And he is using the internet to save art.
Of course, that's Louis C.K., star of one of the best shows on television, "Louie". "Louie" is time magazine's show of the year for 2011- it skates in a wonderful edge between the classic 90s "comedian is a regular guy type sitcom"like Sienfeld, Rosanne, Jeff Foxworthy Show, etc, but it's not afraid to do or say anything he wants. Topics of episodes range from masturbation to the humor inherent in apathy to the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ to how slap-stick can be a means to World Peace.
Louie is a also folk hero in the world of comedy, by doing nothing when everyone accused Dane Cook of plagiarizing his material (killing Dane's street cred in the comedy world), and then inviting Dane on his show to work out their beef in front of America.
And, you know that trend where comedians are releasing specials direct on their websites? Yeah, he's the pioneer at that.
Sooo, Louie has decided that all of his tickets for his Fall Tour are $45 flat rate for every single seat. And you can only get them on his website.
No taxes, no fees, no bullshit, just Louie, new material, and you.
He has successfully stuck it to the man. You know who's proud right now? This guy.
Pearl Jam was on top of the world in the early 90s. They were the biggest band of the 90s.
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And no, I'm not trivializing or downplaying Kurt Cobain's suicide, but Nirvana didn't have that reputation as the band of the 90s until Kurt died, and everyone looked back and said, "wow, what an intriguing story". Pearl sold more records and those records were critically esteemed; and yes, the point of Nirvana's "In Utero" was to be an unlistenable dud/ middle finger tot the world, but just give Pearl Jam credit.
Certainly a big part of Pearl Jam's popularity retcon is that they didn't play shows in the late 90s. They had a righteous crusade on their hands.
With the same motives as Louie C.K., Pearl Jam tried to rebel against Ticketmaster, and claim it was a monopoly. In reality, the bands aren't making the money from their tours, the middleman is- and we're the one's left with empty pockets.
Pearl Jam ended up failing at stopping Ticketmaster, to the point where they didn't/couldn't tour for a while, simply because there was no way to give the people a satisfactory tour while cutting the middleman. Eventually, these young rebels had to bit the bullet and follow along.
The rub here is, Louie has the internet. Louie has the power to cut the middleman with a grassroots movement. And now Louie is revolutionizing the entertainment. My greatest hope concerning the legacy of this experiment is that this catches on in the world of music; I'd think Pearl Jam may try this themselves, even. I hope this gets to a point where every entertainer does this, as a badge of modesty. And Louis C.K. is officially the benchmark for modesty.
Louie is bringing art to the people in a way no one considered. Louie, you are a hero.
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