"The Trouble With Music" (AK Press) by Mat Callahan
By Abel Folgar
Monday. Nov 28, 1:22 AM
Turn the music up and open your eyes!

Remember the last time you popped into your local record store (and I don't mean the friendly and cool mom and pop outfit: I'm talking 'bout Tower, Virgin, Best Buy, et al.) and bought a CD for a sizeable percentage of your paycheck just to get home and find out that, other than the single being pushed by your local radio station (and I don't mean the mythical college radio station where the DJ was god and catered to your tortured soul), the rest of the 15-plus track album is a complete and total piece of shit? Remember that? That moment when you thought the entire universe had conspired to make you look like an insignificant sludge mark on humor's white-fronts? It was bad, wasn't it? You wanted to take it back and spend the rest of your life "illegally" downloading from the internet.

It's okay pal, we've all been there. We've all bitten the hot lead on that bullet.

Personally, I've always thought the demise of the 45 rpm or the vanishing über cool punk rock 33 1/3 rpm 7" mini-album (no fillers! all killers!) were the reason why we get crappy ass albums ruining the music scene and our pockets. Like what the hell, these assholes couldn't have gotten it together to write more than just ONE good song? And why exactly did I pay $14.99 for this shit? My friend's band pressed 1,000 copies of their own disc and sells them for $5.00... well, there are many reasons as to why the industry has gotten the way it is and unfortunately there aren't many places where we can get answers. Real, accessible, succinct answers.

Well, until now. Relax pal. It's a good read too.

Mat Callahan is not only a highly opinionated author, but is smart enough to meet each opinion with carefully researched details. Let's say his book, The Trouble With Music, blazes through many myths the big wigs in the biz have perpetrated onto us with carefully chosen words. And Callahan has every right to. If you think people like your parents fucked it up, here's a heads up before you continue: Callahan is in his 50s. And he's been a working musician since he was 13. This San Francisco native has been involved with music in one way or another since his childhood days in his mother's dance studio, Peters Wright Creative Dance.

He has composed for performances as well as scored a pair of films and theatrical productions. He's released a number of albums with outfits like The Looters and The Wild Bouquet. He's toured the world. He's philosophized about music, he's done A&R, he's been involved in varying degrees with the biz and is not afraid to point out its short-comings.

From the technology that creates to the technology that allows for "illegal" downloading, Callahan explores through a series of tightly linked essay-styled vignettes, the many aspects of the music industry with excellent examples of both indie and mass appeal. His writing ultimately leads to a very significant charge, and one that I believe: you the consumer are as much to blame for the crappy state of affairs. Not because you're downloading, but because we've bought their crap for too long. That doesn't mean ditch your records and become some outsider. No, it means buy wisely and support wisely.

This is not exactly a quick read, because Callahan does load up on the detail (loads up but doesn't bog down), so don't be afraid, because it is in the end an enjoyable read that will open your eyes. The eyes of fans across the genres and the alphabet: from ambient to zydeco!
www.akpress.org

Abel Folgar

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