Having musical skills is only part of being a successful indy artist these days. To build an audience, you might find yourself spending as much time interacting online with fans as composing tunes.

The NYT reports that Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is particularly paying a price for the killing of civilians in the battle against the Taliban. But it's not just the air strikes and artillery mishaps (which are a consequence of too few boots on the ground) that are angering Afghans.