Tuesdays

I spent most of today alone, and I think I'm gonna generally spend Tuesdays like this, in solitude.
Right now it seems as though every day is full of time time time, but once my internship starts, and once schoolwork becomes its usual demanding self, I think I'll need Tuesdays to just think, write people e-mails, and clip my finger nails.

The internet flip flops after midnight, so I wonder if this will actually post.

I got two e-mails today that reminded me of how scary things such as car accidents happen, but miracles happen as well. I'm so grateful that you guys are alive and well.

Are you reading this, Dad? Because I think I sent you the link [accidentally], haha. If you are, then hello and welcome. This is called a blog : ]

I'm not into economics at all, but these days I've been thinking a lot about art/culture, mass consumerism, and how we have this idea that the two are at odds with each other. If we hear this really indie Indie band, it suddenly becomes cheapened once it starts selling songs on iTunes. Now the girl who sits in front of you in class, the one who says "like" like every other word and wears Uggs during the winter and Rainbows when it's sunny, is listening to a once obscure band that finds itself in the company of commercialized artists like Britney and the Jonas Brothers in a very crammed playlist. Suddenly you feel like the band has lost its original quality of artistic genius and lyrical thought. "Oh they went mainstream," as if they sold their souls and hopped on the bandwagon of wealth and fame and all the stuff that "true" artists would not really care about.

But wait a second here--aren't we giving too much credit to the market? I mean, should we really yield to the idea that the market can affect the pith of an artist's work?

This is how I see things: we can argue forever about the artist versus the market. We can maintain some elitest perspective on how true art, music, literature etc. could never reach authentic existence with the influence of commercialism and marketing and labels and contracts and money. Or we can recognize that yes, sometimes the market ruins the art, but not always; it doesn't have to. We as a society, culture, generation what have you--need to think less of money. It doesn't have that much power, guys. It can make us feel all comfortable and stuff, but we don't have to let it ruin art. In fact, the market should be thought of as an instrument, a means to bring art to the mass. I think it's time we shed this notion that true art never reaches the mass, that it needs to remain obscure and secret and only enjoyed by classy, jazzy people. We need to stop thinking we are better than people.