Mellencamp celebrates.
Though I’ve never actually heard an entire John Mellencamp album, I’ve long admired him as an artist/activist and person of principle–sort of a shorter, less pompous Bono. As his meta-Lefsetzian music business analysis in today’s Huffington Post reveals, he’s also a keen observer of human nature and a much better writer than the New York Times’ latest guest columnist.
Warner Music Chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman shares the industry’s latest recipe for well-earned extinction at last year’s Web 2.0 Summit.
Not that the Farm Aid co-founder covers much virgin territory–where he excels is situating the industry’s* collapse in the broader context of our current economic woes**. Plus, Mellencamp has the insight to use “bean counters” exactly where–and how–the term should be used. And, without reaching deep into the insult drawer, there’s no better term for describing the incurable mooks who’ve been running (and mostly staffing) corporate labels since the early ’90′s.
Lest we forget, the con artists, shysters and bloodsuckers of the world wouldn’t get far without nutjobs to help distract America’s legion of sheep. This one wrote a song!
*”Industry” as in what’s left of the moribund corporate record labels formerly known as “major.”
**Hit the link for Matt Tabbai’s ridiculously illuminating piece about how little Wall Street cares for Main Street.
