The Death of a Band

Upon watching a brief second of VH-1 this evening, one thing became exceedingly clear. Although I had respect for what seemed like an extremely forced performance by a band, the notion that bands once had been “good television” seemed strangely anachronistic. For a moment I felt, even as a schooled musician and seasoned veteran band musician, as if I were watching something from a different planet. There was no similarity to any past image of music-making I had ever seen. It was if a studio band isolated in a capsule and chronologically out-of-sync with modernism were being broadcast into cyberspace. The ameba that is the bubble of common human feeling was not present. What I was staring at was decades of evolution of the music industry. I saw the true death of the live band in all its failures. Upon reflection I saw an industry transformed by technology incapable of producing the real intent of live music. I saw posers, young people disconnected with the “club” experience and plugged into a band like USB cables plugged into their iPods selfishly awaiting immediate gratification of their own choosing. The democracy of live music, the freedom to dissent, and the pure visceral energy and rush of rebelliousness has been deadened by the internet. When all your entertainment needs are available on a wire, who needs a live band?