Who are you trying to kid, Anthony?

Bayside's Anthony Raneri has posted what ammounts to a curious self-justification on his blog, covering that most important of punk topics, selling out:

I never thought that I would get to the point that I'm at. I always wanted to, but never actually thought I would get out of Queens or even out of the basement. As we got closer and closer to the point that we're at I saw what could actually become of this band, I knew then that one day I was going to have to address this. Selling Out. It's been on the tip of every one's tongue for ages.

Selling out, of course, is really buying in - that tipping point where you stop doing what you do for the love of it, or the belief in what you're doing, and start doing it because you can flog space in your video to Nokia to promote a mobile phone or something. It's actually quite a simple concept; most of the confusion over what it actually means is kicked up by bands who have long since flogged their souls, and mortgaged their intellectual children, but want to still be thought of as pretty straight guys.

Which would seem to be the point Raneri has reached:

Are Green Day or Fall Out Boy sellouts? I have always thought of a sellout as someone who is going against their beliefs or ideals to make money. But even then, who the fuck cares?

Well, arguably, the people who invest their love and devotion to the band, who believe and value in what they do, who provide the basis of the fan base which then gets flogged to Nokia or Tahoe or Lynx might care a little. Imagine if you fell in love, and then - just as you settle down on the wedding night - discovered your beloved had taken a small kickback to install a webcam in the honeymoon suite. You might care.

t is natural for people to claim ownership of a band during their humble beginnings. After all, that's what has drawn so many people to our scene and helped it explode over the last few years. Kids are growing up finding out about music from MTV and radio stations and by the time they find out, these people are huge stars and you have to camp outside their hotel for days to maybe shake their hands. They stumble across this new thing where the bands are just as good, if not better, and they can go to the shows and probably meet the band 9 out of 10 times and even have a drink with them. That sounds like a great thing to me. So it makes sense that when Fall Out Boy are playing at the Enormo-Dome and you can't get close to them anymore, you're pissed off.

Well, yes, you would be pissed off, but it's more about you not being able to close to them, it's that the band are no longer close to you, either. Part of this is down to indie and punk kids being very poor at sharing, of course. But it's not just about bands like Babyshambles suddenly booking themselves into Arenas and getting distant - it's that shift from musicians being musicians into businessmen selling brands.

In the unfortunate shambles that our scene is in these days, the term "sell out" is pretty much being used as an abbreviation for "band that got really big" which just isn't true. Being there for the paycheck, changing who you are for the money, that's what a sell out is.

And when you take a large cheque from Tag deodorants in return for putting a long shot of their product in your video - isn't that what it is?

But, no - it's not Fall Out Boy who sold it. It's you, Joe Punchtheclock:

Working at Wal-Mart or Blockbuster or Starbucks or Target is being a lot more of a sell out then being in Fall Out Boy is. Not because those are big corporations or anything, because I shop all all those places almost daily. Because you are showing up, putting a fake smile on your face, wearing what you're told to wear and doing what you're told to do so that you can get your paycheck at the end of the week. Funny thing is that it's the kids that are working at these places that go home and post on message boards about how Fall Out Boy or AFI or, gasp, BAYSIDE sold out.

There is a simple difference, and one that is so obvious it's insulting that Raneri could even attempt to make the connection. If you're making minimum wage stacking shelves at an Asda, you don't really have much choice about swallowing the colleague mantras of Wal-Mart. If you don't, you don't eat. You're not sold out, because you've got nothing to sell. However, if Pete Wentz doesn't cut a deal with a phone company to include some shots of people enjoying their product, he doesn't not eat. He'll still be able to make rent at the end of the month. He can still afford to have his hair dyed by a lady in a lovely salon. You can only sell out if you have something to sell. And if you're going to accuse a bloke working as a barrista in Starbucks of selling out, instead of simply surviving, you better have a bloody good argument as a wrap-up.

It seems as if bands are expected to just start saying no at a certain point. Do you want to be on the cover of our magazine? Do you want to be on tv? Do you want to do what you love and make some money doing it? What would all the scene watch dogs and sell out police do if they were faced with these questions? I don't want to say no. I'm right where I want to be. I had my picture taken for the cover of Alternative Press this morning and I had a whole box of free clothes waiting for me when I got home. On Monday morning I'll be filming a commercial for MTV, on Monday night I'll be hosting a show on FUSE and then on Wednesday I'll be flying to Europe for a tour and I do it all because I'm living my dream and I'm lucky enough to have these opportunities. Anyone who has seen us play, even up until yesterday knows that I'm still hanging out on the floor or at the merch table with everyone else meeting and talking to anyone who wants to talk to me.

So it's these free clothes and jobs with video networks which are the good meal enjoyed, prickling Raneri's conscience like a visitation from Marley's ghost. Anthony: if you're happy that you'd be doing the same thing with or without some bonus trousers, it's fine. Really. You're no sell. But why is it that those buckshee t-shirts are causing you to churn out a self-justifying thesis, do you think?

As Michelle Shocked once wrote: He says 'the times, they are a-chaning, and you've gotta change with the times...'