moses is perhaps one of the greatest rock stars. while he may not have had a hit tune or even sung, he knew how to make an appearance. when he descended with the ten commandments, it was reported that he, arguably, had a “rock star glow.” exodus 34:29. many rock performer also seek to make a bigger than life appearances. mr. gene simmons, from kiss, does so when he descends on the stage with his legendary face paint. besides emulating moses’ rock star like image, mr. gene simmons has taken on moses’ wisdom.
mr. simmons, in a recent interview, expressed opinions aligned with ten commandments’ principles when he discussed popular music’s demise. his statements were as if mr. simmons descended down mt. sinai in his kiss garb carrying two large speakers with “thou shall not steal music” emblazoned upon them.
mr. simmons rabbinically discussed intellectual property theft and its consequences. he explained how “downloading and filesharing” constituted theft and blamed the fans for music’s demise. guitar.com
mr. simmons spoke on the consequences of music theft. he said, “new artists will never have the chance that [bands of kiss’ generation] got, because record companies would give us millions of dollars once we got successful, as an advance, non-recoupable, with a royalty system and all that. and so, we didn’t have to work day jobs.” he went on that with “new artists, you’re breaking my heart. it’s like new babies being born without being able to have food. you’re taking food from their mouths so they have to go work for a living and not have enough time for their art.” guitar.com
mr. simmon’s statement essentially tells the public that, if you want to have great artists with great music, you need to be willing to pay for it. artistry has a price.
he also took time to explain how enforcement of the commandment “thou shalt not steal” from the onset of “downloading” and “file sharing” could have saved music.
he explained: “who killed the music business? the fans did. not a foreign power, not aliens. the fans killed it. and who do I blame? the record companies for not suing that first putz who dared break into the henhouse and steal some eggs and a chicken for free.” “as soon as you let that first fox into that henhouse to take some eggs without paying for it, the rest of the foxes come along. ’ guitar.com
he expounded further: “then that cute little fox takes the egg back to where all the foxes are, and says: ‘hey, we’ve got a sucker over here. let’s go get some chickens and eggs.’ before you know it, there are no chickens; no eggs, the farmer’s out of business, the trucks that drove the farmer’s stuff to market are out of business… the supermarkets that sold the stuff are out of business.” guitar.com
again, mr. simmons takes the time to explain the consequences of theft. californians california are learning about consequences in real time. various important and valued stores are closing because uncontrolled shoplifting has cost them the ability to make profit. no profit, no store.
mr. simmon’s wisdom on the topic is no surprise. he briefly attended a religious elementary school. in that time, he was perhaps a quick study on ten commandments. he carried those values throughout his life. mr. simmons’ expressions and opinions are a testament as to how early education on the commandments and their values can make a lasting and lifelong impression.
be well!!
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