I think there is a lot of beauty in something that is great, but that does not become “main-stream.” I know it’s very cliché to say, “I’m not into main-stream music dude.” I would be one of these cliché people but if it helps I will provide some explanation.
Quite simply, the majority of mainstream music is horrendous because the majority of people want music that is catchy, talentless, and meaningless. Americans want a song they can listen to once and that they immediately enjoy. The majority of radio hits aren’t lyrically deep, they’re simply catchy.
Because of the “typical” radio tunes, I enjoy listening to music that is not as well-known and accepted by the masses, but that is rich in lyrical and musical content. This is not to say that either you are popular and untalented, or talented and underground. There are many that cross over into both or neither genre, but in general this is usually the way things go.
There is beauty in meaningful art that is not main-stream. There are many artists who make profound work up until a certain point in which main-stream America wraps their screaming teenage hands around the artist’s throat and literally force them to produce shit. It is hard for artists to become popular without becoming “too” popular. It’s hard to make catchy songs without making them “too” catchy or “poppy.” It is hard to sell out large venues without having at least 20% of the crowd being drunk and inconsiderate jackasses who care nothing about the band they just bought tickets to see.
The bottom line is that it is easy to “sell out” and become popular when you are talented. In actuality, it is very hard not to. The Avett Brothers are still making profound music, but upon signing to a major record label, have become much more popular and my experiences at their more recent shows have been extremely different than the first times I saw them live. The first time I saw them was in 2008 at a small bar called The Soul Kitchen in Mobile, AL. There were probably 30-40 people there and it was one of the best concerts I have seen. The crowd was intimate and the sound quality was great. I just saw them at Tuscaloosa’s new Amphitheatre and the experience was quite different. From trying to fend drunk guys off my girlfriend, to trying to understand the lyrics from so far away, to trying to shush people during the quiet songs, I lost my interest in seeing the Avett Brothers live (this being my 10th show).
I don’t think the Avett Brothers said, let’s sign with Columbia and sell out. I think they’re a talented band who makes great music that appeals both to music lovers and casual fans. When you reach popularity on this level, you’re going to have to start catering to a different crowd with bigger venues and sometimes different style music.
I respect bands that can reach massive appeal without losing the aspects of what they started with. Wilco is a band that has done a fabulous job with this. They have been around for over 15 years and are still playing very similar style shows to when they started. Their fan base has definitely grown (with their own record label and music festival) but they have managed to keep the level of “douche-bag-ness to a minimum, which is something I completely respect because it is very hard to do.
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