Whadda Bunch'a Sellouts...

"It's really too bad that rancid sold out to MTV and the kelly ossborn and good charlet emo fag group. when i saw that video i wanted to puke, instead i through away everything RANCID. Operation Ivy is a sick ass band, #$! RANCID!!!!!!!!!!" - Quote from an Operation Ivy/Rancid fansite guestbook.

It's okay, children, the bad spelling and puncuation are gone now. But, anyway, down to the nitty-gritty.

This whole idea of "selling out" has attached itself to my brain and rattled it so until I wrote this essay. Selling out is a term used to describe a singer, but more commonly a band, that's only in the music industry for the money, not the obvious. But it seems that the term "sell-out" has been altered and stretched from its original "you're in it for the money" to "uhh...his shoes aren't the right brand". Righto then. I've noticed that people have become incredibly obsessed with being very underground. What's this? You like Green Day? You should be damned to hell, you sinister rouge! People will refuse to like mainstream music and search the Internet for songs by barely-existing local bands from Wisconsin. Then when that band becomes even a tad well-known, the person gives up on that band and moves on to the next one. I don't understand why people can't just like a band's music and say it proud. If the band's sound changes or your preferences change, then, dammit, let it rest in peace. People don't want to hear your 3 hour long speech on why you think Blink 182 is the scum of the earth. Believe me. Now let's learn a lesson from a real-life situation.

I'm sure you lot have heard of Rancid? They're a very well-known punk band. To date, they have seven music videos and six albums. I enjoy reading the album reviews and watching people make close-minded asses of themselves.

"RANCID SUX!! THEY HAD BENJI & KELLY OSBORN IN THEIR VIDEO!!!!"

Oh, dear, the baby's being quite fussy, isn't he? Good Lord, what sort of world do we live in, where a band's talent is regulated by who appears in thier music videos? Of course, this particular person is referring to Rancid's video for "Fall Back Down", a rather poppish ballad about friendship and brotherhood. In it, Benji Madden of Good Charlotte and Kelly Osbourne made an appearance. Apparently, they are friends with the boys of Rancid. And that's quite alright with me, for who am I to bitch? I may not be fans of the two, but they deserve respect like everyone else. Next time, Mr. Authority on Punk, trying looking past the images on your television screen and into the song that the artists worked so hard on.

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content sigh Well now, I hope we've learned something here. Enjoy a band purely for its music and nothing more. Take not into account what clothes they wear or the color of thier hair for it means nothing in the end.

- Fish