Is Dave Marsh mellow? Springsteen fans say he's "Nasty"

Some time ago, the normal world may have mused, in a very bored moment, "Whatever happened to Dave Marsh?"

He was, once, some kind of halfway hip rock writer. Wasn't he?

He did pen a half-good and half obnoxiously annoying opinionated and pretentious book about the thousand best rock songs of all time. The egotistic provocateur made up his own rules on what was or wasn't rock. His book neglected some deserving artists that he apparently had grudges with because their publicists didn't give him enough free tickets or interview access. He also had that reverse-racist thing about how black blues guys are great and English progrockers should die. Where'd he get his ideas and whoever said he was an expert? Who knows. Who cares.

Oh. Springsteen fans care.

It turns out that Marsh's Ace in the Hole against being fired, or being too old to write about crappy current music and scuffle around pitching ideas to prickish magazine editors, was to marry The Boss's co-manager.

The downside of signing this hellish contract in blood? Brooose's fans.

Ask any presidential press secretary. Any rock manager. Any publicist. Any body guard. It's definitely not an easy job to be standing between the Great One and the great unwashed. The compensation is a lot of money and power. That power includes having a radio show based on being an insider, not a good voice or personality.

AND

Be careful what you wish for! If you can't stand the shit, stay out of the toilet, Dave.

IF I'M BEING HONEST, in this case Dave Marsh did nothing wrong, except refuse to be a hostess and put on a sweet lipstick smile for every customer who thinks he's right. Who wouldn't lose it once in a while, when faced with constant whining, criticism, and empty-headed demands? It doesn't matter how politey some dweeb pesters you...after a while you blow your stack. Especially if you've got an ego and little humility. Dave used bad language? He's on the same radio station as Howard Stern, so it's not against station policy. And hanging up on people has been a time-honored tradition among radio call-in shows.

Of course Marsh-not-mellow's enemies are right. He's a windbag and a jerk.

Many years after that "thousand best rock songs" book came and went, he turned up in forums and on blogs cheering piracy. NO other rock writer, has-been or not, was doing that. When a certain fuzzy-logic Nazi bitch was giving away all the music on a blog that was making her a star (and leading her to kick her co-bloggers in the nuts), HE cheered her on. When she was acting all groovy-fab in forums, who did she point to as the "expert" backing up her Robin Hood bullshit about stealing music? Dave Marsh.

Yes, Dave was championing an egotistic no-talent pirate. He approved of how she (and many others) were making money FOR THEMSELVES by uploading music without permission and getting banner ads and using a Paypal "tip jar." What she and Dave had in common was not being musical, not being able to write a song, and having a secret envy of rock talent and stardom. SHE was getting the "nice comments" and making a money. Dave was getting idolized for being the one well-known rock writer encouraging theft. He was back-stabbing people who no longer cared about him. Wasn't he?

I actually contacted Dave just to make sure that he really was on the side of piracy. He was.

At the time, I had respect for him and his many years of rock writing, and was willing to listen to an old and supposedly wiser veteran of the music business. I appreciated that he took the time to respond to me (not that he had anything better to do, and wouldn't be flattered to pontificate). I was open to some kind of defense of why copyright is copy wrong, and why someone's creative work should be taken from them without permission, and stubbornly given away even when the artist officially disapproved via takedown DMCA's.

Like some nitwit believing Assange is a hero, and giving no reason why someone leaking stolen documents on a power trip (while keeping his own stuff private) was so great, Marsh simply replied that snotty pirates are heroes. He said blogs were the future. He insisted that stealing music was somehow a good thing, and it could benefit the artists and be that "new paradigm" the music world needed.

He didn't explain HOW some fucking "blogfather" giving away all the Beach Boys albums was helping the music biz. He didn't detail WHY some twat using a devil's name was really an angel for taking royalties for herself (as Kim Dotcom of Megaupload and others were doing). He just told me he had an idea that piracy was a good way to get the music out there.

Meanwhile, like a rabid homing vampire bat, he found his way back into the music industry via a vein in Springsteen's hemorrhoids, and he began sucking hungrily. His new fame was being a big shot via a rock star who was making millions off live shows in stadiums. I don't think Brooooose has ever expressed any of his fucking Tom Joad outrage at pirates who destroyed many a working man. Did he ever say "Hey pirates, you shut down record stores and music business offices where ordinary people were making a living...you helped shut down CD factories and put workers out of jobs...you ruined the lives of secretaries and office boys not just big fat CEO's."

I hope Dave's blood pressure is making his skull pound. As for Springsteen re-issues, bullshit box sets and anything new The Boss might release? I hope NOBODY buys it. It should all be given away FREEEEEE. Or in the wake of the destruction of record stores, indie record labels, and yes, heh heh heh, idiotic blogs driven under by rights owners who felt they should control their copyrighted work, does Dave now actually believe that PAYMENT for one's creative work is a reasonable idea?

Too late if he does, because I hope this albino bowling ball continues to get the heat. From his fuzzy logic with blogger assholes to his snotty attitude with Springstink idiots, he's swapped the free ocean of ideas for a narrow toilet full of shit, and I hope he drowns in it.