Is the Money Really that Important?
[edit: ps: it’s kind of crazy how much hate this is inciting. first off, it’s weird that i’m being put into a position of having to defend my musical tastes. secondly, it’s weird that i’m being depicted as some crazy salesman pushing drugs on kids. i barely promote my own band. and it most certainly wasn’t my intention to embark on a big campaign promoting the millionaires. but if you attack me and ask me to explain myself, you know that i will most definitely rise to the occasion. and you will probably still not agree with me afterwards. but the only thing you’ve accomplished in the meantime is drawn a ton of attention to a band you wish would disappear. umm.. good job?
and listen, i may be wrong about my intuitions about the millionaires (and only time will tell this). and my opinions about them would thus no longer hold. and if so, i’d have to admit i was wrong. and you know what? i’d have absolutely no shame in doing so. (i’ve owned up to many worse things than helping a band that doesn’t “deserve” it). but even in this scenario (a worst-case scenario for me) even then — so what? who cares? the world is not created nor destroyed by one band. neither is any scene. neither is any one person’s moral fiber. If you really believed Millionaires were such a threat to “the scene” and such a threat to the moral integrity of the individual, you would just shut up about them. the only thing you are doing is forcing me to go out and defend my stance which is only going to accomplish the OPPOSITE of what you want. It’s pretty insane how a whole group of people can work feverishly and passionately with complete disregard for their intended consequence; fighting with a strategy that is almost in diametric opposition to their desired result.
i mean, i was 11 years old when i heard “Me So Horny” and i never would have heard about 2 Live Crew if it wasn’t for all those people trying to censor them. (saying very much the same things that people complaining about Millionaires are saying today):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_Live_Crew#As_Nasty_As_They_Wanna_Be_and_.22Me_So_Horny.22_controversy
“As a result of the controversy, As Nasty As They Wanna Be sold over two million copies. It peaked at #29 on The Billboard 200 and #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. A few other retailers were later arrested for selling it as well.”
so ummm… again…. good job?
anyway, throughout the hate posts, (and the chessey posts where kids quote my own lyrics back to me), there are some valid points being made. and i will try to address all of them when i do the ap interview (without turning the interview into a big forum about Millionaires). if after that, my stance still isn’t clear (and again, you don’t have to like the same things i like, but if you want to keep arguing, i’m game), and if you are still unsatisfied with my answers, and you feel like i am copping out, i’ll come back on here and write a dissertation with a thesis and a bibliography and the whole shebang. i mean i dropped out of school almost 10 years ago now, and i spent a good amount of those years swimming in a sea of vodka, but i think i can remember how to piece a coherent argument together.
this is an open letter between me and a cobra fan regarding the millionaires. i know there was a lot of shit about them last week, and i hope this can shed some light on the situation for anyone who was/is upset.
On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 5:43 PM, <> wrote:
Dear Gabe,I have been loyal fan since the beginning. The first Cobra Starship song I heard was “Hollaback Boy”.I buy your records, I wear your merch, I throw up my fangs.When people diss CS, I always defended you guys, saying how cool your attitude was, and how great it was you just wanted to let people have fun. I supported you when you were Artist of the Week, and when you did a song with Leighton Meester, I thought it was awesome. I told people how messed up it was to not want a band they love to be successful. Sure, I love small venue shows more than anything, but that doesn’t mean I’d take away your chance to headline a stadium tour if the opportunity came along. Even though I personally don’t drink, I had no problem with your partying ways, and I’ve always admired your dedication to the fans.
But when I heard the news that you were listed as A&R for The Millionaires, I lost a lot of my faith and respect in you.It’s not just that their “music” is so bad I can’t even listen to a full preview on Amazon. It’s not just that they’re capitalizing on what’s popular right now, despite having no talent or instruments. But the messages they send are horrifying! I’ve always thought the pressure celebrities have to be role models was unfair, but come on! Do we really need these three girls singing about how they want to be date raped? It’s repulsive.
I understand that (unfortunately) this sad excuse for electronica is in right now, but is the money that may be earned by signing this poor excuse of a band really worth it?
I hope I still have enough respect for you to buy Hot Mess when it’s released.Sincerely, Emily
P.S. You can post this on twitter, I really don’t care. Just as a favor, make sure my last name doesn’t show (I don’t think it does) because it’s very uncommon and I’d rather not be stalked.
——-Original Message——-
From: Gabe ¡Cobras! <gabe@cobrastarship.com>
To:
Sent: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 2:16 am
Subject: Re: Is the money really that important?
trust me, there is absolutely no money in releasing records. i don’t get shit from millionaires. i just stumbled across them and thought they were hilarious and showed it to crush , so they gave me a credit for it—which i thought was very sweet of them. [i’ve passed along a lot of bands to people in the past and never got any recognition for it. not that it [the recognition] really maters. but the money DEFINITELY doesn’t matter because there is none! (incidentally, pete has never seen a dime from us nor from the majority of the decaydance stuff)]
millionaires are a walking contradiction. deplorable in many ways, and empowering in others. the person who just sees the periphery will not get that. but i dug a little deeper. and i understood the joke and thought it was hilarious . they have attitude. and they don’t take themselves too seriously. i’ll take that any day over some kid singing about his girlfriend.
i really appreciate you being a cobra fan for so long. but just because i like something that you don’t shouldn’t make you not like my band. trust me, i’m sure i like a lot of other music you don’t like. it’s sad that that would make you lose respect for me. but i guess i understand. it’s more of a visceral reaction.
___________________________________
from
togabe@cobrastarship.com
dateWed, Jun 10, 2009 at 3:05 PMsubjectRe: Is the money really that important?
First of all, thank you for answering. It’s stuff like this that gave me respect for you in the first place. You’re right about it being a visceral reaction, I guess I just felt betrayed. But seeing your explanation helps a lot.
I get liking music that doesn’t take itself too seriously, hell that’s why I like you guys! But I feel like bands like you and 3OH!3 at least care a little about the music they make, while The Millioniares just “fuck around on garage band”. And songs about partying can be done a little better than just spelling alcohol.
But you’re right, it’s no reason not to like you. Two of my best friends love the Jonas Brothers, and I can’t stand them, but I’m still their friend. Man, I’m pretty unoriginal with things I hate aren’t I? I was just upset and confused when I first heard the news, but with time, even if I don’t like it, I can come to accept it.
Anyways, thank you very much for your response and for helping me understand. You’re one of my favorite bands to see live (how’s your throat doing?) and if you tour with The Millionaires when you promote Hot Mess? Well, I guess I’ll have to show up late. But the two songs you’ve released so far are awesome and I’d hate to deprive myself of them over something stupid like this. So I won’t.
And thanks for the lesson about the recording industry, sounds like a tough way to make a living. Good thin g I’m studying something practical like screenwriting. :)
Still your fan, Emily
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