So now you have to like loud rock bands to be a part of it. There's really no difference between OWS and the Capitol Hill Block Party. What time does the beer tent open? This is how you're persuading the masses?

Uh...Fnarf...this isn't 1962. Loud pop/rock/rap music was mainstreamed a long long time ago. This is a mainstream cultural form. Look around you at all the ipods. Do you think they are listening to Haydn?

You and McCain can meet at his house and yell at kids outside, "Get off my lawn!" (I guess McCain doesn't have a house anywhere anybody actually walks, but... aw shit...what's the use. Sheesh)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCOGM7PL8…

@4, I was waiting for that. Yeah, I'm old. The point is, you need old people in your, uh, movement. The hipster fallacy is not a wise choice here (exclusion based on uncool modes of dress and entertainment).

I'm not suggesting that someone play Haydn instead. Haydn is unpopular too. The point is, you live in a world where everyone has an iPod and likes indie rock. But in the big picture you are missing the point that the vast majority of the population doesn't have iPods and doesn't much care for indie rock. It's not a popularity contest, and it's not about what's "mainstream" or not (as if local bands were mainstream, which they are not). It's not about entertainment at all.

I like cool bands too. I'm old and out of touch, but in my day I saw more groovy bands play than you've ever heard of. But it wouldn't occur to me to have them play a show at a political protest that counts on wide support from outside the groovy-band-loving scene.

Would it be cool if, say, Celine Dion or Wayne Newton or Taylor Swift or Toby Keith or Insane Clown Posse came on down and did a set? Hey, they're all more popular than Virgin Islands. Would you dig that? Would it support your mission? Not your scene? Would you even stick around?

Shorter Fnarf: If you can dance, it's not his revolution.

@8, I will dance your ass off any time, any place.

Holy Cow Fnarf. How old are you? I had to go back to 1962 to find a time that I thought fit my argument... because I remember a lot of the intervening time myself.

Probably all the people you mention would be cool except Insane Clown Posse, because they are associated with a certain type of gathering. Toby Keith is odd for this kind of gathering, but it would indicate a dramatic change of direction for him. The big limitation on artists like this is they would want so much money or less risk to their PR.

Kind of a Haydn guy myself, especially with my hearing loss. That's why Nirvana goes over my head. Can't understand anything he's saying without Supertitles. :-)

@7 Or to put it another way, if Marlene is willing to go to front to support the fight against Jerry, then I'm a Marlene lover.

I was there, and while I personally enjoyed their music and am a punk and metal fan, like Fnarf I felt that it set the wrong tone. Just an anecdote, but my parents went to Occupy Spokane that day, and I guarantee that they would have bolted as soon as these guys took the stage. Yeah, yeah, my folks are old. But this movement needs people other than punk fans in order to be taken as seriously as the Tea Baggers. Hell, most of my friends my age hate punk. They would have hated it, too.

Again, anecdotal, but unlike Goldy, I felt like the crowd thinned out once the band started. Nothing against the band, of course: go see them at Chop Suey. But if we're going to be taken seriously by the public-at-large, it seems like one of our biggest hurdles is the perception that we're all misanthropes and anarchists. No offense to Virgin Islands, but I don't think they helped on a day with more media coverage than usual. I'm not sure what the name of the song is, but I'm pretty sure I heard a chorus of "Progress sucks!" repeated dozens of times in one song. Not helping.

@13, this is exactly what I was getting at. Thank you.

Hi all! This is all about standing united. Together. No hipsters, no hippies, no yuppies, no punks. No labels. Just humans who want to live free of oppression. With liberty and justice for all. Period. The sooner we all get on board with that in mind the sooner we will see a positive result from this show that The people, undivided, have the power!

Fnarf, there were tons of old people there and very few hipsters. Actually, that was pretty sad how so few Capitol Hill kids bothered to show, the march Saturday was over 3,000 people a lot more people were in the 30-80 age range, including lots of parents with their kids. The music ranged from hip hop to punk to folk music and spoken word. The music, crowd, and entire event was fairly diverse with people from all walks of life that are downright angry about Wall Street's influence over our government. And yes, Virgin Islands rocked the joint, but I disagree that the crowd dispersed then. It actually swelled during that time period because it was right before the big march, which was awesome and hundreds if not thousands of people randomly off the street joined in.