily contribute to a crowdfunding scheme if that were required.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: New book: Joe Strummer Portraits 1981–2001

Post by Mark^Bastard »

Silent Majority wrote:
06 Mar 2022, 8:13am
Yeah. Nobody's paying for nothing music wise after streaming services made themselves easier to use than pirating stuff and ensured they were close to as cheap as the illegal alternative as possible. For a young band, you can only tour (when there aren't pandemics) or sell merch. If you're a legacy act, you can make a mint giving your back catalogue to a giant corporation for their untrammeled use in selling cars and knickers. If you're dead (like Joe) or as close to dead as pretty much makes no difference (like Shane) then boutique high cost artifacts are the way to go. Lydon had a few similar pricy books out a couple years ago; he's a student of McLaren whatever he may claim.

I'm not gonna rebellion into money this. Whatever. If there's a market for it and you've set your price, like a fish stall, and people pay, then the cash is as rightfully yours as if got it playing big venues for months. We can still enjoy the power of the music and its message, whatever the current business conduct of our favourite artists, their handlers, or heirs. I respect those who aren't doing this stuff more, because it's cheesy and hyper-capitalist, but that doesn't mean that I have any particular axe to grind against those that are doing it. Pull your little red wagon, man, I don't give a shit. The planet's either about to be blown up or catch increasingly on fire over a period of decades.Your mileage may vary, of course, and if a luxury imprint is something you feel you need and you aren't a horrible cunt investment banker, I reckon you should follow the probable example of pre-millionaire Joe and find a way to nick it. Do something, that was his message.

If the punk generation, in their retirement years (as far from the glory days as they were from Hoagy Carmichael) were to really lose their goodwill, they'd be doing something really dumb and destructive like an NFT. I bet Lydon gets there first, too.
I actually think it's pretty punk rock to grift people anyway so I don't really care. It's more who are the people that will pay this much for a book that is still printed? For 5k I would expect to get a book that is full of hand-drawn one of a kind doodles or something I can hang on a wall and sell at a profit one day.

He's obviously not fucking over any kids or a broad base of poor fans but rather sending out a lure for some people that have too much money to know how to spend it.

To put it into perspective, that's more than the Rat Patrol acetate went for. A genuine once in 50 year purchase sold at auction.

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Re: New book: Joe Strummer Portraits 1981–2001

Post by Low Down Low »

I don't really know or much care about what Shane's financial circumstances are like, but given he's not working and hasn't worked in years, i figured this might be a handy, even well needed, payday for him. Good luck to him anyway.

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Re: New book: Joe Strummer Portraits 1981–2001

Post by Silent Majority »

Low Down Low wrote:
07 Mar 2022, 3:53am
I don't really know or much care about what Shane's financial circumstances are like, but given he's not working and hasn't worked in years, i figured this might be a handy, even well needed, payday for him. Good luck to him anyway.
He's doing fine, his Christmas payday alone easily exceeds an average salary many times over.
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Re: New book: Joe Strummer Portraits 1981–2001

Post by Low Down Low »

Silent Majority wrote:
07 Mar 2022, 4:05am
Low Down Low wrote:
07 Mar 2022, 3:53am
I don't really know or much care about what Shane's financial circumstances are like, but given he's not working and hasn't worked in years, i figured this might be a handy, even well needed, payday for him. Good luck to him anyway.
He's doing fine, his Christmas payday alone easily exceeds an average salary many times over.
I always understood that those royalties were shared out among the band, including the Kirsty estate, so while substantial, i don't know that they would quite match the sums people assume in their heads. I don't know for sure tbh, just speculating. I doubt he'll ever be going hungry anyway, that much for sure.

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Re: New book: Joe Strummer Portraits 1981–2001

Post by Silent Majority »

https://www.johnlydon.com/mr-rottens-nfts/

Vindication. Horrible vindication. Slightly better that a tiny percentage goes to a charity, but just sell the paper at auction and don't push us further to climate catastrophe in the process. There's a claim that it's carbon neutral, which I don't find convincing at all.
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Re: New book: Joe Strummer Portraits 1981–2001

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Silent Majority wrote:
24 Apr 2022, 1:12am
https://www.johnlydon.com/mr-rottens-nfts/

Vindication. Horrible vindication. Slightly better that a tiny percentage goes to a charity, but just sell the paper at auction and don't push us further to climate catastrophe in the process. There's a claim that it's carbon neutral, which I don't find convincing at all.
He makes it so easy to make cynical predictions.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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