Excellent response. My post was meant to invoke conversation.
I don't really have a problem with Burns/Jazz using corporate sponsorship to
present his work to the masses. I WAS surprised by the commercial content
prior to the shows airing.
FYI - I am an artist who makes a living at what he does and I know the line
you speak of too well. One of many reasons I remain "underground" in what I
do is - integrity.
Thank you very much.
peace,
R. Scott
framboise@mindspring.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nathaniel Rahav" <nat@rhythmlove.com>
To: "R. Scott" <deebull@mindspring.com>
Cc: "Steve Catanzaro" <stevencatanzaro@sprintmail.com>; <acid-jazz@ucsd.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 7:00 PM
Subject: Re: Ken Burns on Charlie Rose
>
>
> I think we tend to get very critical of artists whose work reaches the
> masses because they immediately become part of the giant capitalist
> machine that has ravaged so many honest and noble hearts on this planet.
> I think in this particular case you are being unfair to what I see (and
> stand by to my original comment) as a labor of love. I say this
> only because I saw Burns talk about his work on Charlie Rose and
> I trust his motives based on that.
> Sometimes you gotta bite the bullet and get some corporate sponsorship in
> order to reach the masses. At least there are some companies out there who
> are willing to support the undertaking.
> I think you should save your anti-capitalist sentiments for some of the
> more wicked shit that goes down in this country on a daily basis.
>
> America is indeed a land of contradiction. I would love to see the
> government support a project like this through public TV and NEA and all
> kinds of other great institutions that have been pummeled into the earth
> in the last 20 years.
>
> We all have to hustle a little in this friggin country (or
> any other for that matter) to survive, and some have to hustle a lot
> harder if they want to get their message across to the masses. Its no
> reason for you to be critical of them, especially if they manage to
> maintain some degree of integrity.
>
> To be an artist in this country, or in fact to do anything you love, you
> have to walk a very thin line that necessarily involves compromise,
> and in this case "corporate advertising" in order to get your message
> across.
>
> Perhaps the symbol of America is the dollar sign, but you cannot overlook
> the fact that all of the artists whose stories are told in this
> documentary also had to walk on this fine line between making music and
> selling out, and if it wasnt for their ability to do that, we wouldnt have
> their recordings today to reflect upon their genius.
>
> peace,
> Nat
>
> On Tue, 9 Jan 2001, R. Scott wrote:
>
> > Here's an excellent point. I sat waiting for the thing to start and had
to
> > wait 10 minutes because of corporate advertising. And the commercial for
the
> > "product" at the end......geez!
> >
> > The symbol of America is a dollar sign.
> >
> > peace,
> > R. Scott
> > framboise@mindspring.com
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Steve Catanzaro" <stevencatanzaro@sprintmail.com>
> > To: "Nathaniel Rahav" <nat@rhythmlove.com>; <acid-jazz@ucsd.edu>
> > Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 12:34 PM
> > Subject: Re: Ken Burns on Charlie Rose
> >
> >
> > > Nat wrote;
> > >
> > > The whole thing is definitely a labor of love and not a commercial
> > venture,
> > > > which immediately increases its credibility thousandfold.
> > > >
> > >
> > > Don't kid yourself! I have never seen so much ancillary packaging for
a
> > PBS
> > > production. Videos, DVD's, Books, CD's.... and check out the gigantic
GM
> > > spots. "Public" broadcasting? Kind of laughable.
> > >
> > > Burns may be passionate, but he'll probably make more money off of
this
> > one
> > > thing than Art Tatum made in his whole career....
> > >
> >
>
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