This is the beginning of the end. I’ve decided to largely hang up my pen as a critical journalist covering DC area musicians. This will likely not be the last time that I pull away from reporting about musicians due to a more involved level of personal participation. However, it’s the first time, so therefore, it’s important.

Foremost, I don’t feel like writing about DC anymore, and want to contribute to my city’s artistic development with actions. Roughly two months ago, Jeremy Beaver made the decision to hire me as an Account Manager at DC’s Listen Vision Recording Studios. The position has been a godsend, as it has set my life goals into hyperactive motion, and made my future intentions entirely clear.

I never intended to be a legitimate journalist. I started writing as a creative exercise, painting pictures with words, controlling and igniting the explosive energies of wildly creative musical notions. As time wore on and acclaim grew, my position as a writer focused my personal goals on writing as a measure of cultural stewardship, progressive advocacy and creating standards, goals which eventually rendered writing well as a secondary goal to my work.

The internet has ruined so much of what drew me to music and so many musicians I appreciate to the point where writing about both it and them makes me feel impotent. It’s as though I’ve been made into well meaning window dressing in the local scene, a passionate critic whose ideas are thought to be substantive, but not to the point of having any heft or consequence. That frustrates me completely, so I’m going to change that.

I’m taking my position as an Account Manager at Listen Vision seriously. I want to assist in the development and proper exposure of artists who are not just pop stars who make money, but are rather career musicians who are positioned to understand that success AND sustainability are key. Whether a rapper, vocalist, producer, DJ or instrumentalist, I believe I can help. My track record speaks for itself. I’m proud of my list of plaudits and international co-signs that are as deep as they are wide, and want to cash them in to preserve the future of music. 

I’m sick and tired of feeling handcuffed by words, and have been granted the opportunity to replace them with actions. As a journalist, I’ve excelled at being on the pulse of culture to the point where I understand all of the nuances of the angles where stardom is derived. DC is a beautiful blend of New York in the heart of the punk and disco era, and Atlanta’s era as the “New Motown of the South.” I feel like I am one of a precious few people in the world that actually understands the globe-shifting energy in that dichotomous creative space, and want to exist deeper within it.

As far as writing about DC musicians with a critical eye, though? I quit. Permanently. If I’m guilty of any one thing as a writer, it’s becoming possessed by the idea that the city I cover as a beat is next, and that I’m not doing enough to help. But I guess if I never wanted to be a writer in the first place, I’m not guilty of anything at all. If you’re still a writer in the local area, I salute you, and will definitely need your assistance. I want every artist in DC with the passion and talent to truly succeed to do so. Success in music is not a guarantee. However, if prepared and equipped with the right tools, it’s certainly possible.

If you want my opinion anymore, want to work with me on your career aspirations, or respect my idealism and think I’m on the right track, I’m at 2622 Georgia Avenue, NW. 12-8 on Monday-Friday, 10-6 on Saturdays. I’m more than ready to make a difference. If you believe in yourself and believe in the energy of your area as much as I do, I’m ready to work.

Thanks for your time,

Marcus K. Dowling

It got hot for a few days last week. This playlist will hopefully make it hot again. Simmering sounds for the dancefloor, bedroom and beyond. A big shout out to Karlie Kloss for the inspiration.

96 DEGREES IN THE SHADE - SPRING 2012 SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

Macy Gray - Sexual Revolution
Love in C Minor - Cerrone (Bob Sinclair Remix)
NYR (Reverse) - Outputmessage
Alley Cat - Volta Bureau
Let the Music Play - Barry White (Funkstar De Luxe Remix)
Tour de France - Kraftwerk
Cheekah Bow Wow (That Computer Song) - Vengaboys
White Horse - Laid Back
Express - BT Express
Long Train Runnin’ - Doobie Brothers
Is It All Over My Face - Loose Joints
Paraiso - SPF 5000 (Scottie B Remix)
The Big Kazoo - Style of Eye
Apocalypse Theme - Dave Nada
Devils Eyes (Club Mix) - Drop the Lime
Fade Into Darkness - Avicii
Every Teardrop is a Waterfall - Coldplay
Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler
I Was Made For Lovin’ You - Kiss
After The Dance - Marvin Gaye
Crew Love - Drake
Climax - Usher
I Do - Young Jeezy
I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do - ABBA
96 Degrees In The Shade - Third World 

On occasion, times in the present will occur that are reminiscent of periods that I have previously covered. FROM MY ARCHIVES will reach back to my work from the now defunct True Genius Requires Insanity to place the present in perspective.

