What happened to people acting like professionals? What happened to indie rock ethics and punk ethos and karma and all that? What happened to being grateful that you have fans lined up to see you? What happened to the "show must go on?" You are Crystal freaking Castles. You don't get to call off shows because of a sound system.Now, I'm not one for false nostalgia. I've read Get In The Van. I've heard Damon Che and James Brown stories. I know that jerks have always been here and always will. Most of the artists I've dealt with have been total sweethearts, but there is always going to be some jerkwad out there. I heard some crazy Ray Charles stories from a former bassist of his. Membership in Captain Beefheart's Magic Band was like being in a cult. The problem I have is this: those guys or Bob Dylan or Elvis or even Stephin Merritt earned their right to be jerks. (Phil Spector, however, went way beyond those bounds; nobody earns the right to kill somebody.) I don't think that Dan Deacon or Crystal Castles or whoever has the career to back up their "Do you know who I am?" behavior. A band might be a Pitchfork Best New Music designate, but the answer to that question may still be "Huh?"
My theory is this: the incessant Internet chatter has made mini-celebrities of even the smallest bands, and this has emboldened this kind of behavior and created this sort of entitlement. Most musicians have some measure of egotism or narcissism, now matter how self-effacing or humble they may seem. Getting up on stage and playing your silly love songs requires it; you have to believe that what you are doing is worth somebody else's time. This kind of breathless fawning, no matter how small, strokes these egos, and artists start to believe their own hype. More breathless press outlets than ever before lead to more entitled jerks than ever before.
Amen, brother. Read the whole post here.
