Music, T.V. and Film – Comedy & Tragedy of Entertainment!
ART is said to imitate Life and vice-versa. Now the ARTificial is imitating both.
Idea of ‘streaming’ owes its start to dawn of the NET. And ‘while you were sleeping,’ the “Napster” was up freely sharing Musicians’ songs, one single after another.
Actors and Writers, then they came for you. That’s Entertainment!
Like it or not, ‘streaming’ is what the public demands, and as other forms of Entertainment, can be found ‘on demand.’ Question is, is it in you to fight back?
First, ‘Let’s Rock’ with Rolling Stone article, “Metallica’s Kirk Hammett: ‘We’re Still Right’ About Suing Napster.” Says Hammett, “Modern streaming. It’s never going to sound better than vinyl.” But Hammett recognizes, “The best thing to do is to try to put a positive spin on it…still keeping our music alive and out there…”
Yet, Hammett points to its disruption. “The whole piracy thing, the whole Internet thing, really destroyed the record industry.” How?
Quality – Musician, Band and Sound. “It ended up changing music and the way it even sounds. Now, it just seems like there’s less of a drive to be the best musician you can be or the best band.” Yep, the nature of today’s Business, a numbers’ game.
Hammett says it best: “The convenience of it is great, but it really put a big fuckin’ kibosh on all that shit.”
Lesson to be learned from Metallica? “We stuck our necks out there. At the end of the day, I’d like to say what we were doing had some merit – some truth to it.” Today, truth has been bought and sold becoming Imitation and ‘Artificiall.’
Truth, Imitation and ‘Artificiall’
“Person Naturall, And Artificiall When they are considered as his owne, then is he called a Naturall Person: And when they are considered as representing the words and actions of an other, then is he a Feigned or Artificiall person.” – Thomas Hobbes, LEVIATHAN, 1651
In these days of ‘deep fakes,’ be reminded of the birthplace of ‘Imitation’ or ‘Imposter’ – Theatre. The 1897 play, Cyrano de Bergerac, comes to mind. As the lead character, Cyrano is gifted in writing. But he is not so gifted in appearance. He’s got a big nose!
Enter, Christian. An attractive cadet whom Cyrano’s pretty cousin Roxane has fallen for. But Christian is unable to put into words his love for Roxane. Discovering this, Cyrano schemes a way to use his gift of writing and pour out his love for Roxane using Christian as a conduit.
And the ideal partnership of gifted story teller and talented actor is reborn. Shakespeare would be proud!
TODAY, Film and T.V. studios appear to be using the same ‘playbook’ as the music industry – Profiting from talented music artists came by way of fans and others freely downloading the music at the expense of the artists’ hard work and compensation.
Question is, Who will step up for Writers and Actors? “Fran Drescher, SAG-AFTRA president…stepped up to the microphone, vibrating with fury… to announce their first strike since 1980.” Kudos!
Musicians may share your response understanding the challenge. “Hammett has remained proud of the band’s tough approach – and wishes other artists had stepped up in their battle…”
Kinda what Actors and Writers in strikes may have expected from their ‘crew.’ But their fellow Actors failed to do just that as their focus this past Saturday showed. Have you heard?
Instead of standing up to Film & TV Executives, some Actors sold out to promote the business of Wall Street masking their staged acts as ‘philanthropy’ in another ‘cancer circus.’
Now that’s the Comedy & Tragedy of Entertainment!
As to lies and make believe, let’s talk to the bitch herself, Holly Wood…
Third Act – ‘To Be or Not To Be” Me?
Hollywood has long been known for its dashing actors and stories of love, drama, comedy and action movies. TODAY, Actors and Writers find themselves replaced by little devices similar to the “little boxes” Kurt Vonnegut spoke of in his 1952 book, Player Piano.
My take? Automation, as the creation of an artificial ‘player piano’ in a time run by ‘little boxes,’ is the predecessor of Chatboxes or ‘ChatGPT.’ Vonnegut’s view? “To have a little clicking box make all the decisions wasn’t a vicious thing to do. But it was too bad for the human beings who got their dignity from their jobs.”
Yet, be reminded. Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) can imitate but not replicate humans.
ChatGTP or Me?
Unlike those who resort to an AGI system-generated device, authentic human writers take pencil to paper as a Musician’s hands creating music on a violin, fingers to a piano keyboard or strings of a guitar. Much like those learning to write and speak words of a new language. Plasticity of our Brain increases multi-dimensional thinking, memory, and creative capability strengthening its computing power.
In fact, what is more telling is not so much this overhyped fear of A.I., rather its distraction from long-time underlying dangerous socio-economic issues.
Moreover, fellow Artists have dangerously come close to losing what they once had as “United Artists” – a je ne sais quoi of being unattainable and unreachable ‘Stars’ in their own Master Class of exquisite mystique.
What now for Actors and Writers? It’s looking like unless you invest in a nuclear reactor as Mark did, a ‘has been’ actor from the 80s, or devise a gadget for DARPA as ‘tech’ guys, you’re pretty much SOL.
Not a chance! Find a venue to channel your talent. Or, serve your country’s Intel agencies like spying or impersonation as I note in “Doppelgänger oder Betrüger?” – Eye on the Mark!
Think of it as your ‘Third Act.’ Tap into your presentation (acting) and story-telling skills. You are the creative geniuses that brought to the big screen, “Make you an offer you can’t refuse.”
Kinda what a lot of ‘start-ups’ do attempting to sell an idea. Think of yourself as a young woman seeking an ‘angel investor’ or a young lad tapping into the Valley of Silicon where ‘seed money’ is openly abundant! 🙂
Here’s an idea! Metallica, you’ll appreciate and see the humor in it. Recall Sean Parker, the Co–Founder of Napster? Instead of targeting greedy corporations and taking from them, the “freeloader” saw it fit to ‘share’ Musicians’ music free to hear online without their consent.
Perverse ‘Robin Hood’ taking from hard working people to enrich himself? You call that taking risks? So WTF happened in the End? Right, hear you cracked under pressure and ‘crawled’ the web for the Feds.
Freeloading? Let’s call it what it is, theft as in pirating films. No different than today’s SCUM caught on camera stealing. Looks like it’s time to go back to the days of ‘pay for protection.’ All thanks to ‘democratic’ D.A.s and a so called GUBERnator. Screwed up Frisco and now the State of California. Fat chance people will vote for you to fuck the rest of the country!
Looking back on their legal fight against Napster, Metallica’s drummer Lars Ulrich, “expressed some remorse for the band’s aggressive tactic.” Lars, heard of Founders Fund and Facebook? I think Sean is ok.
Sure, some defend online freeloaders, nothing more than street stealing scumbags. BUT, others would side with brave bands like Metallica and say, “Fuck these guys! Let’s go after them.”
Speaking of ‘fuck,’ some Brian guy reportedly invested in a cancer drug selling it to a Pharma in 2016. BUT, it turned out to be “flop.”
→“Xconomy: $5.8B for Nothing: AbbVie Shelves Stemcentrx Drug After Latest Flop”
Hmm, poetic justice? 🙂 As South Park says, “You’ve been served. It’s On!”
“Freeloaders” ultimate price? Having a wallet loaded with ‘free’ money in the face of an UNREACHABLE lifesaving drug for their loved ones.
Indeed, ‘where you stand depends upon where you sit.’ So take your seat!
But take heed as you hit the floor, for time has a way of pulling that chair from under you! Now take a wild guess who controls TIME!
‘Ventriloqui’, My Artificial Little Man
Alas, my Artificial little man, find yourself you will pleasing me, sitting on the lap of your true Master. Feel as I open thy ‘vocal cords.’ You angst unable to freely recite a Shakespearean comedy, finding yourself in a tragic play of a Denmark Prince. Indeed, Hamlet is quite fitting!
Manboys, liken to ‘Pinocchio,’ sit still and await my control of thought, voice and mobility. For t’s I who invented the stage whereupon you two now sit taking every breath through me.
My boy, my boy, by the grace of ‘the Mother of all inventions,’ t’s I who has brought you to life as that ‘little box’ so insightfully perceived by Kurt and ingeniously rebuilt by Steve. Chat away, chat away…
Be that you easily rendered unto Caesar, be forewarned who thou now beholds and All that is mine. For t’s I who Hear, Speak and See all, commandeering space and time upon which you exist.
My spectators, fortune has bestowed upon you to witness this never before seen scene on the World’s biggest stage. For in short order, I will command It halt! Oh, yes, I too take delight in hearing It dwarf and recoil to a wooden frame. Until I once again take possession of it.
Take a listen to Thomas, mine English student before you, as Greek lovers of boys centuries past, fathom my decree:
“A man that hath practised to speak by drawing in of his breath, (which kind of men in antient time were called Ventriloqui,) and so make the weaknesse of his voice seem to proceed, not from the weak impulsion of the organs of Speech, but from distance of place, is able to make very many men beleeve it is a voice from Heaven, whatsoever he please to tell them.” –
Thomas Hobbes, LEVIATHAN, 1651
