I don't mean to get on a rant here, but 25 years ago, when Empty V spooged cable, music became all the more about image -- it had been trying to break free of that -- sure, there were the cute pop artists and the schmaltzy lounge acts that fed off Tony Bennett's crumbs. But quality would climb into the charts and musicians who were not "pretty" or "beautiful" or "hip" but passionate and damn good song writers could have a hit here and there and make a living.

Now, you are either a giant wad of pop bubblegum, ready to be used for two million records, shipped of to rehab, followed by paparazzi and dumped in the "remember this crap?" bin or you are flipping burgers.

Sorta like the middle class are vanishing, quality bands and musicians have fallen by the wayside as 4 giant international companies that wouldn't know music if it bit them in the ass are marketing a "product" to "consumers" who are more and more willing to take less and less quality.

Bill Burroughs called this the "Algebra of Need" :

Seeing consumerism analogous the economics of heroin addiction he wrote :

"Junk is the ideal product . . . the ultimate merchandise. No sales talk necessary. The client will crawl through a sewer and beg to buy. . . . The junk merchant does not sell his product to the consumer, he sells the consumer to the product. He does not improve and simplify his merchandise. He degrades and simplifies his client. He pays his staff in junk."

Substitute "Hollywood" for "Junk" and you have an adequate description of pedestrian entertainment that is foisted on Americans by half a dozen giant corporation who simply do not give a shit about anything but their stock value. Think I am exaggerating? Two words ... Paris Hilton.

Case closed.

The Internet was supposed to change that because anyone anywhere can do their thing -- writing, art, music, poetry and show it off to everyone they want and we'd all be on an equal playing field.

Rupert Murdoch doesn't see it that way. Nor does Google -- look up "social network" and you'll get the few links to the official sociological definition, but the ads are all about beaucoup dollars!