MTV (EmptyTV) nods a sulute to Portland

Cary Clarke of PDX POP NOW and Mercury fame has a great response to this vignette in the Willy Weeks corresponding post: read it here.

I expected to be more mad at this video, but it was reasonably accurate; More than I would have expected from MTV anyway. I agree though, we have a lot more genres to offer! They didn't talk about our bike culture at all though, which I find a little weird.

dude.

why even talk to them?

I think that it's all a load of shit. How can they even talk about how diverse the music scene is here and they only have shitty pop bands. Now were going to have a bunch of yup fucks moving here from where ever mid west with the mind set that they can make beats on there keyboard and they can be the next "indie" sensation. I think MTV should stop trying to exploite things they know nothing about and just get back to playing fucking music videos.

Yikes. Fairly accurate? It depends on who and what you're talking about.

What about the old-timers and low-income families that are being funneled out of their homes (unintentionally or not) by ultra-hip baristas and bartenders that are willing to pay an extra couple hundred bucks for a basement practice space? The totally rad blues and bluegrass singers that play every night at outer-edges taverns, but can't scrape together a show elsewhere to save their life?

It's very telling that the bands which decided to talk to MTV reporters...well, DECIDED TO TALK TO MTV REPORTERS. I'd disagree with Cary Clarke, but maybe he's got it right: Nationwide coverage from a sensationalist corporation that is largely responsible for the dulling of worldwide culture CAN be a good thing - if you lack moral resolve or integrity.

Try not to get too upset about this, though, folks. We saw it coming from a mile away. This just helps weed out the musicians and individuals that are going to be the new generation's marketing puppets from the ones that actually give a shit.

We at Crappy Indie Music are talking bout this topic:
http://crappyindiemusic.blogspot.com/2008/07/dear-noah-i-couldnt-resist.html

Here's what we are saying about House Show BS:
http://crappyindiemusic.blogspot.com/2008/07/listen-portland-house-party-goers.html

In response to the MTV spotlight on Portland, called "Everyone Is In A Band":

First off, I am scared to death that this Portland spotlight deal was actually somewhat legit . . scared for many reasons. The biggest fear is that a ruthless media giant like MTV has the capability to figure out whats going on in the Portland music scene and then show it to the rest of the country and possibly world, alongside their featured spotlight on the Jonas Brothers or Real World special or something. If anyone has been around long enough to remember that MTV was largely responsible for turning two-and-a-half minutes of shit into the meat and bones of the music industry, you'd feel somewhat similarly when they tried to poke their noses in your business. And yes, I do feel like this is my and our business. This is a scene that we create and contribute to and decide how it is represented to others.

Second of all, the tone of this video is mainly that of "Hey everyone, Portland is awesome and cheap, so move there!", which is a really self-defeating message of any Portlander in the lower income bracket to spread, especially artists. Portland is awesome for musicians and artists because its cheap enough to allow us time and money to make awesome shit. When people start coming in by the thousands, the first things that go are job opportunities, cheap housing opportunities, and your ability to live cheap and create art. Lets not forget flat out gentrification and racial divides, but it seems that is always a secondary concern.

Lastly, for the reasons mentioned above and others as well, I can't help but be turned off by any band that chooses to speak in anything MTV related. They may be awesome people (as some o f them are), but by speaking in this video, you are choosing to get your band's name out nationally at the consequence of possibly hurting the music scene here for the reasons previously mentioned. I know its not the hugest deal in the world, but all in all, if anyone really cared about keeping a strong music scene here, in my opinion, they would have chosen to opt out on this one. Thanks to those who did refuse to speak. Some were my friends and they have gained tons of respect on my part. You are what makes this thing we have going so awesome. Thanks for mentioning Pegasus as well, PC-PDX.