You Know You Are A Sellout When...

Friday 13 May 2011

For those of you who don't know...

Death Cab For Cutie became one of the most popular independent alternative rock bands in America in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By the early 2000s, most music lovers knew who they were, but it was not until 2004 - when they had their choice of signing with just about any major label they wanted to sign with - that they finally signed with a major label. This patience on their part enabled them to make sure they would have complete creative control, despite being on a major label.

Since that time, Death Cab has continued to do whatever they want with their music. Each of their six albums has a distinct sound, but each album - including the two they have released on a major label - have sounded distinctly like Death Cab For Cutie.

Their first album with a major label reached number 4 on the Billboard charts. Their second album with a major label reached number 1 on the Billboard charts...

And people started talking about Death Cab For Cutie being sellouts.

You know you're a sellout when...you start selling well?

Here's the thing: Their fourth album (their final album on an indie label) reached number 97 on the Billboard charts. That's pretty stellar for an album on an independent label. Rolling Stone magazine listed that album among the top 100 albums of the decade.

For those who base "sellout" on sales, when does the change occur? When you pass #50 on the Billboard charts? When you pass #10?

The thing is, the transition from their fourth album to their fifth album (from their last indie album to their first major label album) is seamless. The albums are basically a Part I and Part II of one another. One of the band members described the albums this way: 'If [our fourth album] was an inhale, [our fifth album] is an exhale.'

Nothing changed in their style from one album to the next. The only thing that changed was their popularity.

I started thinking about all this earlier this week, when I watched the music video for the lead single off their new album (which comes out at the end of the month). The music video is awesome. It was recorded in one take, and was simultaneously streamed live over the internet (making it the first live, scripted, one-take music video ever).

Here's the video:





In the comments on the video, scores of "hardcore Death Cab fans" were calling Death Cab sellouts...for the fact that they are popular. Nothing was said about their style changing (because it hasn't). Nothing was said about them making "mainstream" music. The only complaints were along these lines: 'All these stupid people who never listened to Death Cab before they were popular are ruining them now!'

Um.

But the crazy thing is, this is not a unique complaint. Look at any author or musical artist who started out 'doing things their way' and eventually met with great success (while still 'doing things their way'), and you will see that a huge portion of their old fans have begun to lament the fact that the author or musical artist has 'sold out.'

My question to you is this:

What is your definition of someone "selling out"?

For me, someone has "sold out" when they start creating their art strictly for the money - when creativity goes out the window, and is replaced by cookie cutter work that serves no higher purpose than a paycheck. But an artist (whether the "artist" in question is a writer, a musician, a poet, a painter, or anything else) who makes money is not automatically an artist who has sold out. You can create art and still make money. It doesn't always happen. It should never be the purpose of creation (that is, not if you are trying to make 'art'), but that does not mean that your art cannot be relevant. It does not mean that your art cannot be enjoyed, and cannot make you money.

Thoughts? What is a sellout to you?

*

A set of non sequiturs

I have been busy lately (extraordinarily busy), and because of this, I have failed to enjoy the lead-up to the release of my debut novel the way I would have wished to enjoy it. The good news, however, is that we have (almost exactly) one month until the June 15 release date, and the busyness of the last few months has opened up my schedule for this last month before publication. Expect to see more of me over this next month - on here, on facebook, and on Twitter.

Speaking of The Great Lenore, I was informed the other day that Shelf Unbound will be selecting The Great Lenore as a Staff Pick for their June 2011 issue. Very cool news.

I also received an advance look at the review New York Journal of Books will be posting on June 15 (which is, of course, The Great Lenore's publication date). I can only post a snippet of the review, but here's what I can give you:


JM Tohline's first novel, The Great Lenore, is a beautiful book. It is beautiful in the same way that J.D. Salinger's books are beautiful: lyrical without being pretentious or self-absorbed, melodic without being baroque; it is refreshing in the same way a fortunate musical composition hangs in your consciousness after the last note has sounded, making it impossible for long moments to think. One just feels.


Remember, you can find updated links to reviews on the Lenore page, and if you post the link to that page on Twitter or facebook (or do anything else to spread the word about Lenore over this last month), it will be immensely appreciated, as it will go a long way in helping to let people know that The Great Lenore exists (seriously, it takes about 5 or 10 seconds to post the link to that page, and it will be hugely helpful!).


See you soon.

Watch out for sellouts!

Keep writing.
Keep reading.
~JM

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