[NewMusic] coasting?

[weasel walter]

well thought out arguments, phil. i don't disagree with very much of it,
jeers aside. 

i do believe that the skill to adapt is paramount though. it helps to
stave off the crutch of fogeyism. i don't believe this has anything to do
with artistic compromise either.

when i spent more time complaining (and i'm not accusing anybody here of
that) about the injustice of my context - life isn't fair, things are too
hard, why am i not rich and famous - i got a lot less actual stuff done.
once i accepted certain givens in my environment (i.e. perpetual lack of
money or recognition and the large amounts of stress resulting from it) i
was actually able to move forward with my work and be more serious about
it. i think. i have done my goddamn research - it never ends - so nobody
can pin this rootless whippersnapper shit on me. i'm not that "young"
either. what we're talking about is indeed a complex situation though -
what does this all cost? i'm not sure yet; i have become somewhat
neurotic over the years unfortunately. 

there's a difference between this sort of acceptance and "giving up" . .
. acceptance has to do with admitting that the sky will never be red and
that one can't lift pyramids with one's pinky as much as one might want
to. i see surviving as an experimental musician as totally possible (on a
ridiculously modest level - i'm doing it) if one is truly ready to commit
their life to it - and diversify the fuck out of oneself. still, there is
little time for reflection - as lester bowie said, "if i don't go to the
office and do the shitwork everyday, there's not going to be any music." 
i generally have to spend more time hustling than practicing or writing,
unfortunately.  

it is probably harder than ever to do this, but one absolutely has to
adapt to the new sets of constraints and possibilities in the present and
not expect a bygone paradigm to remain. this whole thing is incredibly
complex and i'm sounding extremely incoherent as a result. sorry.

ww