Mark & Jay, backdated to Friday evening
Jul. 11th, 2008 10:31 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsReconsidering their argument last week, Jay comes to Mark with his music.
Jay stood behind Mark and set a CD down in front of him while he was DJing. "All right. Here. This is somethin' different. But if you laugh, Ah'm not gonna talk to you ever again. Scratch that. Ah'm gonna deck you and then Ah ain't gonna talk to you again." He hated to admit that Mark was right, but after the cd he played, Jay had a lot of people come up to him later in the week. He wasn't sure if it was a ploy with Mark - how else would people know it was Jay that sang it - or if they recognized his voice. Either way, he got compliments, requests and thus, compiled a bunch of stuff he'd been working on. Not his latest, because he was saving that for something or rather, someone special but it was the newer stuff. The different...stuff.
It took a moment before Mark even turned around. He'd seen Jay leave the bar to go to the DJ booth and assumed he was there for some peace offering, but after Jay's hissy fit, Mark let him squirm for a minute before finally acknowledging his presence. "What made you change your mind?" he asked, although he had a good idea.
"Ah didn't change mah mind," Jay said stubbornly. He almost thought Mark wasn't going to acknowledge him and he'd have screwed himself for not only a good friendship but a chance at people hearing his music. "Ah'm givin' ya somethin' that don't mock country." Because country was his heart and soul but he could change things up to appease the gods.
"All pop music mocks itself," intoned Mark wisely. "And I'm not going to take some second-rate crap from you just to appease your ego." He took the CD and held it up. "This better be good, better be genuinely you and your music, or I'm just going to toss it in my pile of Alison Blaire albums." He couldn't help himself and grinned a little. "This, like the internets, is serious business."
"Yeah but everyone mocks country music. Ah want it to have some respect." He winced at it being tossed aside, his music and went to snatch it back. "Fine. Forget it. Ah ain't givin' ya mah best stuff. It ain't to be made into some stupid dance song so people won't wanna hear me live. Ah ain't some radio has-been. Ah'm the real thing."
But Mark kept it behind his back, out of Jay's reach, and deftly stepped aside. Jay might be taller and buffer, but Mark had to have picked up at least something from Remy. "One rule of popular music, acoustic is greater than electronic. Artists constantly re-release albums because their fans want to hear them unplugged." He raised his free hand, sparkling under the booming bass beat and reverberating vocals of Jake Shears. "That 'stupid dance song'? Just got three hundred people to know who the fuck you are."
"Ah don't wanna be someone who relives old music. Ah make good music and Ah make new music all the damn time," Jay said defensively. Three hundred people stopped Jay in his tracks. He opened his mouth to argue and closed it again, blowing out a very impatient sigh through his nose. "Either listen to the CD or give it back and forget Ah was here."
Mark smirked. "Your music can be the best in the world, but if you don't connect with your audience, then you're just being selfish by keeping it to yourself. 'Music makes the people come together,' to quote a saint. And you're not bringin' anyone together as you were."
Jay inclined his head, slouching his shoulders and from his back pocket, he produced another CD. His good CD. The one for Kevin. He stared at it for a long time, turning it over and then clutched it like it was a lifeline. He hated that Mark was so convincing. He wanted to give this CD to Kevin tonight when he came home. He offered it to Mark instead, but held onto it when Mark pulled. "So help me god, if you fuck this up, Ah'll never forgive you." And for once, he was dead serious on that.
Mark's smirk widened until it was an actual, genuine smile. He held onto the CD, but waited to take it until Jay let go. "If I fuck this up, then I won't deserve your forgiveness, anyway."
Jay stood behind Mark and set a CD down in front of him while he was DJing. "All right. Here. This is somethin' different. But if you laugh, Ah'm not gonna talk to you ever again. Scratch that. Ah'm gonna deck you and then Ah ain't gonna talk to you again." He hated to admit that Mark was right, but after the cd he played, Jay had a lot of people come up to him later in the week. He wasn't sure if it was a ploy with Mark - how else would people know it was Jay that sang it - or if they recognized his voice. Either way, he got compliments, requests and thus, compiled a bunch of stuff he'd been working on. Not his latest, because he was saving that for something or rather, someone special but it was the newer stuff. The different...stuff.
It took a moment before Mark even turned around. He'd seen Jay leave the bar to go to the DJ booth and assumed he was there for some peace offering, but after Jay's hissy fit, Mark let him squirm for a minute before finally acknowledging his presence. "What made you change your mind?" he asked, although he had a good idea.
"Ah didn't change mah mind," Jay said stubbornly. He almost thought Mark wasn't going to acknowledge him and he'd have screwed himself for not only a good friendship but a chance at people hearing his music. "Ah'm givin' ya somethin' that don't mock country." Because country was his heart and soul but he could change things up to appease the gods.
"All pop music mocks itself," intoned Mark wisely. "And I'm not going to take some second-rate crap from you just to appease your ego." He took the CD and held it up. "This better be good, better be genuinely you and your music, or I'm just going to toss it in my pile of Alison Blaire albums." He couldn't help himself and grinned a little. "This, like the internets, is serious business."
"Yeah but everyone mocks country music. Ah want it to have some respect." He winced at it being tossed aside, his music and went to snatch it back. "Fine. Forget it. Ah ain't givin' ya mah best stuff. It ain't to be made into some stupid dance song so people won't wanna hear me live. Ah ain't some radio has-been. Ah'm the real thing."
But Mark kept it behind his back, out of Jay's reach, and deftly stepped aside. Jay might be taller and buffer, but Mark had to have picked up at least something from Remy. "One rule of popular music, acoustic is greater than electronic. Artists constantly re-release albums because their fans want to hear them unplugged." He raised his free hand, sparkling under the booming bass beat and reverberating vocals of Jake Shears. "That 'stupid dance song'? Just got three hundred people to know who the fuck you are."
"Ah don't wanna be someone who relives old music. Ah make good music and Ah make new music all the damn time," Jay said defensively. Three hundred people stopped Jay in his tracks. He opened his mouth to argue and closed it again, blowing out a very impatient sigh through his nose. "Either listen to the CD or give it back and forget Ah was here."
Mark smirked. "Your music can be the best in the world, but if you don't connect with your audience, then you're just being selfish by keeping it to yourself. 'Music makes the people come together,' to quote a saint. And you're not bringin' anyone together as you were."
Jay inclined his head, slouching his shoulders and from his back pocket, he produced another CD. His good CD. The one for Kevin. He stared at it for a long time, turning it over and then clutched it like it was a lifeline. He hated that Mark was so convincing. He wanted to give this CD to Kevin tonight when he came home. He offered it to Mark instead, but held onto it when Mark pulled. "So help me god, if you fuck this up, Ah'll never forgive you." And for once, he was dead serious on that.
Mark's smirk widened until it was an actual, genuine smile. He held onto the CD, but waited to take it until Jay let go. "If I fuck this up, then I won't deserve your forgiveness, anyway."
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