Money & Music Don't Rhyme: Fakery.

Picture of w:Keith Richards from the w:Pirates...

Who would have thought the word 'fakery' could be used at all in a song, let alone be used with concise & devastating effect? Typically, Bob Dylan managed it in the song 'Sign Language' in the mid-70s. In this somewhat drunken & disheveled track, featuring Dylan, Ronnie Wood and Eric Clapton, he casually throws in the line "....was down by the bakery, surrounded by fakery...."

I didn't hear this song until the mid-8os but the term 'fakery' is a constantly used term in my vocabulary, albeit often mentally for reasons of courtesy.

Fakery is alive and well in all aspects of life but it's rampant in the music 'game.' It's so easy for artists and listeners alike to publically view their overwhelming approval of a band, an album, a song. When it comes down to it, most people can't possibly have the time to fully appreciate the multitude of material available to us....but the are drawn to the notion of being 'seen to.'

I imagine most indie artists have had the same giggles that I have when a compliment is passed by someone about a recent album. On further questioning it becomes blatantly obvious that the person hasn't listened to it. I stopped questioning quite some time ago to save time & to avoid embarrassing people.

Some months ago I made a bit of a 'big-deal' of a track, purely for research purposes. I made the track exclusively available in a site where listeners/song plays can be tracked. The song was no better or worse than any other. The compliments came flying in. I left the track where it was and noticed a massive difference between feedback received & song plays.

I let the song 'sit' for a week, then followed up the aforementioned compliments as best as I was able by asking what it was about the song that people liked. Overnight, song plays skyrocketed in direct proportion to the amount of emails that I sent out.

I imagine by now that most of my followers are now furious. Please don't be. I'm more than aware that you all lead busy lives and my musical endeavors aren't high on their list of priorities....& I certainly hope that they aren't. This is akin to me not being particularly interested in "Ethels Crochet Classes For Beginners."

Musicians themselves do likewise. Between writing, recording, performing, their personal lives we can't possibly be expected to give fully-fledged & credible support to fellow artists. I have a handful, all of varying genres, that I do 'follow.' They know who they are. It's all that time allows. I do keep in touch online with several more artists usually more on a personal level as well as I think that, not only are they good musicians, they are genuinely good people.

Rarely do I maintain close regular contact with followers as time on both sides doesn't allow. We are all aware of this. Even rarer, do I divulge my personal life in any great depth. No-one's that interested & those who are I find somewhat worrying, particularly when questions not relating to music are constantly raised.

This may all sound rather ego-centric. Those who know the first thing about me know full well that I'm not capable of this. I've always known how good my music isn't. I am finding that the "Bob Findlay Music Page" on Facebook is slowly but surely becoming more interactive. Myself & Haych Storm© attempt to keep wall posts regular and fresh in content. All feedback is really appreciated, however, expletives and divergence from what the page title suggests aren't encouraged & are often deleted. I'm sure there are other avenues for such activities.

Feedback on the music page seems more informed as opposed to on my regular wall where people tend to click 'like' & comment on a wall post that they clearly haven't read.

To quote the Keith Richards album title, "Talk Is Cheap." I guess that's why so many people do it.