World domination used to be extremely hard.  Music didn’t drive the culture and every territory played a different kind of music. Ubiquity occurred now and again, but it wasn’t until the Beatles that one sound dominated, that everywhere you went you heard the same records.  The Beatles gained that attention and then delivered upon it.  Then everybody realized you had to listen to music if you wanted to know which way the wind blew.  And MTV was a final victory lap, we were all fascinated by videos until it imploded.

Now what?

It’s like we’ve got an endless game of Home Run Derby.  Played in ever smaller stadiums.  First on network, then cable and now the Internet.  In other words, we’ve got plenty of people swinging for the fences and few in the stands paying attention.  Where does this leave the creator?

Creators like to be heard.  More than they like to be paid.  Don’t listen to Gene Simmons, he’s got enough money to retire.  Yet, he insists on being on TV, in commercials so we won’t forget about him.  Then again, he hasn’t done anything worth our attention in eons.  Kiss toured to the point "Rock and Roll All Nite" broke through, got a victory lap with "Beth" and then the rest of us tuned out upon hearing the crap thereafter.  In other words, Gene Simmons squandered his moment.  When everybody was finally paying attention, Kiss came up short, failed to deliver.

So how do you get everybody to pay attention?

Took the death of Jerry Garcia and Napster to cement the Grateful Dead in the consciousness of the public.  Oh yeah, that was the band that let the audience tape, that made all the money on its live show, that’s the paradigm of the future.  Before that?  Many people though the San Francisco group created music befitting its name, heavy metal.  It would shock them to know "Uncle John’s Band" was by the Dead.  And, when very few people were watching, the Dead created their masterpiece, "American Beauty", when they finally got a chance on the world stage they delivered…"Touch Of Grey"?

Give Jay-Z credit.  He delivered "Empire State Of Mind", an anthem, at the Video Music Awards, one of the few times many are watching.  The track caught fire.  Jay-Z didn’t choke, he delivered.

But Jay-Z had over a decade in the business, he had chops that newbies don’t.

Used to be you started.  And then you had your moment.  Now, you’re lucky if you can even start.  And that might be the biggest moment you ever get.  Your initial hit.  Give that "Rico Suave" guy credit, he disappeared when the going was good.

So on one hand, we’ve got the Beatles delivering "Sgt. Pepper", the Eagles delivering "Hotel California", and today’s evanescent bands.  Who?

And this makes it tough if you’re an artist.  You might never get enough traction in order to seize your one big moment.  Because it’s hard to get people to pay attention.

And I don’t have the answer.  I don’t know if you keep playing in your backwater, like Wilco, waiting for the rest of the world to come to you, or tell yourself your tiny audience matters or…

Everybody wants to work with Timbaland, Dr. Dre or Rick Rubin.  They want a shot at the big time.  But what compromises are involved?  And if you work with Rubin, who famously tries to make the band’s record, and the album stiffs, then what?

Everybody in my generation knows the line: "Are you with me so far?"  Right smack dab in the middle of "Life In The Fast Lane", we heard it so many times that it’s in our DNA.  But the Eagles also seized the moment.  They were coming off the biggest album in their career, they knew everybody was paying attention.  And when "Hotel California" met and/or exceeded expectations, it became a cultural milestone.

So where does this leave us?

In a cultural quandary.

Maybe a musical revolution, a sound so new comes along and wipes the slate clean.  Disco killed corporate rock.  And rap triumphed over hair bands.  Maybe music becomes vital once again.  Then again, do you get the urgency of the English New Wave when you see those bands shilling at SXSW?  No.  You don’t believe them.  They seem somehow inauthentic.  With their stylized sound and carefully chosen outfits.  It seems fake.  And therefore, few care.  But we cared about Johnny Rotten, he truly seemed to be freaking people out.  And hell, Sid Vicious died.  And the band broke up.  No one breaks up after their hit debut anymore, they don’t want to forgo that cash!

Maybe we’re in the dark ages and music will never recapture the zeitgeist.  And at best you’re a journeyman.  Sorry.

Then there’s Lady GaGa.  But too much of her success is not about the music.  There are the outfits, and the videos.  And it’s not like the music means much.  But, she’s got our attention, what does she deliver now?  Hell, that’s what was great about Madonna, she didn’t repeat herself, and for this we paid her in the one thing she loved, attention, we wanted to see what she did next.  Maybe we’re interested in what GaGa does next.  Or are we more interested in what Steve Jobs introduces next?

Society needs cohesion.  That’s what iPad mania is about.  It’s not about sales, hell, they only moved a few hundred thousand.  But the product, like a great band, was new.  And exciting.  And the media believed everybody was interested.  And the story’s been playing out endlessly, everyone’s got an opinion, whether it’s thumbs up or thumbs down.  Then again, the iPod and iPhone paved the way.

Music used to be a rallying point.  Can it be so again?

This is about more than hits.  More than gate receipts.  This is a cultural question.  Have we somehow squandered music’s power to lead the public?  Have we become so much about money that we’ve sacrificed the essence?  Or are we living in a cultural Middle Ages and it’s hard for anything to break through?

So, when you sit down to create, when you type, when you rev up Pro Tools and start recording, and you lack motivation, I get it. You’re working for very few people beyond yourself, very few care, very few may ever care.  And, like I said, what inspires people to create great work is when they’ve got eyeballs, attention.  Not everyone delivers when the spotlight is upon them, but when there’s no spotlight in evidence, it’s bad for all of us.