This Message is not Approved by Jill.

But She's at Disneyland so she can't really approve it despite the fact that I was told not to post this without her approval. I was also told not to link to her. I love you Jill, but only "this much" _____.

Last night Jill hosted a girls night out at BJ's Brewery. (BJ's had the best coffee ever and I am so not kidding about that)It was a ton of fun, and I was thoroughly mocked (in a good way). We laughed, and talked, and had good food, and good drinks, and awkward conversations, and came up with ridiculous inside jokes, and had a really lovely time. I only took a few pictures (while Jill mocked me about how they were all going to end up on the blog) but here they are for your enjoyment.

(Jill, someday I'll actually draw you a graph for dicifering what exactly "this much" really means in Ashley Crushland. It will probably be very large and include a timeline of my phases of stupidity.)

Today I posted some status on facebook about Ke$ha, and was being mocked by someone about said status and I kinda went off on a rant (which of course I will now repeat for all of you).

I have heard of this girl, but hadn't listened to her music, or paid any attention until this morning. This morning I ended up on her website watching her orgasm set to bad electronica and dying inside a little. IT WAS HORRIBLE! Y'know that my smallest complaint was the fact that she can't sing? It's THAT bad. I was horrified. Absolutely horrified.

This is why I have such a huge problem with these major music companies. They are basically running brothels. People think, be a musician and make millions, and that is SOOO not what it is about. It makes me so angry to see this. It's not about your talent or ability or artistry. It's about weather you look good in clubbing clothes and are willing to put yourself on display. This girl represents everything that is wrong with the music industry. And frankly music is not supposed to be an industry. It's an art. You don't see an Artist industry anywhere do you? Or a Dance Industry? And I'm not against industries, or big business, or corporations at all. I believe that everyone has the right to make money and if they want to run a corporation, fine. But music is not a corporation. It's an art and when you corporate an art, you lose the art part of it. That's why musicians start their own recording companies, because they can't own anything that is theirs with the other companies. I love it when I see artist collaborations and there is some note about how So-and-So appears courtesy of _____. not they don't appear courtesy of a company. They appear by courtesy of themselves. They're the ones who are writing the music and performing and yet some company has the right to tell them when and where they can appear? I don't think so. It's MY music. No company has the right to own any of it.

Music isn't about making a million. It's about so much more and these trashy, future rehab dweller "musicians" are ruining all that. I mean Mozart died in poverty. Mozart! And yet Ke$ha, who can't even spell her own name correctly, can lay around in her bling and beer (classiest rhyme ever: "got no money, but I'm already here, got plenty of time, and plenty of beer." Have fun finding a new liver in five years Ke$ha.)? Does anyone else have a problem with this? Is this the legacy of music our generation wants to leave behind? And don't get me wrong, there are alot of popular artists out there who I really like, and respect. Even if they aren't someone who's genre I particularly like, there are many artists who are, golly, artists. They put thought, emotion, and golly, art into their music. But these are the same people who have said that as a musician you cannot be in this for the money, but for the actual craft. It's these fame and fortune seekers who give musicians, and music, a bad name.

Let's be honest, we'd all like to be rich and famous. We'd all like the attention, and the perks. I really have no problem with people honestly saying that's what they want. But if that is what you want then get on a reality TV show. Become a celebutante. Pull a stupid stunt that becomes a nationwide scandal. But don't pretend you are an artist. Don't get involved in an artistic outlet hoping to make millions. Your focus will only ever be on that, and when it doesn't come, you will live a horribly miserable, bitter life. I love music. I love listening to it, performing it, writing it, being surrounded by it, learning about it, feeling it, seeing it, I just love music. If I can make money as a musician, then great. I would love nothing more than to make a living doing what I love the most. But if I never get the opportunity to do that, I'm still going to love my music. My love of my art isn't co-dependant on my wish to make a couple bucks with it. I would be just as happy working in a job during the day and performing at night, as I would be performing full time. I'd love to perform full time, but I don't need to. I love the actual music. So when these stupid twits who write songs about people touching their "junk" and how they are going to brush their teeth with a bottle of Jack, it infuriates me. They are taking something I love so dearly and bastardising it. It's offensive. It's not even music anymore. It's some alcohol diluted, sex infused, cacophony of noise. All I know is that you Ke$ha, are making Mozart roll over in his mass grave. Good thing you probably don't know who he is.

Rant over.

(I felt I needed to compensate for yesterday's three sentence post. I'm all about balance y'know.)