For Tuesday I'd like your thoughts on any or all of the following questions: What music do you listen to currently? What role does the image of the artist/group/music play in your relationship with the music? Would you describe your favorite performers as "authentic"?
Make sure you read other students' posts and try to make connections among the different ideas.
5 comments:
My two most recent acquisitions have been the White Stripes' "Icky Thump" and Wu-Tang Clan's "The W." Both artists deal heavily with image and authenticity.
The White Stripes built their career on an unusual image: two siblings (in reality, former spouses) dressed in three colors. And they unveil a new style of dress, it seems, with each new album. There is little question that Jack White's (birthname: John Gillis) manipulation of his image is responsible for his group's unusual level of success. By carefully fabricating his image, and in particular by lying about his relationship to drummer Meg, Jack erased most of his authenticity. Still, authentic emotion (perhaps, some have suggested, provoked by the band's divorce) seems evident in their breakthrough album, "White Blood Cells." Unfortunately, such emotion is nowhere to be found on "Icky Thump," and no amount of bagpipes can cover up this fact.
The Wu-Tang Clan have, on the other hand, used their image to convey their authenticity, by dressing in baggy "street" clothing and constantly referencing their careers as drug dealers. In addition to their authenticity as thugs, the Wu-Tang Clan have played up their authenticity as rappers: Wu-Tang member Ghostface Killah has publicly criticized more commercial rap artists like D4L. While I don't care how much crack Ghostface has sold, I find it remarkable to note the intelligence displayed by these authentically lower-class, "no educated" (as Ol' Dirty Bastard describes himself on "The W") men.
Currently, I mainly listen to old punk bands from the late seventies and early eighties such as the Sex Pistols, New York Dolls, . But I am also quite interested in a lot of other different styles of rock music, especially Glam rock, played by bands such as Motley Crue, Accept or even Van Halen.
I personally think that the image the band gives of itself is a very important fact. Being honest about who they are would probably be the path to originality and authenticity. The Sex Pistols managed to get famous and really popular not because of the way they could play, but because of the people who said they couldn’t. This shows how just by playing songs the way they wanted they got able to perform their gigs.
There are two bands to which I could refer to as my favorite. First would be The Cramps, founded by Lux Interior and Poison Ivy. I’d say they’re authentic because of the way they act either on stage or just during recording sessions. And the second band is The Adicts, led by singer Keith “ Monkey “ Warren. They were especially inspired in their looks and in a few songs by A Clockwork Orange, which I why I would also refer to them as authentic performers.
Punk is my life. There's really no getting around it. Most of my favorite bands had their heyday in the late 70's and early 80's-- the Clash, the Ramones, the Dead Kennedys, and Minor Threat, to name a few. I'm also a fan of "third wave" 90's punk and alternative, with bands like the Casualties, Rancid, Nirvana, the Smashing Pumpkins, Bad Religion, Marilyn Manson, and Green Day being my favorites. I listen to a lot of classic rock and older mainstream rock and have recently gotten more interested in metal. [Having already professed my admiration for Fall Out Boy, I have nothing more to confess.]
"Image" for most of my bands doesn't convey the physical appearance of the artists as much as their artistic intent and the reactions people have to their music. Particularly with metal bands [Dimmu Borgir being one of the most notable], physical appearance can scare away potential fans while the music draws them in. Instead we tend to judge bands based on their authenticism, which is a remarkably contentious definition. Counterculture used to be known for being accepting of everyone, but it has seemingly devolved-- we now judge people as either "hardcore" or "a corporate sellout."
I think the image an artist portrays contributes immensely to his/her
authenticity. I feel the more original the artist is, the more authentic they
are. If the feeling of the artists music doesn't seem real or honest it is
harder to relate too, making it less enjoyable.
Currently, I am mainly listening to more up and coming aritsts. One of my most
recent findings is Mat Kearney. He is featured as a "You Oughta Know" artist on
vh1. He uses his real life experiences to make his music genuine. His smooth
voice with random outbursts of ryhme makes his music original and authentic.
I also listen to alot of hip-hop and R&B. Another one of my favorites is R&B artist Usher Raymond, better known as just
"Usher". From his first album "My Way" to his most recent "Confessions" Usher
has gained a large amount of commercial success. Although he doesn't write all
his music, it doesn't make him out right fake. As a young artist, he got his
material from daily experiences into becoming an adult. As I still enjoy his
music, it is disappointing to see Usher lose authenticity as he becomes more
popular and "successful."
sorry this is late everyone!
I'm curretnly listening to the Smashing pumpkins VH1 storytellers and Mellon Collie and the Infinate sadness, along with Rage Against the Machine's Evil Empire and Battle of Los Angeles. Two of my favorite bands of all time because of how they're writing styles of raw emotion and opinion merge with the instrumental sounds.
My relationship with both Rage's and the Pumpkin's music is the opinions and emotions portrayed in the lyrics and melodies. The role the artists play in my life is crating lyrics I agree with or relate to, which has heavily influenced me. Although I may not live my life through their words my relationship i have with the curiosity of their music makes it more entertaining to listen to.
I feel both of these groups have the most authentic and original sounding soungs/albums etc. I have ever heard. They're lyrics are from the heart and mind, and show tons of intelectual opinion. I also love all the instrumentals created, and feel they are original and distinct amoungst other bands and sounds.
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