A Letter to Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, and now The Nightwatchman):

Hi, Tom – I attended your panel discussion yesterday, and I want to thank you for your enthusiasm and positivity. I got so frustrated with the moderator’s cool, detached cynicism, and I’m sorry, but I wanted to strangle her when she said that walking down Sixth Street made her want to grab 90% of the bands playing and tell them to give up. Your response–that it depends how you define success–was exactly right.

Sure, most of us have nurtured visions of the kind of success she values, but — at least in my case — we realize that we are on a different path. For me, it’s important to balance my burning desire to write and perform with my burning desire to sit at home and watch videos with my kids. In her worldview, that makes me a big loser.

If success means only one thing, then you’re doomed to never appreciate the small miracles – the moments of artistic connection with people, the great feeling when someone really gets your song and it moves them, the human experience of being just another parent at your kids’ soccer game.

I guess it all comes down to not feeling good enough – not worthy, which is the root of so much darkness in the world. In that respect, I feel bad for people, like your panel’s moderator, who only value the kind of success that is inherently unfulfilling and temporary. So who’s more successful? Who’s happier? Ironically, it’s the guy you referred to in Pacoima with his band in the garage.

So anyway, thanks again. I really appreciated everything you said.

Take care,
Rain Perry