Howard Stern might have had it rough when he first got his start as a radio DJ on WNBC, but for independent journalists like myself in the current era, it is becoming increasingly tough to stay afloat. Right now, The Grim Tower has only amassed a mere 1,200 views in six months. That’s much less than on the blogger site, regardless of our decision to finally jump back into this dot com domain arena. I feel that I’m not expressing the increasingly liberal views that comprise the scene in a decade where social politics have never been greater (at least in my lifetime). Even some of my articles are being edited for wider audiences, just so we don’t offend anyone. But why would we not want to offend anyone, you say?
It’s simple. When I work with so many different kinds of artists and labels, I can literally lose opportunities based upon the things I say, even in an editorial. Someone will immediately think, “well, if he believes THAT, then I would rather blacklist him.” Even if someone reads a statement (which is purely opinion) wrong, that reflects on my reputation in this industry. I found myself greatly editing a future article about relations between men and women in this age strictly because of some of the things I said within it. They could be taken out of context. Should someone peek over to one of my articles and get the wrong idea, then I could lose the opportunity to work with an artist. It can happen just that quick. So what is a journalist supposed to do? Especially a journalist in the rough-necked world of heavy metal? Well, I’m not going to be a useful idiot, I’ll say that much. But at the same time, I’m not going to have ten-thousand angry people jumping on me because of something that me or one of my writers said within a piece – no, this hasn’t happened yet; which is why I’m this piece writing now, before it does.
It’s not difficult to tell from social media that society in general is becoming more politically charged than ever before. I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but I do know that everything we try to fix as a species has a way of biting us back later on, and in some unforeseen form. Literally seventy-five percent or more of social media seems to relate to politics regarding gender issues, race, religion or some other stratem in what seems like an attempt at world clicktivism. Everyone is merely campaigning for things that they aren’t actually doing anything to fix. It’s easier to say that you like a cause, rather than to actually do anything about it. Oddly enough, the liberal centered SNL actually made a great sketch (in the form of a song) where they told a person how much they liked the fact that he “liked” causes. They were making it seem rather silly, as his “one click”was able to end racism and other issues. It does make a valid point, and this is the age of clicktivism, where most people cannot move from their devices long enough to even think about solving any real-world problems. I honestly wonder how much time protesters spend on their phones these days when they do march. Not saying anything against them obviously, as they are getting together to rally against a cause that they believe in, but even such rallies haven’t enacted a smidgen of change. I remember the day when women marched on Washington, even though it seemed that the current orange in chief didn’t really do a single thing to help their cause. It feels to me as if America keeps wanting to relive the sixties, and those were very politically charged times where free love and magic as well as other forms of spirituality were greatly pursued. The Beatles may as well have written their best tunes around that time, and furthermore, some of the best rock music that will ever be written was penned during that period. But it seems like the clicktivism of this socially charged age attempts nothing more than a pale emulation of a time when people actually did sort of come together. Maybe it would’ve been different without the technology? Who knows. But in any case, these times make it very difficult for someone to have a different opinion.
Honestly, if this trend continues for another couple of years; I may just call it quits completely. It’s just too dangerous, for one thing. I’d even rather the site not get too popular as we’d have angry vultures, trolls, agents and all sorts of people causing a great deal of trouble for everyone here. I’m personally holding out for another four or five years, but if society builds too much pressure on us, I may just opt to writing novels and short stories again. I love the work that myself and my staff have done here, but I just don’t know what the future holds for any of this right now and if I’ll even be able to continue writing blunt editorials in the way that I really want to. If I’ll be able to write reviews the way that I want to. If I’ll be able to really do anything in this industry the way that I want to anymore. I’ve always spoken my opinion and some people don’t want to hear that. If enough people feel that what I’ve said is too much, then I’ll just have to give it up. For now though, I plan to continue trucking right along and I hope that you’ll continue riding with myself and all the rest of us here at The Grim Tower.