SXSW joins the music industry in jumping the shark…

Great indie music once meant sounds held in light regard by the large populist mainstream, but held in slavish devotion by awestruck pockets of a much smaller underground. The music industry in 2011 would tell you that this definition is a lie. No better example to elucidate this point than the shark jumping disasterpiece that is the 2011 musical portion of the South by Southwest Conference.

According to numbers used in a recent study by Washington, DC’s own social technology think tank JESS3 and Eloqua, studying the sharp development of the South by Southwest Conference (SXSW), we can extrapolate from it that the musical portion of the conference has indeed jumped the shark. It would appear as if the days of SXSW as an week long indie invasion of a bustling quirky college town are over. With nearly 20,000 credentialed performers and media and an estimated 80,000 total guests in Austin’s vicinity for the week, the only thing that is remotely independent about the conference is the free thought offered to the attending throng by being in a democratic country. However, by the end of this column, even that will be called into question.

I attended SXSW in 2009 as a journalist. I noted the corporate influence, but chalked it up to being a necessity as there seemed to be no way that an independently run conference could exist and be remotely financially successful even with 15,000 participants paying upwards of $750 for certifications, and a hotel economy certain to be booming as well. Also, I realized that it’s a no brainer for any marketing and branding wiz to realize the potential for success that lies within a 20 block radius in a relatively small urban locale of a ready and willing populace that, even if left leaning and seemingly independently minded, desires and demands rampant consumerism.

But, my most major issue came when word leaked during my 2009 attendance that Kanye West was expected to appear at the Fader Fort to end the proceedings on the conference’s Wednesday night. The proceedings turned from people engaging in discussions on street corners buzzing about the performances of impressing top indie artists like Little Boots, Solange Knowles and Janelle Monae to “ooh, the biggest selling and most influential artist in music is coming, and I’m going to be in the front row.” A conference bred over 20 years ago on providing spotlight and an opportunity for growth, development and fan base retention for independent acts quickly spiraled into a monsoon of people who cared mainly about Yeezy, but comparatively very little about much else. Let’s extrapolate this to 2011, where loosely under the guise of an “indie music conference,” we now allow Yeezy and Eminem, under the guise of representing their “fledgling indie labels” G.O.O.D. Music and Shady Records, to be in attendance. A crack has turned into a flood, and possibly like post-Katrina New Orleans, something’s getting damaged, nobody’s going to stop it, and if we’re lucky, Kanye may even say that the “record industry doesn’t care about true indie music.”

This isn’t SXSW’s fault though. It’s the fault of the impending disaster that the music industry has become. It’s the laughable joke of nerdy kids with graphic design smarts who grew up loving J. Dilla, Bjork, The Replacements, Weezer and Pavement (or any combinations therein) and created blogs that directly mirrored those teenage/adult musical influences. When the music industry had their guard down in the face of an impending recession, these insanely intelligent people who felt ostracized by the cool kids of mainstream music stormed the gates with leaked albums, SLR photos, YouTube clips, internet memes and long held message board, AIM chat and indie show lusting ran (and are still running) amok in the name of “making a difference” and “taking what is theirs as consumers.” That’s all well and good, but just like in any revolutionary dictatorship, when the rule of the few violently overthrows the rule of the many, the deconstruction of the old power vacuum is painful, often unsuccessful in the long term, and entirely destructive.

