I have always enjoyed Ron Young’s discussions and thoughts about music and the music industry. In the past he was a co-host of The Rock Star Branding Podcast and now I welcome him as a guest columnist. Ron will be sharing his thoughts and words. I am giving him complete freedom to discuss whatever he wants, say whatever he wants and write as often as he wants. These posts by Ron represent Ron alone. Please send all cards, letters and hate mail to Ron Young.
You can reach out to Ron on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ron.young.5 or www.facebook.com/LittleCaesarOfficial/
Welcome to So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star?
by Ron Young
LIVE FAST, DIE YOUNG, AND LEAVE A GOOD LOOKING POST
So we lost another talented artist. A stereotypical melodic car crash we love to watch. Scott Weiland’s recent demise was a slow motion video we fast forwarded through to get to the exciting part. We stopped listening to his music and just started to watch him and wait for the inevitable money shot in a classic rock porno. It’s a sad commentary about us, what we covet and what we pay attention to from our Artists these days. When artists like Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga are known by more people for their meat dresses and naked antics than their music, we are setting a very low bar for the folks we seek to continually and relevantly move us on a musical level. When TV executives realized they could make more money and have lower Production costs following a woman who made a sex tape with a musician, rather than write and produce original and creative content, it metastasized. We wait for tweets and TMZ reports of drama more than we wait for the next piece of music. No one was watching Scott skillfully perform his hits until he couldn’t get through them while high as a kite. Then it went viral.
Elvis, Marilyn, Dean, Cobain, Hendrix, Joplin….all died while still relevant to many. It’s truly sad…not just for Scott or his many fans that we stopped waiting for his music and started waiting for the death announcement….but we got to peek behind the curtain and when we saw him with a needle in his arm, we waited for his final tweet. 140 characters or less please….my wifi is slow.
Water seeks its own level. If this is what we are becoming and this is what we seek, our art will become snapchats that disappear before they can be etched or echoed in time. Everything has become so disposable that blowing it up is as much fun as nurturing it. Don’t worry. There will always be another post right behind it.
Ron Young
About Ron Young
Ron Young is the lead vocalist of Little Caesar. Little Caesar were signed to a major label deal with DGC/Geffen Records in 1989 and had two big singles, “Chain of Fools” and “In Your Arms”. Positioned as the next big thing, Little Caesar were managed by a team of industry bigwigs, including Jimmy Iovine, A&R by John Kalodner, and with Bob Rock producing their debut album.
Follow Me!