Crazytown

CUPID KILLS CREATIVITY

When the arrow misses the heart and hits your individuality.
By John Constantine

When I was in school, I had a music teacher tell a classroom full of rock star wannabes that domestication will kill any possibility of success. I blame this man for validating a doubt that has always been in me - that relying on someone else will eventually break the bond between me and my music.

PAN'S DILEMMA

You can fly, you can fly, you can fly!..... right?
By John Constantine

Millenials. Generation Y. Hipsters. Whatever you identify with, you were born between 1980 and the early 2000s. You were told that you presided in the best country in the world, had the best opportunity, and the most potential to fulfill. You were tested into every phase of your life, and as you matured, you had the world, on your screen and at your fingertips, in an instant.

So, why are you taking so long to grow up?

Maybe it has to do with the institutions, or the student loans that got you there, that led you to believe that there was a spot saved for you in your desired field. Maybe it's because you refuse to settle down, and to marry later than any generation that's preceded you. Maybe it's because as you started to mature in the world, your ideals of "America" were crumbling before you. Or could it be the divorce wars that ravaged the 90s, while everywhere you looked there seemed to be more and more neighborhoods filled to the brim with nuclear families..

I don't have the answer. I admit, this is just a rant from a fellow boomerang kid.

What is my Generation's American dream?

Owning a home is out of the question... And as I look to my friends, I see that we have dropped our expectations of the future, at least to the extent of what they used to be when we were children.

It seems to me, that above all, our goal is to live happy lives doing what we love to do. The ones who find a way to do that, seem to succeed in a way that has never been done before. Every road has been paved, and we've already seen where they lead. Rather than looking towards a future that was pre-planned, we are building a specialized network, moment to moment, that takes us to where we need to be.

Or... we're just biding time in Neverland.

SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT

The power of music becomes a will to survive.
By John Constantine (Musician)

Meet Charity Tillemann-Dick. Her story will change your life and inspire you to find what keeps you alive.

 

THE MUSICIANS GUIDE TO PRODUCTIVE PROCRASTINATION

My list of right-brain food to feed the starving artist.
By John Constantine (a FUN-employed musician)

Last October, the record label that I had been working at for the past four years closed down their U.S. office, leaving me without a job. Since then, I’ve been (barely) surviving off of freelance graphic design work, and meanwhile, I’m in the middle of producing my band’s fan funded debut album.

Obviously, this requires a good amount of pep in ones step - and as much as I’d love to sit here and say that I’ve mastered the art of self motivation, I’m beginning to embrace my relationship with procrastination.

Self destructive habits aside, here’s a list of things that have been keeping me from my real work, yet stimulate my artistic mind.

THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS DEAD

For the fourth year in a row, music sales have dropped by 20%. How hitting rock bottom (again) could signify the beginning of a new decade in music...
By John Constantine (Musician)

The music industry has been in decline for quite some time, but how bad is it? The recent Nielson Soundscan Industry Report gives us a gloomy perspective: In 2010, 13 albums went platinum, and of that select few, only 4 sold over 2 million copies. The only good news in this report is the abysmal 1% increase in digital single sales, which is anything but promising for an industry that was built on an excessive stream of income. Compared to a mere 10 years ago, when pop was king and N’Sync’s sophomore album sold 2.42 million units in a single week, it’s no wonder why labels are holding up their white flag.