SXSW being the playground in which the seeds of the revolution were allowed to take hold is now a celebration of hipsters, nerds, geeks and awkwards that were slammed in the face with dodgeballs in the fourth grade thumbing their nose at the establishment while buying new iPad 2’s from Apple’s pop up shop. This isn’t about music, it’s a revenge of the nerds. The artists they champion, merely a sociological exercise in supporting anything that looks and sounds like themselves and their picture of the universe. The soul of the bands and their creative potential, as long as it is a cosmetic and impulsive connection to the aims of this mob, mean everything. If they become detached, they mean nothing at all. Certainly a troublesome paradigm.

What about the indie kids who got got to the pay window a second too late and missed cashing in during this wave? What about earnest bands of earnest kids who don’t care about technology, but just want to make solid music? What about rappers who don’t care about Youtube hits or wearing frameless horn rimmed glasses and sniffing coke while cranking out a lukewarm sixteen bars over Phoenix or Afrojack’s latest blog friendly jam? What about the A & R rep who knows nothing about viral marketing, but probably signed Santigold because he heard a voice and saw an image that could reach the heartstrings of a universe? In freaks and geeks running the game, Odd Future’s on the cover of Billboard and people yawn at live concerts and give indie bands high Pitchfork scores while listening to uber cool vinyl LPs or MP3s over computer speakers. If this is music, then music is insipid, puerile and stupid.

SXSW’s failing is a mere microcosm of a micromanaged pencil pusher atmosphere that is permeating and slowly killing the creativity in and future of popular and underground music. In leaving music in the hands of really smart and “persecuted” people, we’ve found that we care more about people clicking the word “Like” than people wanting to invest their souls in music. A band is good enough to follow on Twitter, but not good enough to change your life. Music is a celebration of the impulse that makes you absolutely have to spend thousands of dollars over a lifetime to fall in love over and over and over again with what in many cases is a prefabricated concept developed by a smart rich guy in a suit. SXSW at least told those old rich guys which of these kids had a chance to grab the most hearts. Now, these old rich men in suits are being told by hipsters in skinny jeans that 2 million Facebook likes, a ton of free mixtape downloads and often awkward yet connective live performances means the same thing. It doesn’t and that’s wrong.

SXSW has jumped the shark. The music industry as a whole has jumped the shark. What’s next? I don’t know. But I do know that there’s a metastasizing cancer destroying the music industry and nobody cares that there’s no solution on the horizon.

3TWO ON HEALTH: The Abs Diet

A major part of 3Two will be focusing on physical health. Intellectual enhancement is improved when physical fitness is an imperative part of one’s lifestyle. The key is not to make dieting and healthy eating a chore, but instead a gradual initiative.

In 2004, I was 190 pounds of beer drinking and nightlife-loving fury. I was out partying (as usual) at DC’s Platinum nightclub, and unbeknown to me, split my pants up the rear, literally becoming the butt of the joke for an entire room. Also quite literally embarrassed, I decided I would find a diet to solve my then clear and present issue.

The Men’s Health Magazine Ab Diet doesn’t immediately require stopping eating your favorite food. Instead, it advocates portion control. Seems obvious, but if you’re not of the mindset, it’s a difficult adjustment. Mixing smaller portions with “Power Foods” and a constant, yet not onerous/stressful workout schedule makes the diet ideal, and infinitely better than any of the “fad” diets out there.

In following the diet to the letter, I uncorked my monster metabolism, and shrank from 190 to 148 pounds in SIX WEEKS. While this likely won’t happen for you, you are guaranteed to find a healthier lifestyle, likely the best enhancement I could ever offer anyone.

BUY THE ABS DIET BOOK HERE FROM AMAZON.COM! 

MARCUS DOWLING’S GREATEST LAURYN HILL OF ALL TIME #1 Lost Ones/Everything is Everything

I’m probably the least biggest fan of “Doo Wop (That Thing).” Yes, it’s irrepressible pop that hits the core, but it’s the least intricate use of Lauryn Hill’s many talents. If you want a performance that sums up everything that makes Lauryn Hill amazing, look no further than the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. At that moment, she was the hottest performer in the universe. She was a one-name phenomenon. “L Boogie” seemed to be “sparring with (the) stars and constellations” as stated on “Everything is Everything,” as well as seeing the humor of money “changing a situation” as it does in “Lost Ones.”

