Blackie Lawless blames internet for all world's ills

Remembering when all this round here was fields, Blackie Lawless has been muttering about how everything's rubbish these days. The press doesn't come up to scratch:

"The press has turned so tabloid, so hopelessly obsessed with bullshit."

A man who makes his living singing Animal (Fuck Like A Beast) might, you could argue, find himself in some difficulty complaining that the newspaper industry has dumbed down in the last few years.

Lawless also complains about the internet:

"What people never seem to be able to realize is that there is one, and just one, reason why we'll never see more bands the size of AC/DC or PINK FLOYD. These were bands that were allowed to try and fail, allowed to grow, allowed to go on at their own pace, and evolve without record companies or other stress factors interfering. Do you think AC/DC would have been able to make an album like 'Highway To Hell' if they had not been allowed to do things at their own pace? I don't. Music needs support, bands need support, and stealing an artist's work will never ever be labeled 'support.' Illegal downloading does not support the artists; illegal downloading is one of the biggest reasons why popular music is past its peak. Most new bands are not able to play, they're not able to write decent songs, and will be forgotten before this interview's over; and the reason for this is exactly what I've told you now. They're not given the opportunity to try and fail, and take the time to learn their craft properly, and illegal downloading is a major factor in this."

The only trouble with this theory is that it's wrong. The 90s offered no acts the size of the big names of the 80s, like Madonna or U2. The 80s couldn't compete with the size of acts like the Floyd of the 70s. That deacade, in turn, never got out of the shadow of the Beatles. This isn't because music started to suffer from pre-emptive internet panic but more because more and more bands were able to play more and more outlets, and everything got shared out a little more. It's wrong to say that popular music is past its peak - Americans bought more music last year than they did the year before - it's just harder to command a massive portion of public attention in a very, very competitive market. The internet hasn't helped with that, but it's not because of illegal downloads - it's down to the ever-increasing number of platforms and outlets and places to hear bands.

Lawless has a point that bands aren't able to develop at their own pace any more - but that's got nothing to do with the internet, either, but is down to the record labels demanding success on the first album or dropping the bands on the spot. This tendency was well in place before the music industry started to grapple with online. But if Lawless is telling us that the WASPs of the future will fall to pieces before they get going... well, that doesn't sound so bad, does it?