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Crashing Through VS. Breaking Through

One of my favorite radio programs on WNYC used to be The Next Big Thing. It got cancelled. Unfortunately the show's format and content found itself right between This American Life and Radiolab (both I love).
But maybe it was the core premise of the show that just didn't ring that bell for people? Are we really waiting for the next big thing? or just the next thing? I think the latter.

Applied to the current art world financial mess, we all know that when the tsunami of recession calms there will be half as many galleries and a lot of shell-shocked artists (who were part of that market). Still though, I hear the bunch of us, the wider us, talking about what kind of this and what kind of that is going to come next?! I think that notion supposes that some new thing is going to come crashing through. That's completely impossible if you agree with me that there are no rules anymore. You need rules as shut doors or glass ceilings to come crashing through.

I believe that all kinds of artists have those elusively sublime breaking through moments at some point or other. Hopefully often and hopefully in rhythm. An artist has to excel, exploit and push his or her NATURAL talents to the absolute limit. You want good art - that's when that shit happens. It's all we have to offer as artists. Civic responsibilities and parenting is another story.... or is it? Making the best stuff possible takes an earnesty that sometimes isn't fashionable and at this moment in time certainly not culturally fashionable for young artists in the market. But those who do go at it like it's the last thing they will ever do are going to be the ones who move this era forward.

I've wanted to post these 2 clips back-to-back for a while. I think they are examples of two artists breaking through...
and two of my favorite musicians:


... and I think both are experiencing similar moments.

In terms of formerly needing rules in order to break them in order to create genius. Here is a link to an essay titled The Heresy of Zone Defense by one of my favorite writers Dave Hickey.
This is the moment referenced in the essay: