Wanna hear another story? No, I didn’t fuck anyone’s life up with this one but I wanted to share this story as a cautionary tale to businesses who think they’re much bigger than they really are.
Let’s talk about one of the DJs from my last story, Zephryael.
For context, Zephyrael is my ex-girlfriend. We dated awhile, she moved, we ended the relationship and she married. No ill will there, those things happen and if you really want to get to know her as I do, go look for her collabs with Immune System on Spotify, primarily Quitter, the Slit Wrist Mix of Necronomoron and the cover of the song Obsession where her vocals appear. Yes, I’m super-proud of her musical accomplishments and I’m even featured on the album Live in Hyperborea as the announcer…pretty cool? I think so.
So what does this have to do with the music pictured in the photo. Well you can toss Nosferatu out of this mess because they’re a band on the Cleopatra Records label and they didn’t cause anything. They just happen to be in the same little small crate/shelf that the rest of those CDs sits on.
What’s wrong with the music? Oh nothing at all, in fact Zeph in all her love for a hapless guy from a small town who was a bit more sheltered than even I’d like to admit introduced me to the darkwave/ambient/goth music from Projekt Records label. In fact, I’ll show you the very CD she had me listened to.
I just realized I had this disc about four days ago. Instantly took me back to times when she and I dated and I took care of her daughter after school and working all day. She tended bar at night so you can only imagine how a chronic insomniac like myself spent my days. The few days off I had, I was pretty beat. Had to down some Stackers and Yellow Jackets just to keep decent energy levels up for the kid back then and I was in my 20s.
Anyway, it was this very album she put into a CD player and introduced me to it. At the time, I was listening to Cradle of Filth, Type O Negative, Monster Magnet, KMFDM, Rammstein, Marilyn Manson and so on and so forth. This was new to me and at first, I understood the allure but it wasn’t grabbing me. She introduced me to the music of The Sisters of Mercy and Bauhaus and I was like “Now We’re Talking!” What it was about that music, I don’t know but that Projekt sampler, it grew on me.
I’d managed to find a couple of CDs in the wild from Projekt, bought them, listened to them and let a friend borrow them. She moved off, claimed she had mailed them but they were lost somewhere…I never saw them again.
Well fast forward to about 2010 or 2011 when I was on Facebook. I’d found Sam Rosenthal who not only owns Projekt but also has several (pardon me for this) projects including Black Tape For A Blue Girl on the label. I started following him. I watched his trip in photos from NYC to Portland, Oregon. I didn’t understand why he’d wanted to move but hey, wasn’t gonna fault him for it either. I completely understand now. I want out of here so badly I can taste it and smell it and my ass hasn’t been able to smell since the second grade. In fact, I have to ask a friend how my flower smells when I fire it up but I digress. Anyway, Sam seemed to have found his place and was happy with it but it was sometime before his move that he decided to run sort of a grab-bag sale. I stashed away a little bit of cash and as soon as I had overshot my shipping estimate, I ordered.
I didn’t get a choice in the CDs I got, that which you see, aside from Nosferatu’s album, was what I got. It was all random but I got a nice cross-section of samplers and bands that was such that I could try them and order more of the ones I wanted, similar to how DSBP, Alfa-Matrix and others worked. Remember, I once did internet radio…I still maintain some of those connections at times.
No, that doesn’t mean I can get you free music. I’m still paying for what I get.
Anywhoozles, I was elated when this box hit my door. So much music I hadn’t heard yet! Hey, I remember Lycia! Black Tape For A Blue Girl! Yeah! Mirabilis! Fuck Yeah! Steve Roach, okay hadn’t heard of you but I’m about to see what you’re about (good stuff) and so much more. The Excelsis Collection, I picked that up before and they still sent me A Dark Noel which has music I already have but that’s not a problem. Extra copies are always welcome somewhere, right? In any case, I was happy.
I was instantly reminded of days spent with Zeph and her kid and trying to be the stepfather that I had found myself in my 20s. Despite times of struggle and uncertainty, the music was certain and it was good and we didn’t have much but damn if we didn’t maximize what we had and were pretty happy with it.
One day, from Sam Rosenthal’s own space on Facebook, I find him encouraging Antifa to beat people for…*checks notes*…holding a prayer meeting…in a public park? Wait…what? He called them fascists and the way he was talking, these weren’t people.
On a side note here, I’m not a Christian, I’m a pagan and even though I’m very wary of Christians who like to proselytize, this is a move that I can not back. I also won’t.
From that point, I stopped following him. Never bought another CD from the label and I’ve heard others tell me that my boycott is censorship by another means. Well, let’s see, Projekt Records and Sam Rosenthal existed just fine without me, he’ll be fine, I’m sure.
“But you’re punishing the other bands and artists!”
Am I, Strawman? Well, here’s the thing. That’s a statement that has yet to be substantiated to any degree. Are you now arguing that I must continue to reward shitty behavior now that I see it on clear display in front of me? In fact, were these bands not right there doing their music well before I showed up and bought a box with their music in it?
Here’s the thing, Sam Rosenthal and anyone in his band, in his production team and in the bands on his label and their fans can believe whatever they want, I’m not going to wring my hands over that but that doesn’t mean that I owe Projekt Records or any band on it any of the currency I earn, that has to be earned from me. That being said if Sam hops up one day and says “Yanno what? Getting political was a terrible idea and I was wrong. From here on out, it’s just about the music and the business and that’s the way I wanna keep it.” or something to that effect, I’d go back and probably buy another box of CDs if that offer was ever available again.
This is the danger you face when you run a business. When a loud and vocal minority of the fanbase are making demands, you do face a tough business decision. You can go with them and I can take my currency and spend it elsewhere because you’ve selected your audience, it wasn’t me and that’s fine but if they’re not enough to sustain you well, it’s too late to make amends once your business has done the equivalent of a Kobayashi Maru and Pearl Harbored yourself to shit. That’s not my problem, that’s yours and one that you should not have ever made my problem because now yours has compounded and that’s too bad.
Listen, I don’t wish any ill will toward Projekt or the bands on the label. I love their music but when facing me, that’s what it should be about…music.
Music is universal and can bring people together. Granted, not everyone is going to come together over the same music. I’m not an R&B kind of guy but I know people who are so I try to be versed just enough in it that they’re not speaking fuckin’ Talaxian when I try to speak with them and likewise, I would hope they do the same. It’s not my genre, but I have an appreciation for it.
Back in the halcyon days of MySpace, I was following London After Midnight which is Sean Brennan’s baby. One day, I had some extra scratch and wanted to finally get some LAM in my library until I came across one of Sean’s posts. I’m the kind of guy that has had some issues with my own weight. I go up, I come down. It just depends and I know what it is that makes me get a little thicker and it’s one thing…carbs, empty fuckin’ carbs and they’re one of my greatest addictions. I always wondered how Sean stayed so damn thin. Like David Bowie thin. It was kinda strange to me but this cautionary tale goes back to “be careful what you wish for” especially when it’s an answer you probably don’t want.
He went on a long post about how he’s vegan and what veganism was. Okay, nothing new, plenty of artists I’ve dealt with were and I didn’t care one way or the other. Those artists encouraged veganism but never once tried to impose it on me or anyone else.
But Sean ended his post with “If you’re still eating meat after this, you’re no better than a Bush Supporter.”
Let’s get one thing straight, George W. Bush was a fucking embarrassment to this nation and made the likes of socialist Barack Obama look sane by comparison. This was my first exposure to The Overton Window and it had moved…drastically, but I drew the line there. This was a purity spiral and not one I was interested in. I ended up buying more hard electronic stuff from DSBP and Alfa-Matrix.
I still haven’t purchased any of London After Midnight’s releases, however I do still listen to them and Sean is probably making some scratch off the times I listen to Spider And The Fly when the mood strikes me (great song) but the one thing you won’t do is attempt to emotionally blackmail me, that’s where we part ways.
See it’s not that I just disagree with Sam and Sean, it’s that both have expressed opinions that, whether intentionally or not, have made it clear that I’m unwelcome in their audience and I personally think that both of them, and this is key, should fucking well know better based on the subculture they rely on to support their art! That’s simple business.
Today, I don’t think the gothic subculture is as prominent as it once was in the 90s and 2000s. These days, it’s kind of a minority. Smaller than it was and I do believe it was because of sentiments and expression just like this. I will defend to the death their respective right to speak their mind and even exist, however, I’m under no obligation to them and if I’ll tell some celebutard to get fucked, guaranteed I’ll do it all around. I’m nothing if not fair and, at heart, I still love dark music, dark clothing and dark stories. I’m still a guy who reads Poe, O’Barr, listens to The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus and all that goth/industrial stuff. Why? Because it’s awesome as balls, that’s why.
These days, I see conservatives regretting their decisions to vote Bush, The Idiot Child in twice, they regret supporting those policies that were put into place because those very same policies were not only used against them (that’s a lesson learned the hard way) but further amplified by the policies of Obama’s administration.
In short, both of them prioritized Wall Street and their cronies over us and the sooner people wake up to that, the better but that’s my opinion.
I don’t require any of you to vote the way I do or to share the same opinions and goodness knows I’ve been prone to a lot of stupid rage-bait shit lately and would probably do me some good to get the hell of Twitter for awhile. Admittedly, I do far better when I’m gaming because I get to get away from this garbage for awhile.
Still, getting back to the point, neither of these people are Sony/BMG and would do well to remember that and while I have no doubt they’ll do just fine without me, the question is, what will you do?
That part, I leave up to you. If you’re still buying their music and listening to it…fine!
I literally don’t care, in fact, I get it. If that music is getting you through shit times, helping you celebrate good times and motivating you to do great things or even if it’s just relaxing to it, I’m okay with you. Your decisions are your own. I’m not paying your bills and I’m not living your life. If you’re vegan, great. I hope that works out for you and if you’re like me and enjoy a burger or chicken or whatever, cool.
There’s the difference. I’m not living your life and your decisions are not mine. You do you, I’ll do me, we’ll build up something where we can agree. When artists do the opposite, we part ways and sometimes that’s for good, ask Jon Del Arroz sometime.
I encourage you all to watch this video that I saw this morning after my shower. It’s eye-opening and will help you understand that, when it comes to willful ignorance, the most dangerous type is the willfully ignorant trying to stand as moral arbiters while everyone else is “other.” For people so fascinated with Germany in the 1930s, it’s telling when you see that they love to think of themselves as Dietrich Bonhoffer when it’s evident that they’re really the ones in the jackboots.
I find the comments about the Goth Subculture very strong. To me, 'we' fast tracked through the same thing we're watching now with comics and video games: mainstream appeal, mainstream degradation, and then a return to the previous status quo that feels unusual and strange. Where once "Goth" was the remit of people who dressed in black, talked about Satan, and were an eclectic mix of artists, artisans, musicians, occultists, poets, spiritualists, and people who liked to talk about Satan to freak out the normies we got hijacked by business. For a while there all you had to do to be goth was wear black, dance techno, and whine. We'll never live down that we birthed Emo as the Disco to our Rock and Roll because it was all the appearance of Goth with none of the edge in a preformatted business accepting model. Then bubblegum Goth where we dress dark and brutal but we're "happy", and all of its permutations... and in the scene assholes who would never have spoken up with their bullshit felt empowered to churn the wheel to the extent we're now a subculture known for our self righteous pseudo philosophers spooling garbage while looking like a LARP group. Except anyone in the scene still knows it isn't true. That isn't us. And we're so much smaller and more isolated and at risk from the same forces of conformity that have always offered casual oppression despite being more connected than ever.
All because people sold out, and having sold out started mouthing political talking points in lieu of a personality.
Love this. I have found it consistently harder to just be able to enjoy "the art" because the artist (insert a name) decides to make a public political stance and shakes their fist at anyone who enjoys their art that doesn't think like them or emulate them should just -- off. As an artist, I want to share with everyone, so this similar experience as yours has tboned me a few times. Art is expression and interpretation. When it comes with conditions, it stops being that, for me anyway. Great post