There are at least 10 specific things wrong with this picture

This is the number one most shared video on the web today, as reported by http://zocial.tv.  Justin Bieber featuring Rascal Flatts.  It is also exactly why Patronism exists.  To lift a line directly from the song, "This is so wrong.  I can't go on till you believe..."

Take a look: 

This is exactly what's wrong with the music industry:  Formula on top of formula on top of formula.  Look!  It's a fancy car!  Look!  It's a warehouse!  Look!  It's a couple of famous people who wouldn't ever hang out, unless their managers had decided to cross-market to each others' demographics!  Look!  It's the "acoustic jam" first verse!  Look!  When they go to the second verse they change rooms, pick up their instruemts and...

Listen to the vocals.  If they used AutoTune any more it would sound like Cher or T Pain.  If it had any musical or emotional depth I might say Radiohead, but now I feel dirty just trying to paint it in a positive light.  Sorry Radiohead (by the way, the link I gave you has no AutoTune on it and it still sounds great... just saying).

I know it's ironic for a musician to criticize a pop star singing a song called, "That Should Be Me."  But I'd say the same thing no matter what the title.  Even more ironic, I'm listening to Pandora and Ray LaMontagne is now singing "Let It Be Me."

See?  Even RAY thinks something's wrong.  And in another ironic twist, I visited the Rascal Flatts website to get their URL.  Now look at mine and chuckle at the coincidence (http://johnpointer.com).  I guess we're really not that different after all.

And maybe that's it.  Maybe a career in music is so unlikely that all we can do is sit around recting the mantra "Let It Be Me."  It shouldn't be like that.  When a doctor practices for 30 years, they tend to get paid commensurately with their experience.  They save lives, but musicians and artists save souls.

I just said to my friend, "The world won't change if I sleep."  It's an unhealthly thing to say, but I'm driven and probably a little bit crazy.  If more people thought like that, we'd all be more exhausted for sure.  I only had 4 hours of sleep last night after staying up to work on the Patronism business plan, which is due Tuesday to Harvard and Berklee, and then what happened?  I woke up to this slap in the eye from Rascal Bieber.

I'm about to lose an arm.  My friend is hungry and threatened to eat it if we don't go to brunch.  But all I'm saying is there's got to be a better way.  If we all pull together, no one will lose any limbs and things will get better. 

They've GOT to.