The 1998 performance? Stentorian delivery and masterful stage control personified, a spotlight moment for a spotlight performer. If Lauryn can ascend to even half the heights she approached on the night in question, what once was deemed “lost” will most certainly be “found.”

MARCUS DOWLING’S TEN GREATEST LAURYN HILL SONGS OF ALL TIME - #2 Lauryn Hill - The Sweetest Thing

Foremost I demand that you listen to the Love Jones soundtrack at some point. Alongside the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, it’s everything right with the 90’s neo-soul movement.

“The Sweetest Thing” celebrates the most important defining quality of Lauryn Hill’s career. She had an effortless and timeless voice, the kind of instrument that sounds just right in any era. Note perfect songwriting, vocal execution and a top-notch Wyclef Jean production reign supreme. This is the moment in love, frozen in time, that you want to last forever, in a song. Plaintive emotion giving birth to a joyous wail, it’s an outstanding moment in R & B history.

MARCUS DOWLING’S TEN GREATEST LAURYN HILL SONGS OF ALL TIME - #3 Lauryn Hill & Bob Marley - Turn Your Lights Down Low

This one is damn near perfect in every way. Right around the time of the height of the era of good feeling in her on-again/off-again relationship with Rohan Marley, this one just feels right. A classic tale of love, sang between two of the finest to understand it’s natural mystic essence. A time when marketing, stardom and execution meet at the nexus of brilliance, it tugs at the strings of love and romance in in a beautiful way.

MARCUS DOWLING’S TEN GREATEST LAURYN HILL SONGS OF ALL TIME - #4 Fugees - Ready or Not (Salaam Remi’s Ready for the Show Remix)

The Fugees’ 1997 released Bootleg Versions remix album is one of the finest albums in the history of hip-hop culture. At no point in rap history had a label ever decided to give a group such incredible ability to define their brand with such stunning exactitude. The remixes bridged the heavily Caribbean-inspired Tranzlator Crew era, their mainstream run and subsequent head-long dive into reggae culture, all while being defined by the group’s hip-hop core.

Salaam Remi is hip-hop’s best pop producer, and creates a remix that is equal parts Jeep beats and champion dub plate. It’s genius, and when Lauryn spits bars that start with a desire to “change the time and let rhymes raise the babies,” it’s all about black liberation ideology defining universal goals.

MARCUS DOWLING’S TEN GREATEST LAURYN HILL SONGS OF ALL TIME - #5 Lauryn Hill - Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You

The first time I heard this Frankie Valli cover, I played it ten consecutive times. It’s perfectly reconstructed, the melody a fine example of the maturation of teen pop from the realm of Italian boys to black women from New Jersey. Lauryn’s greatest displayed skill on The Mis-Education of Lauryn Hill is in maturation of her lyrical phrasing. With another artist’s style of vocals, the songs would never sound the same. The style is reflective, Hill an older woman reflecting on when Valli’s words were filled with blissful ignorance for her, and are now bittersweet in nature. It’s one of the most impressive R & B songs of the era, and a top-tier performance by the artist.

MARCUS DOWLING’S TEN GREATEST LAURYN HILL SONGS OF ALL TIME - #6 Fugees - Vocab

In 1994, Lauryn Hill was lyrically loose and mentally on point. It doesn’t hurt that she was 19 years old and gorgeous as well. Youth creates limitless opportunity, and is the space where the great creatives often experience their first moments of true genius. 

“Vocab” is the first Fugees song I’d ever heard. It still feels like one of the most organic freestyle battle ever. The original mix of the song certainly doesn’t, but the mainstreamed remix takes the cake. The best aspect of the Fugees is that at their best they sounded like a group of friends freestyling about a particular theme. Wyclef and especially Pras’ lyrical shortcomings were okay in this realm. In sounding like they were grasping for the right word or phrase to fill the remaining beats in a bar, their unusually simplistic style made sense.

Lauryn here? A poetess supreme, linking and re-defining history in a seamless flow, an urban griot redefining her own historical restoration by the second.