Sell out with me, oh yeah

One of the biggest issues that any band faces is the decision to sell out. "Selling out" could refer to a number of things, but the bottom line is that you'll be treated like a leper by the music elitists if they even think you are one. In their opinion you'd be better off as John Rocker's publicist than shaking hands with the suits who can distribute your over-produced product for the masses to hear. \nIt's funny how much of an issue this can be for bands that are still developing or just playing a small club circuit. Some pretty heavy fights can get started over the most insignificant issues. I'm not talking about things like how hard your band rocks or whether your singer sounds just a little like Rob Thomas or whatever crap rock band is on top this year. I mean things like what you're going to play, what places you'll play and what you wear. Yeah, selling out can refer to just about anything. Remember the blasting Metallica took for cutting their hair? I think we are all familiar with the mathematical equation that says the quality of rock is directly proportional to the length of your mop, which is inversely proportional to how quickly you'll become popular or how fast you'll disappear. Don't believe me? Ask Sinead O'Connor.\nIf simply believing in your music validated it, then I'd have no right to complain about any number of "bands" with only one important member who can't sing anyway. Dylan going electric wouldn't have caused a riot. The fans would have realized that his voice was the same and he just wanted a different soundscape. Then again, the Velvet Underground's "no blues riffs" rule worked out all right for Lou and the gang even if they were supported by Andy Warhol.\nI recently heard several of my favorite rockers commenting on media and rock snobs whining about the topic. Elvis Costello made a remark that compared complaining about a band signing with a major label to "buying a box of Corn Flakes and eating the label." You might say, "Well, his music did get progressively softer with every new album," but being a sell-out is about making money and not writing the music you want. I doubt his manager walked in one day and said, "Hey, you've got a pretty good fan base and you're well respected as a writer with a lot of attitude, but I really think the Gen X-ers want to hear you with Burt Bacharach." \nI've always thought "compromise" was the dirtiest word in the English language, but even I can see a couple of its benefits. I never would have gotten into The Pretenders if Chrissie Hynde hadn't written the occasional FM favorite, and I would have been left wondering if women could ever write anything that aggressive and sexual until PJ Harvey. I'm not saying a band should always be willing to do everything the record companies ask, but there's more than one way to play the game. Pearl Jam fulfilled their part of the contract by releasing tons of "live albums" so that when they felt like releasing a new album it would have the music they wanted -- not rushed or poorly written. The Replacements were forced to make videos under its record contract, something the members despised. To get back at their label they made a ridiculous video that consisted of only one camera shooting a stereo system playing a tape of the song and guaranteeing it wouldn't be an MTV staple. \nIt's stunning how many bands confine themselves to the boundaries placed on them by the way they're labeled. So if your band has some well-written ballads, save them for the right time and sing them with conviction. The best bands can play slow and fast songs. They can sound raw or slick. Springsteen's Born to Run proves he had a great band, but the fact that he could follow it up with Darkness on the Edge of Town made them destined for the Hall of Fame.\nSo trash that hotel, keep your hair long and for the love of God, don't sign anything…Then again, if it's really just about the music then the rest of it doesn't really matter at all does it?