Earlier this week, I was telling someone about how happy I was to have “discovered” new artists KING and Timothy Bloom. They march to the beats of their own drums, and have created truly beautiful music that inspired me, and many others, I’m sure.
Said person saw this as an opportunity to go on a rant about how crappy music is these days. Insert eye roll and nail-filing here. You see, whatever you focus on expands. So I don’t give a shit about the schlock. I care about, listen to, promote and am grateful for the good stuff. The Afta-1s and Nikko Grays, the Georgia Anne Muldrows and Fertile Grounds of the world. The ones who are pushing boundaries and doing it with love. They deserve my attention.
A friend once told me that when people go around claiming things are dead (“Rap is Dead”), they’re just trying to affirm that they’re alive. And I couldn’t have said it more beautifully myself.
The person who used my praise for Bloom and KING as an opportunity to rail against the state of modern music just wanted to satisfy his ego. Because talking about crap makes him feel good about himself.
This is disheartening, because if he, and everyone else, spent more time focusing on what’s great, new and amazing, we’d all feel more alive. I am grateful for these underground artists who work in spite of the fact that people would rather talk about the bad stuff, and I’ll continue to support them. Will you?
