Found at Missy Higgins' MySpace

Now, for the record, I do like Kelly Clarkson. I own her first CD. But I like Missy's sound considerably more. I also own two of Missy's CD's... but I haven't gotten to listen to the newest one yet because as soon as it came in the house, it mysteriously disappeared... (Personally, I suspect my sibling of the theft.) However, that preference aside, I totally agree with Mr. Lefsetz. The reasons he sites are all reasons I don't watch TV or listen to the radio anymore and prefer to buy direct from the artist. Less commercialization to fuss with.

*** found at www.myspace.com/missyhiggins***

IF ONLY KELLY CLARKSON HAD THE TALENT OF MISSY HIGGINS...according to Bob Lefsetz

For those of you that don't know, Bob Lefsetz is a Santa-Monica based music industry legend and author of the e-newsletter. "The Lefsetz Letter", he has been commentating on the industry for several years and had this to say about Missy in his latest letter....

"If only Kelly Clarkson had the talent of Missy Higgins.

We want our artists to contain a spark. Something deep inside that we can touch and ultimately hold, bonding us to them.

We live in a land of sold-out corporations telling us who to be and how to feel. And none of it registers with us, none of it reflects what we truly feel inside.

Life isn't about being famous, partying with Paris and Lindsay. Life is oftentimes drudgery, doing what you're supposed to, seemingly ad infinitum, until you get out of school and are free and can make your own decisions and find that no one cares. We need someone to give us hope, to speak to our alienation, to guide us through as we drift along in the river of life with more questions than answers.

They call these people artists.

That's what's lacking in mainstream music in the United States, artistry. Everybody's so whored out to the man, so busy making money, that the relationship with the fan has been sacrificed. And it's only this relationship that counts. We want to be fans. We need to be fans. We need to believe in something.

And what we believe in isn't what's plastered all over the media. Because then it's not ours. It's got to feel like ours. Even if everybody else has it. And when we go to the gig and see the sea of faces we believe that we have commonality with the assembled multitude, that we're an army more powerful than any sponsored by a government, we're like the North Vietnamese, we won't be beaten, we can't be beaten. Because oppressive forces can never take over our hearts and minds. Rock and roll used to be a nation separate from the system, impenetrable by the forces of commercialism, where we and our feelings ruled. And what kept us together was the artists.

We cut our hair like theirs. We wanted to look like them. We wanted to be them. Free from the constraints, being who we truly wanted to be.

And at the core is the artist. Not the executive, whether it be Clive Davis, Michael Rapino or Judy McGrath. The suits were all subsidiary to that waif who poured out her heart.

But we've had a lack of waifs. Certainly ones with a sense of melody, who touched our hearts with their truth.

Missy Higgins fits the bill."

Check out his site www.lefsetz.com