My Two Cents

So, a lot of you probably think you know what this blog is going to be about given the subject matter of my last blog and the history we witnessed today. But you're wrong. Sorry. I'm not going to talk about that. All I'll say is... For anyone that is posting pictures of a man and woman saying you believe marriage should be between a man and a woman, I have GREAT news for you... You can still believe that. No one is making anyone marry someone they don't want to marry. And the law is not making churches perform marriages they don't believe should be performed. There are people who believe remarrying after a divorce is wrong, but a state will issue someone a license anyway if they want it. You don't have to agree with gay marriage, but that doesn't mean it should be illegal. It is a civil rights issue, not a religious one. Today's decision did not affect you at all. Your marriage is STILL legal! It was never threatened. Your life is still the same. :) For others, their lives were changed completely. They have hope that full equality is on the horizon.

No, my blog tonight is not about THAT though. I don't feel the need for contraversy. Although, I just gave you my opinion anyway. :) Anyway, my blog tonight is about my first love... Music. I won't talk about anyone I don't like (lesson learned), but I will talk about my first Bonnaroo experience, who I do like, and my feelings about internet radio. Ooh... you ready for this? Get ready! My opinion matters!!

Bonnaroo
I went to Bonnaroo for the first time this year. Yes, I am a HUGE music lover and had never been to the festival that takes place in my backyard. I am going to be 35 this year and had a panic attack when I thought about telling my kids that I never went to Bonnaroo. "Mom, I thought you LOVED live music", I could hear my future son saying. My daughter was a little meaner and told all of her friends that I was lame and a fraud. It hurt. So, I went... for the sake of my relationship with my future kids.

It was amazing. I didn't shower for 4 days. I had to use a porta-john. I slept in a van with Emily Watson (you're welcome for the shout out, Emily! And thank you for the van.). I played games. I saw so many amazing bands and that trumped everything else. Do you know who I saw??? BJORK!!!!! Besides Emily, Bjork was the reason I went to Bonnaroo. I have loved her for 20 years. I have never seen her live and didn't know when I would ever have the chance to see her again. So I threw the money down, asked my dad for permission to miss Father's Day, put in my vacation request, and met Emily in Murfreesboro to load up and head out for the weekend. I was so excited and so scared at the same time.

Wednesday night, we stayed up all night. Like, all night. We stayed at a friend's house in Manchester that night. I think I went inside to make pizza rolls with the group and saw an open chair and sat down and fell asleep. I slept sitting up in a chair for maybe 2 hours. Maybe. We woke up and got in our cars and caravanned out to to the farm. We got our spot, set up camp, and opened a beer. It was early at this point, but what else was there to do?

Thursday night might have been my favorite night at Bonnaroo. We went into Centeroo and everyone fell asleep on the grass (again, no sleep). I was on such a high that I wasn't even tired. I went from tent to tent all alone to see different bands. I couldn't believe I had never been there before. Random people were giving me high fives and I was listening to really good bands. I was in heaven.
(Bands I saw Thurs: Milo Greene, HAIM, Walk the Moon, Purity Ring, Father John Misty, Paper Diamond, and Alt-J)

Friday was awesome too and I was so excited to get back into the music after a morning at camp. We were about a 30 minute walk from Centeroo, so once I went in, I stayed in all night. Friday, the bigger stage opened up and more people arrived and I was a little overwhelmed, but still having fun. I made the mistake of trying to get close for Wilco and then realized I had to fight the crowd to get out because they were all trying to get close for Sir McCartney. That was the closest I got to death.
Side note: I feared I'd be the 34 year old girl you read about that dies at Bonnaroo every year. Honestly, it's not that easy to die there. It's hot, but it's just not somewhere where people are dropping like flies and you have to fight to survive (which is how I imagined it). I don't do drugs. I know when to switch to water. I find shade if I'm hot. It's all just kind of common sense.  
It was all worth it though. Wilco was awesome and Paul McCartney put on an amazing show. I was, actually, hoping he would close it out on Sunday because I don't care about him and I thought I could leave early. However, he put on an amazing show. I was kind of bored for the first part, but once he started "Let it Be", I was on my feet and enjoyed every second of the rest of it. Plus, it was fun to see Emily so happy (yep, another shout out - you asked for it).
(Bands I saw Fri: Of Monsters of Men, Wilco, Paul McCartney, and The XX - I feel like I saw more, but can't remember who)

By Saturday, the crowds were even bigger. It got to be very crowded and I couldn't meet up with anyone I was trying to find because of all of the people. It was still fun though. Plus, Saturday was Bjork and she was the reason I was here. Man, 20 years I have waited. One time my old roommate, Maggie, and I were at a party and I went to use the restroom and I didn't return for 2 hours. She found me glued to the TV watching Bjork videos. We then bought the videos and watched them almost daily. I have a bucket list... stuff I want to do before I die. Jump on a moving train, swim with Great White Sharks, and see Bjork live are on my bucket list. I am now one step closer to dying happily. She did NOT disappoint. What an amazing performance and such a crazy outfit. Man, I just love her! Definitely worth the money to see her live. Who knows if I'll ever get that opportunity again. Mumford & Sons had to cancel due to their bassist having brain surgery, so Jack Johnson stepped in to fill in their spot. I was a little disappointed, but not surprised. I mean, he had brain surgery!! I was hoping The Cure would take their place, but that was just a dream. A dream that would have been amazing if it had come true. Oh well, Jack Johnson was enjoyable. I'm not a huge fan, but he was nice background music while sitting on a blanket and sharing my long island tea with Emily. :)
(Bands I saw Sat: Matt & Kim, Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, Bjork, The Lumineers, Jack Johnson, R Kelly, and Billy Idol)

