Those Who Make A Revolution By Halves

So I was talking with a UK friend yesterday about the Laura Snapes thing we wrote yesterday He had been talking to some fellow UK critics who were wondering the same thing I had been wondering. Who exactly were these nameless editors and publications who were perpetuating indie misogynist culture? My friend didn't think she meant anyone at The Guardian. He thought it dated back to Snapes' tenure at Uncut in the early/mid 2000's. This raised a question that neither one of us could adequately answer, is it really a good idea to call people out without actually, you know, calling them out? Doesn't that just invited idle speculation, and potentially lead to merit-less (or maybe not merit-less, who knows?) accusations to people who don't (or maybe they do, how can we know?) deserve to be accused.

To be clear, the problem with sexist male-dominated bullshit indie music culture is with the sexist male-dominatd bullshitters who maintain it, i.e. the powerful. The problem isn't Laura Snapes. But if she's going to write articles that only imply, or insinuate, or raise awareness, she isn't part of the solution either. Courage is a hard thing to have in this day and age of scarcity (remember this blog's motto: SC.R.E.A.M., SCarcity Rules Everything Around Me), but if Snapes, a connected, recognized name who has been writing about music for nearly 20 years (I don't always agree with her opinions, but she's a damn fine enough writer), doesn't have the courage to add specifics to her stories, then why would an intern, or someone just starting out, have that encourage. I guess my question is, if not her, then who?

We're quick to excuse people who don't rock the boat. Don't want to risk your job. Don't want to be unpopular. But the music industry is in the business of destroying souls as much as it is anything else. Let's watch this video of a child, called by Dave Grohl last week as the Future of Rock or some shit, (we all know Dave has been the Past of Rock since the instant Kurt Cobain's body hit the floor). I emphasize her age, not to take anything away from her as an artist, but to remind people that this seems, to me at least, a pretty vulnerable age to be doing this kind of thing for a living.

This video doesn't have anything to do with Laura Snapes and the subject we're currently talking about, except to remind us that the Music Business is a nasty, nasty place that treats its artists like disposable meat. It doesn't have to be that way. And while I respect Ms. Snapes' right to decide for herself what she does and does not feel comfortable disclosing, I can't help wishing she had named names. I don't think it would have destroyed her career. It likely would have earned her a large amount of respect (and probably a significant amount of death threats, let's be honest--I once had a guy threaten to beat my ass for not liking a recent Julia Holter album). It, at the absolute very least, would have made life uncomfortable for the people she named. Also, I don't want to support any of the artists or publications that were (un)implicated in her article.

The more I think about this, the more it bothers me. So what was the point of the article? There's some shitty people in the music industry? That it's as riddled with misogyny as the rest of the planet? I guess it's just what it says, that Ryan Adams is only the tip of the iceberg. Which is something, but, in the scheme of things, it's not much. The piece feels brave at first, but looking back now, it feels more afraid than anything else. It reminds me of a kid flipping off the teacher only when they're sure the teacher won't see them. It's a kind of cowardice, a cowardice that congratulates itself on its bravery. Again, Laura Snapes isn't the problem. The industry, the society, that makes Laura Snapes feel she has to hedge her bets, to write in fear, that's the problem.

The only solution is to be brave, to create solidarity, and to refuse to live in fear. I am rooting for all of us.