Don't mean to be a prat but I have to present these partial lists to back up my little part of tackling the matrix as Stuart so aptly put it.

Best-selling books of 2004 (presumably US)

1. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
2. The South Beach Diet - Arthur Agatston
3. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
4. The Purpose Driven Life - Rick Warren
5. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
6. The South Beach Diet Good Fats Good Carbs Guide - Arthur Agatston
7. My Life - Bill Clinton
8. The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
9. Deception Point - Dan Brown
10. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown

Of the top 100 perhaps only 10 could be considered actual works of literature (and they sure ain't in the top 10, rather hard when the ubiquitous Mr. Brown had a hall of fame season) and 4 of them only made the list because hey Oprah liked it why shouldn't you.

Top 10 grossing films of 2004

1. Shrek 2
2. Spider Man 2
3. Passion of the Christ
4. The Incredibles
5. Harry Potter and etc
6. Day after Tomorrow
7. The Bourne Supremacy
8. Meet the Fockers
9. Shark Tale
10. Polar Express

Wow, 4 cartoons (don't give me that high falutin "animated feature bs), 5 sequels, and despite having seen nary a one of these films I can safely assume no more than 30 seconds of real life adult dialogue (unless you count Aramaic) or authentic situations. Combined gross in the US alone for these 10 master works: $2.5 billion.

Top 10 selling CDs of 2004:

1. Usher - "Confessions"
2. Norah Jones - "Feels Like Home"
3. Eminem - "Encore"
4. Kenny Chesney - "When the Sun Goes Down"
5. Gretchen Wilson - "Here for the Party"
6. Tim McGraw - "Live Like You Were Dying"
7. Maroon 5 - "Songs about Jane"
8. Evanesence - "Fallen"
9. Ashlee Simpson - "Autobiography"
10. Various - "Now That's What I Call Music 16"

Insert your own version of Charlie Brown's patented scream here.

Where the hell did we go so horribly wrong? I hate to be a cultural snob but these lists speak to me of a species that's lost the plot.

My point. How does an artist, one who cares passionately and intelligently about his craft, reconcile what these lists say to him and the time, energy and the search for next month's rent that is required of him to create something he deems meaningful and hopefully with lasting effect. Radiohead anyone? Is it any surprise that directors, authors, musicians, put out 1, 2 maybe 3 movies, novels or albums never to be heard from again. I think the astounding thing is that there are any at all staying the course. An author like James Kelman, a band like Low, a director like Jim Jarmusch god love them all for at least struggling on despite the complete lack of any mainstream success.

And these are artists I know. There are undoubtedly thousands, (millions?) of others wallowing in complete obscurity. Our "give it to me now and forget about it 30 seconds later " society has no patience to allow an artist to mature and develop an oeuvre that would be remembered for decades to come. At a time when we have available to us more forms of entertainment than could ever have been imagined 100 years ago are we suffering because of this surfeit?

In a world where people never tire of telling us that there's just not enough time to relax and yet where more diligence than ever is required to sift through the crap that passes as art to extricate the real gems I truly believe that we're not likely to see any artistic giants from the current era striding through the landscape of future generations.

Can I go watch Fear Factor now?