By Sunday, I was beat... 3 days was enough for this old lady, but I tried to carry on (falling asleep at most shows I ventured out to). Actually, I think I only made it to 2 shows on Sunday. We left early because Emily had a date with her husband to watch TV and I had to be in Memphis early the next day. We spent a lot of time at camp that day playing games, cleaning up, and packing. But really, I don't have much to report on the music because I fell asleep everywhere we went. :)
(Bands I saw Sun: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and The National)

Anywho... Bonnaroo was awesome. Would I go back? I think I really would. Get The Cure there next year and I'll be a horrible daughter, missing Father's Day, two years in a row.

Internet Radio
Honestly, what inspired me to blog today was this subject. Okay, I get it... People don't buy music like they should. BUT, I want to defend some of us (including me) who do buy music.

I listen to Spotify everyday at work. I work for a company that sells music, so I get music licensing. My sister is in music management, so I get the artists point of view. I know a lot of songwriters, so I understand that it sucks that someone can get their song for free. I get it. People should buy music and not just listen to it to free.

In defense of people who use internet radio like Pandora and Spotify though... I just feel the need to defend myself because I'm sure people see my Facebook all day long telling them what I'm listening to for free and they get upset. I use it purely for convenience. Maybe I'm alone in that, but it's true. It is so much easier to turn on Spotify than to make sure my iPod is charged, or that my iTunes library is synced to my work computer. That is all a hassle. With Spotify, everything I own at home is at my fingertips. And everything a friend recommends is there as well. When I listen to something I don't own though, I buy it if I like it. I really do. I don't buy clothes. I don't buy shoes. I buy music and concert tickets. That's all I buy. Well, and beer too at the shows. ;)

I understand there is a problem with free music at anyones fingertips. I get it. All I know is that if I like a song, I buy it. If I like an album, I buy it. If I like an artist, I buy a ticket to see their show. Ask my bank acocunt. I don't just sit and listen to music for free on the internet, even though that's what it looks like to the casual onlooker. I spend WAY too much money on music.

A few weeks ago, I became obsessed with a certain song... I bought it on iTunes. I decided I needed the actual CD as well. So, I bought it 2 times... Yet I also listened to it at work on Spotify at least 275 times. Yes, it's that good. Once I buy a CD, I can listen to a song as many times as I want. I can put it on repeat and it will continue to play that one song until I decide I've had enough. So the same should apply for internet radio. I don't take my iTunes to work. I don't take CDs. I listen to Spotify. And if there is a song I'm obsessed with, I will listen to it over and over again. Just like on a CD when I keep hitting back to listen to the same song the entire way to Knoxville (yes, I do that quite often - sometimes practicing my karaoke abilities and other times just because I can't seem to turn it off).

My point is is that just because a song is listened to on Spotify or Pandora, it doesn't mean that listener doesn't own that song somewhere else. It may be deflating for the artist and songwriter to get a small check and see the number of times their songs were played, but that doesn't mean those people that played them didn't also buy the CD and didn't also buy a ticket to their show.

Do some people take advantage of the free streaming? Absolutely!!!! Most probably do. However, I'm just defending those of us who use it out of convenience while at work. Compare my iTunes library with my Spotify playlist history... You won't find much difference. There have been a couple recommendations that I haven't enjoyed so I didn't buy and then there was yesterday... the new Bronze Radio Return came out and I loved it so much that I'm going to get it on vinyl tomorrow.

So, long story short... I felt defensive today. I felt that some people may see what I listen to and think I'm one of the ones who doesn't support the music industry. That's just not true.

Music is my life. I love it. I could cry talking about certain artists and songs. I may cry Sunday if My Morning Jacket plays Golden (which I have listened to over and over while writing this blog) and Wilco plays California Stars. That will be a perfect night for me.

I support music. I support artists. I support songwriters. I listen to online radio.

If I play a song 10,000 times on Spotify, trust me... I own it and it's on repeat on my iPod as well.

If you listen to Spotify or Pandora and DON'T buy music too... you're in the wrong. That's stealing. It just is. I don't care if it's legal or not. If you like music, support musicians and songwriters. End of story.

That's all... If you're disappointed in the subject matter of this blog, I'm sorry. I would have written about DOMA and Proposition 8, but my friend (Charlsei) posted this today and it summed up everything I was thinking anyway. :)

Now get back to your internet kittens. You know how much I love them. ;)
Alison