Bands say stupid things sometimes.

I just came across this article. It's from a while back, but it is a good illustration of today's topic.
Death Cab for Cutie Think Jared Leto Should Stick to Acting - Spinner

I really hate when bands do this. Especially talented bands who I generally respect. For some reason they feel the need to call out some other band who they don't particularly care for in an interview. It may just be an offhand comment that an interviewer decides to ascribe significance to, but it still smacks of Elitism and self-importance. I'm not saying musicians shouldn't have opinions about music. They are perfectly welcome to think whatever they like about fellow musicians. I'm also not so naive to think everyone can just live and let live when it comes to aesthetic choices. However, I think musicians need to think before they speak. Especially if they realize that their fanbase might overlap with the band they are dissing. You risk alienating your fans when you say "I hate (band name) If you listen to (band name) you're an idiot."

Success in the music business is 90% luck. Even if you're amazingly talented you can still toil in obscurity. Jared Leto may be a rich actor, but he started 30STM before he rose to prominence by dating Cameron Diaz. Also, he was in some little movie called "Requiem for a Dream" (I've never heard of it either). Leto worked his ass off to get the band off the ground, the same way any one who starts a band does. That alone is a reason for musicians to respect each other. They all come from nothing. Even bands which seem to be "vanity projects" for actors can't be guaranteed a huge audience (Just ask Keanu Reeves about Dogstar)

It's not just Death Cab I'm pointing the finger at. Consider the following statements made by musicians about other musicians.

Beth Ditto (The Gossip):"I hate Katy Perry! She's offensive to gay culture, I'm so offended. She's just riding on the backs of our culture, without having to pay any of the dues and not being actually lesbian or anything at all. She's on the cover of a fucking gay magazine."

This sounds like justifiable rage, especially because Ditto is a lesbian herself. However, she's presuming to speak for an entire culture. It doesn't seem to occur to her that other gay people may like the Gossip AND Katy Perry, and have no problem with "I Kissed a Girl" because it's just a dumb dance song about girls gone wild. I understand Ditto's concern that her culture is being co-opted and commercialized, but that's what pop music has been doing since Elvis.

John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols): "Don't try and tell me Green Day are punk. They're not, they're plonk and they're bandwagoning on something they didn't come up with themselves. I think they are phony."

Funny coming from a man who was part of the NSYNC of punk. The Sex Pistols were assembled by a music producer/manager who handpicked the members for their looks and personality. That's right, Johnny Rotten, you were in a punk-rock BOY BAND. You have no authority on this subject.

Brandon Flowers (The Killers): "Emo, pop-punk, whatever you want to call it, is dangerous. We don't wanna dislike anyone, and we've still never met Fall Out Boy, but there's a creature inside me that wants to beat all those bands to death."

Really, Brandon? You realize that without your synthesizers and faux-springsteen shtick, you'd be an emo band right?

I think you get my point. Bands are generally made up of self-taught musicians, many of whom have only high-school educations. They catch a break thanks to fans who support them, or a record label that plucks them from obscurity and sets them on the path to stardom. Either way, musicians are dependent on other people. A band cannot operate in a bubble. Oh how quickly we forget. Once a band has achieved a moderate level of success, they sometimes get a little full of themselves. Even the really good ones can lose touch with reality. If you're a musician, you should be grateful ANYONE listens to your music. If you've made it, as a band, then just be happy that you've made it. You don't need to take down other bands just to try to "stand out". It's a cheap way to get publicity and it draws the focus away from your actual art. And that is the last thing you should want as an artist.

Furthermore, as an artist, a musician should recognize that anything someone creates is in some way a piece of personal expression. No one says they have to like it, but they need to respect the fact that it is still art. This even applies to the pop music on the radio. It may seem soulless and manufactured, but that doesn't mean it was made without love or passion. Even if the end result is bland and uninteresting, everyone has the right to express themselves creatively and to at least be given credit for creating something people can enjoy.

I realize this sounds like populist drivel, and that's not my intent. I think populism is just as harmful as elitism. I have no desire for everyone in the music industry to hold hands and sing "Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, try and love one another right now!" God help us if it ever comes to that. If you hate what's popular in music, then get yourself out there as an alternative. Let the music do the talking. Show some class and some respect for your fellow artists, and maybe they will be mature enought o do the same. If not, you still come off looking more mature and dignified.