up with the grups*.

read the article published today at the new york metro. not only is it a pretty good write-up, it's rather good timing after my spending a few hours last saturday in grupster central, williamsburg in brooklyn, where everyone ponies up for the same emo haircut, slouchy leather boots, black leggings, and ironically dressed babies. it was definitely an interesting ethnographic phenomenon, and though i dont discount that the people or the art or music or fashion are valid, but it's clearly a throwback to vintage, the glorious nostalgia, pink striped dresses and neon bmx bikes.

the crux:

There’s that tricky word again: passion. What’s with the Grups and passion? It’s all anyone wants to talk about. Passionate parents, passionate workers, passionate listeners to the new album by Wolf Parade. Even Rogan lights up when he talks about touring Japanese textile factories to find the perfect denim for his jeans. And I start to realize: Under the skin of the iPods and the $400 ripped jeans, this is the spine of the Grup ethos: passion, and the fear of losing it.

You see, it’s not that Grups don’t want to work; they just don’t want to work for you. the grup existence is about reimagining adulthood as a period defined by promise, rather than compromise.

it's true. my worst fear (which keeps me up at night, with tissues at the ready) is the loss of passion. without that, there is nowhere to turn for comfort.

as for the conflated generation gap, only time will tell if we'll have straight-laced tweed-wearing kiddies on the rise. but more seriously, hopefully a good thing will come out of this, in the form of actually new music. it's true, a lot of the indie stuff nowadays sounds like indie stuff from... decades ago. where is the (r)evolution in that? and the path of true music revolution will probably take a different turn nowadays, too. this nytimes article on garageband is pretty interesting, and not just because the writer entreated nick harcourt to listen to bad music. (that was just amusing.) but with lower barriers to entry (for artists) and faster access to media (for listeners), the system can be very volatile indeed.

ergo, my philosophy is to support independent artists, labels, and sellers. make purchases count at twisted village or other music or satellite records instead of amazon or borders (read the sad tale of houston independent musicsellers here). i hope to use my broadcasting powers for good and publicize musicians on my radio show and this here blog. to listen to morning becomes eclectic and keep up with sxsw news. by strengthening the underground--the creatives fueled by their passions--hopefully we all can foster a great (and truly new) art generation.