Myth of Rock
Everyone has a different concept of what reality is. It would seem on the surface that this should not be the case since, by definition, reality would be an absolute constant in any situation. Good on paper but not in fact. As always, the truth is never so simple. Everyone has their own take on what is real and what is not. Those who have a sense of reality most similar to our own are those we eventually think of as friends or compatriots. We tend to avoid those who disagree with us, while anyone whose perspective is radically different is usually institutionalized, ostracized, or (at least) moved out of the mainstream of the society/culture they live in until - or unless - they can prove to the status quo the validity of their point of view. You could probably put anyone from Leonardo da Vinci to the Wright Brothers to Thelonius Monk in the latter category. The way we acquire our information combined with the veracity of that information affects our subjective sense of reality. It is the reason why propaganda was such a useful weapon during the Cold War years. The ability to create doubt in the minds of society causes that society to question its own sense of cultural/societal/governmental reality. In his book 1984, George Orwe
So you decide to record your first of five potential albums. First off, the manager takes 20% right away as his fee. Automatically your $200k budget drops to $160k. To keep costs down the band decides to record in their hometown (which will eliminate lodging costs) at a studio that the label feels is suitable. The band and the producer feel they need two months worth of time, which altogether should cost around $80k. The band now has $80k left, and it's time to pay the producer. This producer is going to cut you a break. His fee for producing (and making you a star) is $50k. This leaves the band $30k to divide among four members in order to have food and rent money for the coming year. This means the band members, if everything goes according to schedule, get $7.5k each to live on for the next year. There are other ways to make enough money to keep playing after you get a major-label deal (like selling your publishing if you are one of the songwriters, and/or touring). But the record deal doesn't look quite like the brass ring you once thought it was, does it? In the fourth chapter of The Myth of Rock, Gabrels talks about the supposed "high life". The idea that all rock stars travel by jet and limo everywhere and having someone waiting on them all the time. Gabrels clarifies once more, "On David Bowie's tour, we travel almost exclusively by tour bus. Three to four nights out of the week we travel overnight to the next city, which means the band (David included) sleeps on
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1000
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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