What kind of crazy fucked up world do we live in where politics is more interesting than music, where I’d rather listen to political talk than music on the radio?

John Lennon got in trouble for saying the Beatles were bigger than Jesus, absolutely true in those days before the surge of evangelicals.  He was pilloried for this truth, but of course all is forgotten, now that he’s dead, unfortunately.  Today’s acts won’t even take a stand.  It might offend some far-flung newbie, take ten people from the audience count…  What did we say in the sixties?  When you don’t stand for nothin’, you stand for nothin’ at all?

The acts are befuddled.  Oh, a few played the conventions.  But the only statement being made is by John Mellencamp, who sadly covered "The Times They Are A Changin’".  And certainly they are, because the hopes of Johnny Boy getting any exposure with that number are about nil.

At least the talk show hosts have personality.  I lean to the left.  I’ll take Mike Malloy and Randi Rhodes.  But, even I’ll admit that Rush and Dr. Laura are fun to listen to.  Music jocks?  They’re all like Ryan Seacrest, so bland as to be insignificant. Who are these people and their stations made for?  They’ve got no personality, they’ve got no EDGE!

Barry McGuire spoke of the eve of destruction?  There’s no politics in the Top Forty.  Just forgettable tunes by forgettable acts.

Used to be a rock star was someone who earned his stripes.  Who lived in his own little world, governed by his own rules. That’s why we revered them.  Oh, we liked their music, but we LOVED them!

Even Van Halen and the brown M&M’s.  That’s what incredible riches/fame based purely on your music bought you. Unlimited sex and the fulfillment of unlimited appetites.  You got to define the world!

But then the world defined the artists.  You had to kiss Tommy Mottola’s butt to become a priority.  And then whore yourself out to lame radio and television.  You had to play ball!  You had to change your music to get into Wal-Mart, you had to suck up, you had to sacrifice everything you stood for, if you ever stood for anything at all.

So now, following in these sold out footsteps, we’ve got young acts who don’t even know what a rock star is.  They want their own perfume and a bunch of money.  And, if they’re lucky, they’re featured in the hungry media for a spell and then dumped.

Yup, music stars are grist for the gossip mill.  But Jessica Simpson’s fifteen minutes is almost up.  Eclipsed by her untalented sister who had enough plastic surgery to also become a babe and is married to Emo-Boy.

So now they’re calling Sarah Palin a rock star.

She’s no rock star.  She’s beholden to God when Jimmy Page and the rest of the classic rock icons were heathens.  Not even having the chance to thank the deity because NARAS didn’t honor them at the Grammy Awards.

Sure, she did a bit of artist development.  But was she ready to blow up TODAY?

The faster your ride to the top, the quicker your ride to the bottom.  If Sarah Palin doesn’t become Vice President, she’ll be forgotten, an historic footnote.  Maybe a brilliant ploy by the Republicans to win the election, but there’s not enough substance to maintain.  Hell, if she wins, the public will turn on her.  Since most Americans are for abortion, since most Americans don’t share her opinions.  Kinda like the aforementioned Jessica Simpson.  Now that her TV show is gone, why are we interested?  We can’t remember, and we’ve tuned out.

If you want to have a long career in music, you’ve got to practice and pay your dues.  If you want people to believe in you, you have to make your own choices, not based on expediency or instant money, but what FEELS RIGHT!  You can’t play to the masses, but your fans.  People have to BELIEVE!

You must exude talent.  A pretty face is not enough.  Substance must triumph over surface appeal.  If you don’t play and write your own songs you must pick material with heft, that exudes honest emotion or makes a statement.  Song doctors are AGAINST this!  They want to write something so bland that everybody can like it, for an instant, like Pixy Stix.

Being a rock star is being able to say no.

Being a rock star is leaving money on the table.

Being a rock star is taking a stand.

The press built Sarah Palin.  She had one good performance, now what?  She’s had a hit single, performing at the Republican National Convention.  But like an auto-tuned automaton, she’s afraid of speaking off the cuff, letting her true self out, and we tune out, because we want AUTHENTICITY!  I don’t have speechwriters, I’m forced to answer the question, AREN’T YOU?

If only she had a bit more seasoning.  Had played a few more clubs.  Knew more about foreign policy before she hit the big time.  It’s like she went straight from house concerts to arenas.  She’s not READY!  And we know it!

Then again, she’s just the opening act.

But when the headliner gets sick, they usually cancel the gig, they don’t make the opening act carry the show, because IT CAN’T!

The press is complicit in making these evanescent stars.  Once you play that game, you’re on a ride you usually can’t get off of until you’re dumped unexpectedly for the next pretty face.  If being a rock star is being in control, today’s overexposure paradigm is about handing control to the machine, which you were supposed to be rebelling against!

David Lee Roth is a rock star.

Jon Bon Jovi is not.

Amy Winehouse is a rock star.

Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears are not.

If Barack Obama was ever a rock star, he’s not now.  Confronted with adversity, a rock star isn’t paralyzed, but bites back! Goes on the offensive.  Doesn’t check the research, but does what he feels in his heart.  Which has been educated by experience.

Does Barack Obama have enough experience?

I’ll argue more than Sarah Palin, but that’s not the point.

The point is we’ve abdicated our entire industry, our culture, at the altar of profits, most of which went to a tiny cadre of men. MTV no longer plays videos.  Radio’s ratings are shrinking.  The major labels’ business has taken a nosedive.  Why are you following these guys?  They’re fighting for survival and doing a bad job of it.

If you’re interested in truly becoming a rock star, study the careers of AC/DC, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.  Know that rocking out is a singular experience, that you can’t act and be a politician too.  What the fuck is Bono doing in the venture capital world?  It just tells us he’s got way too much money and is being used as a glamorous front by rich men who want to get richer.  We stop believing.  The old rock stars, if they did this, if they invested their money in the system, at least they didn’t BOAST ABOUT IT!

Boast about your music, your lifestyle, your identity.  Then people will care.

But they’re not going to care about those in the Top Forty, those featured in TMZ/PerezHilton or Sarah Palin if John McCain doesn’t win.

Fame is for suckers.  It’s an empty vessel.

Whereas music, when done right, is timeless.  It has the power to change lives.  Concentrate on the music.