I think we can all agree that, in general, pop music is in a pretty sad state right now. Music sales are down, companies are scrambling to create efficient, affordable download software, and small, independent stores like the recently closed Sugar Shack Records, are going out of business around the country.

And it’s not only the “industry” that’s bringing the music down — it’s the music itself. In the words of Ani Difranco, it seems that “All the radios agree with all the TVs / and all the magazines agree with all the radios / and I keep hearing that same damn song everywhere I go.”

Just a few weeks ago, one band personified everything that is lacking in music right now with one simple action. That band is the Rolling Stones, and the action is choosing to sell their new concert DVD, “Four Flicks,” exclusively at Best Buy retail stores. Since the decision was announced, independent and non-independent music stores alike have been banding together, with many retailers now refusing to sell any Rolling Stones material at all.

On the surface, the Stones’ decision doesn’t sound all that evil. After all, they have pockets just like the rest of us, and I’m sure Best Buy put in a pretty hefty offer to secure the rights to the DVD. But if you stop and think about what Best Buy represents for the music industry, you’ll quickly realize that the boycotting retailers really do know what they’re talking about.

First, Best Buy isn’t even a music store. Yes, it sells music, but it also sells movies, computers, electronics and various home appliances, which make up a far larger portion of its sales. What does it say about a band’s priorities if it goes out of its way to provide its music to a store that doesn’t even specialize in the band’s product?

Second, Best Buy is a large, impersonal corporation. Do you know where your dollar ends up when you spend it at Best Buy? Do you know whether your money will stay in your community, or be distributed to some unknown location, to some unnamed CEOs? You probably don’t, and neither do I.

While these factors may not be a big deal to the average consumer, they’re factors nonetheless. Support for one’s musical community is important, and there’s a good chance that a national corporation will pay far less attention to a community’s needs than an independent retailer would.

I’ve always been rather indifferent toward the Rolling Stones, but this latest development has pushed me to the side of disliking them. It may seem like a petty issue, but any support right now for a corporation over smaller, independent music stores just seems dangerous and wrong to me.

And it’s exactly times like these that it would do us all good to remember that alt-countryish favorite, Wilco. It hasn’t exactly been front-and-center on the radar screen over the past few months, but its 2002 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot experience was enough to bring a ray of hope to even my usually pessimistic view of the music industry.

Let’s recap, shall we? Under contract, Wilco recorded Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The band played it for the record company. The record company hated it and ordered the band to re-record. Instead of following instruction, though, the band released the album over the Internet, for free, and it became the biggest thing since sliced bread. The record company eventually caved, and the finally released version of the album went on to generate huge sales.

Another band that is successfully working around the system is Pearl Jam, which just released a CD of singles, available only through the group’s website. Sales for the album have been astounding, proving once again that you don’t need a major label or major retailer’s help to sell music that stands out on its own.

Pearl Jam has done this before, too. Remember when the band refused to sell tickets to its shows through Ticketmaster, citing over-the-top “processing fees” and “facility charges” that just don’t make sense? Along with making a statement about the consumer dollar as it relates to the music industry, the anti-Ticketmaster campaign was an important first step in showing even hugely popular bands that they don’t have to bow to corporations if they choose not to.

So, with music sales slumping, countless independent stores going out of business daily and free downloading continuing, it seems irrational and ill-advised for a group as popular as the Rolling Stones to opt only for the corporate end of the spectrum. I applaud all the stores boycotting Rolling Stones material right now and hope that soon the band will put itself back in touch with reality and support the stores that really make a difference — the independents.