DISQUS

Read that NYT piece and this one shortly thereafter:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/new...

Some people are getting the idea. But education is a bigass ship to turn around. We'll be lucky if the next generation gets halfway there.

Or rather, the weeding-out process of all the open mic nights. The good part about the internet vs. clubs (having had experience with both) is that the gatekeeping is more democratic. So far.

"The only point here is if you give everyone access to two guitars, a bass and some drums, something good is bound to come out of it."

I could not disagree more. Have you ever been to open mic night?

So glad you're on the mend, and glad to get a glimpse behind the scenes of the Hetfield Machine. I haven't loved everything they've done, but I always admired their stalwart individuality. No one else is quite Metallica.

Well said. I sometimes fear the descent into quotation hell. But that danger's been around a while. I can't watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail with anyone else around...

As the parent of a 2-year-old, I've been doing all I can to give him opportunities to explore the world around him. Growing up in Texas, he will undoubtedly have to swim upstream in order to get a good science education, but I intend to have his back the whole way. In our house, the distinction between science and religion will be very clear, and if he's not getting enough detail at school, there will be plenty of supplemental material on our bookshelves.

The fight has already begun. Just this week he pretended to make himself lunch, and said a prayer, something we never do at our house. It is a major factor in why we're switching daycares.

The godbags have been terrified of the advance of reason for two hundred years. Yet they utilize the fruits of scientific study to further their own ends. They have websites, call each other on cell phones, sit in air conditioned churches, and use ground-penetrating radar to excavate the Holy Land. Then they freak out when someone suggests causes for events that are not "God did it."

And yet I know Christians who understand the difference between faith and reason, and who are unthreatened by an increased awareness of the workings of our universe. I just wish there were more of them.

"Widow's weeds." What an excellent image.

One of the great old Waits tunes. As true today as in '76.

It's very refreshing to see this discussion taking place not only among artists, but also music consumers. Those of us who truly care about music and its creators are looking for the right thing to do rather than simply accepting the old model's iniquities.

As an artist, I believe in enriching the lives of my audience, and in the process enriching my own life. I want to do that every hour of every day, and thus far, it has not been possible. But as the sands shift, something amazing is beginning to take form. It has inspired hope in me for the first time since I naively entered the dogfight ring of the music industry over a decade ago.

Music done properly is communication. The same is true of social networking. If these forms can dovetail, the world will be better for it.

I'm glad Paisley's slugging it out with the rest of us in the Wild West of the SL music scene. Or the music scene in general, for that matter. Good luck...