Techboy wrote:
anyway, saying entitlement implies millennial and vice versa is very unfair even in the context of "heated internet argument".
This is my last contribution to this, it will probably be a little verbose and derail the thread, but...
I don't have a problem with them, per se, but their coming of age came during such a tidal shift in technology, and those ripples affected how music is consumed, and distributed, which then in turn affected how artists interacted with their fans. I think we all know this, but I guess it needs to be said to set the table. I personally feel like I have a foot in each generation, anyone technically minded in the 35-40 year range probably feels the same way about it. Close enough to say "I get where you're coming from" but far enough away and with enough footwork spent in the past to disagree vehemently with those types of expectations.
Anyways, I think this tidal shift and its cascading effect on the entertainment industry set up a permanent set of expectations among a certain demographic that someone 10 years older probably wouldn't relate to at all. My opinion of "entitlement" is someone else's "this is just how it is; why aren't you conforming to how people are SUPPOSED to do these things?"; I guess I've just described the seed of any given heated internet argument.
At least in terms of those types of expectations, these guys are old school. We used to go to record stores every week, socialize, bring the albums home, read the liner notes and all that. Of course, some people still do that, but it's the exception not the rule and is considered some type of quaint, hipster type ritual now. It used to be the only way, and we loved it. The artist was god and it was all somehow more special not having every move telegraphed months in advance.
I think this thread below is probably a great rorschach test. My kneejerk reaction would be "this could be a troll", someone else younger could (and probably should) look at it as an earnest but misguided request based on expectations set by other artists in social media:
http://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13314
In the end, it seems asinine to be mad at someone for NOT doing something. If they had some large presence on social media, but were controversial or said things people didn't agree with, I could understand getting perturbed at them, but it's just silly to be outright mad about inaction and silence - not being told about what's going on, but that's the part of me that feels its more special to be kept at arms length. I'm happy to get your point via your music and your album art and so on.
Maybe it's mean spirited to try and paint a particular generation with such a large brush, but sometimes a spade is a spade. If you sent me back 200 years and asked me to load a musket, I couldn't do that. You could call me an incompetent future space witch, I'd be comfortable with that. It's not anyone's fault, it's just how it is.
People can now essentially shape their reality/entertainment/information intake to be as perfect as they would like it to be and of course that desire is going to spill over into other aspects of the artist/listener relationship. It can't be helped, but maybe it's something to keep in mind, at least insofar as understanding why someone else could say "Boards of Canada owes you nothing."
