Sound Off: Fighting The Good Fight

If the IndiePit Blog has had one overarching theme this week, it’s that DIY is the way to go these days.

After all, if not now, then when? As we’ve been reiterating, it’s a Mad Max world out there, so what better time than to claim a little piece of territory as your own? It’s a virtual Manifest Destiny - even if no one is able to cash in on their gold just yet.

As presaged by over coverage earlier this month of Jessica Hopper reading from her new book, “The Girls’ Guide to Rocking,” the only thing standing between you and your aspirations is yourself.

Brian Bonz and Dr. Know’s Brandon Cruz get this concept. As they both told us in their just-published conversations with IndiePit, at one point or another, they have taken touring planning into their own hands.

While those guys are DIY-ing it on the concert side, others like Clutch and I’m Better Than Everyone Records’ Karim Khan are running their own record-making operations. As Clutch told us in the interview that ran earlier this week, they’re finding that their music has better distro than ever because they’re no longer affiliated with a major label. And Khan - who had never worked a day in the music industry before starting his own label - is finding himself approached by musicians who simply dig his vinyl-only, artist-centric approach.

Some other label chiefs have told IndiePit in recent weeks that someone would be “crazy” to spawn a new record label in this gloomy environment. But why not? You got nothing to lose. It’s just you and your will to succeed. You just have to hang tough and stay hungry. You just need the guts and the glory.

Wait a second, we’re being reminded of something … ah, yes. What better way to close out a week’s worth of self-empowerment-inspiring content than with the most self-empowering song of them all?

We speak, of course, of the “Rocky” theme song: Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”:

Risin’ up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive

So many times, it happens too fast
You change your passion for glory
Don’t lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

It’s the eye of the tiger, it’s the cream of the fight
Risin’ up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he’s watchin’ us all in the eye of the tiger

Face to face, out in the heat
Hangin’ tough, stayin’ hungry
They stack the odds ’til we take to the street
For we kill with the skill to survive

Risin’ up, straight to the top
Have the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I’m not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive

The eye of the tiger

And because this week’s content has also been filled with humor, we’ll leave you with the giggle-icious video for the song:

Don’t miss these previous installments of “Sound Off”:

“A Communiqué About Community”
“Frank Zappa And Walter Cronkite, Sentries Of The Truth”
“Apocalypse Now”
“Michael Jackson And Kurt Cobain, Suicide Kings?“