Fountains to Bono: We need to talk

Hello. hello.

Why hasn't Paul called me after what I've been saying for the past few months? What do I have to say to get a call?

I must respond to Bono's quotes about the misery of the indie rock ghetto and "being Kid A'd to death."

My response is:

The truth is that there is valid, powerful and influential music being made in the indie rock ghetto and if you saw LCD Soundsystem on Thursday night you wouldn't see any misery. I'll take Radiohead just as they are. (Don't change, Thom!). They don't need to be on MTV, which doesn't exactly play music anymore, to be influential.

My belief is that the kids who are going to form bands are already listening to Radiohead or LCD Soundsystem or Arcade Fire. That's all that matters. Not every band needs to reach millions of people. As GK said on XRT this morning, niche music is a good thing. Bands start to suck when they concern themselves with what will appeal to the masses. Artists should be true to their vision and if mass appeal follows, so be it. If not, so be it. The Velvet Underground never sold many albums, but the kids who bought their albums formed bands. That's influence. Mainstream acceptance is fleeting. Inspiring kids to form bands is lasting.

By the way, GK rocks.

Fountains to Bono: We need to talk