Lots of artists talk a good game about doing things like changing the world, or at least changing the music industry. One of the things I love about Peter Gabriel is that he puts his money (and his time) where his mouth is. He's worked extensively with Amnesty International, and also helped to found Witness, an organization dedicated to using technology to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations. He also has put lots of time and effort into W.O.M.A.D., which is dedicated to turning on people to music from other parts of the world. Now, he's just launched The Filter, a sort of social networking site dedicated to help people discover music and films that they like. I just started creating a profile (my first social networking profile ever!) but I'm having some Adobe issues, so I wasn't able to "rate" things. I expect to spend more time on that site.
Peter Gabriel was recently included in Time magazine's Time 100, their list of the 100 most influential people in the world. And, oddly, he wasn't classified with artists and entertainers (as Bruce Springsteen was), but under "Innovators." It's amazing that, with his incredible catalog of music, his biggest contribution may not end up being his own records. That's pretty stunning when you think about it.
And it's almost enough to get you to forgive him for taking a decade to make one album. Or for not doing one last reunion with Genesis. C'mon, Peter, you're not gonna lose your cred at this point.
No comments:
Post a Comment