I need to address this today. Bear with me.
Okay, so a SM fan took it upon themselves to post to SMOG about what I had written here in response to Jim’s reply to me on my comment over his Peter Gabriel post. I think this person managed to do exactly the same thing as Jim himself managed to do by (possibly) NOT READING MY WORDS PROPERLY.
This person implied via their witch hunt of a post that I had accused Jim of being “out of touch with his fanbase”. Which is absolutely NOT what I had said, had they bothered to read the post properly! What I DID say (and you can read it for yourself – as this same person has gone out of their way to point people towards the original blog post as the stats for it show a much higher than normal readership for that post – thanks for sending the traffic to my blog, btw) – is that *IN RELATION TO* comparing the cost of a Peter Gabriel concert ticket and his worthiness for their price to that of a tradesman who is called to your home to fix (with what Jim deemed to be) a minor fault (something he described as, perhaps, a “basic task” – call me crazy, but I think of you’re calling out a tradesman to do a “basic task” then….I truly DO stand by my argument here!) and charges a similar price is, in my eyes, putting him out of touch with how most people need to make the choice on how to spend their money. So, in that very particular circumstance, yes! For him to tell me he understood what I was saying in my comment as to why I hadn’t gone to see Peter Gabriel at the Hydro and then go on to confirm that, perhaps, he really didn’t understand the point I was making AT ALL (and in the flippant and glib way in which he chose to do so) needed addressing. So I chose to address it on my blog.
Never once did I insinuate that he didn’t deserve the successes and riches that have come his way in life! Did I suggest that he was never gracious with his time to fans? Nope. Did I suggest that he was not a philanthropic person? Never! This reference to “economic status” that the SMOG post goes on about – I don’t even know where that comes from? My reply to Jim simply stated that I’d have liked to have gone to see Gabriel but I chose to do other things (i.e.: go to several other gigs) with my money that I felt were equally as worthy and were, in the long run, more beneficial to me and perhaps as a consequence more beneficial to others.
There is also a bit about “blaming the artist” for one’s inability to attend a gig. Whaaaa? I never blamed Gabriel (or Jim for that matter) for my “inability” to attend a gig! What I did do was make a point that music and concerts don’t have to be based around a jaw-dropping visual spectacle and – isn’t it meant to be about the music? Also, I’d like to say here that there are definitely artists that certainly DO take into consideration their fanbase’s financial ability to attend concerts. They try to keep their costs to a minimum and in turn try to hold concerts for fans that makes them as affordable as possible. Hell, some artists even subsidise and swallow some of the costs. Not many – but those that do are commendable for sure! At the end of the day it was my choice not to go and see Gabriel and I in no way blamed him for my perceived “inability” to go and see him. Had the desire been strong enough within me, I would have gone. And I in no way begrudged those that went, at all! It’s their choice to go as much as it was my choice not to have gone.
And WOAH, NELLY (or Shelly) – I in no way ever said Jim was out of touch because he could afford nice things. What I did say is that, again (I will repeat myself), he doesn’t have to make the choice of either foregoing a concert or getting an essential repair job done to his home. I don’t IN ANY WAY begrudge him for not having to grapple with that dilemma. Good for him! He deserves it. But what I DO begrudge is the way he chose to belittle others for what he appears to deem inferior “hard graft” to the reputed “sacrifices” Peter Gabriel has made in forging his career. For that reason, I made my blog post.
The lesson I have learned from this is, ultimately, I should take most things Jim says with a rather generous pinch of salt and not let it get my hackles up. Also, that people will read things through their own interpretive lens and believe what they want to believe.
Lastly, the dilemma I have been grappling with for some months now on whether I should stay part of the SMOG community was made much easier for me and I have bowed out, along with a few other fan sites. I’m obviously not “fan enough” these days, it would seem.
I need to make further decisions about the future of this blog. We shall see.