Pass.
I had a debate a couple days ago that made me revisit some thoughts I've had before about celebrities and artists -- musicians, specifically -- and the expectations that people have of them. I always find myself on the side of this debate where I am defending an artists right to basically act however they want. I'm not much for accusations of 'selling out' and I'm especially disinterested in analyzing any celebrity's behavior towards their fans. I don't really think that choosing to make art means that you should have some special responsibility that the rest of us don't have to go out of your way for everyone who wants a piece of your time. For larger celebrities, or just musicians with especially rabid fans, giving everybody what they want is literally impossible, much less something they should feel obligated to do.
Our debate revolved around a local musician who I'm good terms with, but who I've been told dozens of times is "actually" a pretentious asshole, based on their second or third hand anecdotes, or on the way people think he comes across in interviews. My argument is actually two-fold. One part of my problem is that I don't really care if he IS a pretentious asshole. It wouldn't affect my perception of what a good songwriter, singer, and performer I think he is whatsoever. The other part of my problem is that the person in question has had plenty of opportunities to be a pretentious asshole to me or in front of me, or at the very least ignore me or be indifferent, but instead he has always been exceedingly pleasant, accomodating, and sweet -- going out of his way on many occasions to make me feel appreciated and more like a friend than a fan, even though I am clearly a completely obsessive freak about him and his band. I don't think it's unreasonable or biased to think that my own personal experience counts for more (for me) than some vague story someone heard once about him being a jerk.
It's funny because the former argument, that I don't care if the musicians I love are jerks, is something I believe to be true but have never really had the chance to test. I like plenty of musicians who have nasty reputations but every interaction I've ever had with them has been nothing but sweetness and light. Conor Oberst laughed at my jokes and hugged me and all my friends when he had plenty of blonder girls waiting to kiss his feet, or drugs to do, or U.S. States to offend, or whatever... But, you know, I wouldn't really care if he HAD just walked past us instead. I honestly believe that it doesn't matter to me much. Lots of people like to point out to me this one time that Conor was asked in an interview whether or not he used the internet to communicate with his fans and he said that he didn't really care about communicating with fans. And my reaction to that is to laugh. And I don't think it's crazy or mean or terrible of him to say. No one has enough time to communicate with their friends, much less hundreds of thousands of adoring teenagers. All he's supposed to do is write good songs. And, actually, if he wants to stop doing that and start teaching elementary school again, whatever. I'll miss the songs but I won't think he's a jerk. Why must we hold musicians to standards that we don't hold anyone else to?
Anyway, I feel like I'm rambling. But I'm interested in other people's opinions about whether or not they believe all the stories about so-and-so being terrible and whether or not they would care if it was true. What kind of obligations to musicians have to be nicer than the rest of us? And if they're not, does it affect the way you hear their music? How much do you factor stories you've heard about someone into your perception of them? Is just ignoring your fanbase okay if you're making amazing music?
Our debate revolved around a local musician who I'm good terms with, but who I've been told dozens of times is "actually" a pretentious asshole, based on their second or third hand anecdotes, or on the way people think he comes across in interviews. My argument is actually two-fold. One part of my problem is that I don't really care if he IS a pretentious asshole. It wouldn't affect my perception of what a good songwriter, singer, and performer I think he is whatsoever. The other part of my problem is that the person in question has had plenty of opportunities to be a pretentious asshole to me or in front of me, or at the very least ignore me or be indifferent, but instead he has always been exceedingly pleasant, accomodating, and sweet -- going out of his way on many occasions to make me feel appreciated and more like a friend than a fan, even though I am clearly a completely obsessive freak about him and his band. I don't think it's unreasonable or biased to think that my own personal experience counts for more (for me) than some vague story someone heard once about him being a jerk.
It's funny because the former argument, that I don't care if the musicians I love are jerks, is something I believe to be true but have never really had the chance to test. I like plenty of musicians who have nasty reputations but every interaction I've ever had with them has been nothing but sweetness and light. Conor Oberst laughed at my jokes and hugged me and all my friends when he had plenty of blonder girls waiting to kiss his feet, or drugs to do, or U.S. States to offend, or whatever... But, you know, I wouldn't really care if he HAD just walked past us instead. I honestly believe that it doesn't matter to me much. Lots of people like to point out to me this one time that Conor was asked in an interview whether or not he used the internet to communicate with his fans and he said that he didn't really care about communicating with fans. And my reaction to that is to laugh. And I don't think it's crazy or mean or terrible of him to say. No one has enough time to communicate with their friends, much less hundreds of thousands of adoring teenagers. All he's supposed to do is write good songs. And, actually, if he wants to stop doing that and start teaching elementary school again, whatever. I'll miss the songs but I won't think he's a jerk. Why must we hold musicians to standards that we don't hold anyone else to?
Anyway, I feel like I'm rambling. But I'm interested in other people's opinions about whether or not they believe all the stories about so-and-so being terrible and whether or not they would care if it was true. What kind of obligations to musicians have to be nicer than the rest of us? And if they're not, does it affect the way you hear their music? How much do you factor stories you've heard about someone into your perception of them? Is just ignoring your fanbase okay if you're making amazing music?
Labels: music
posted by summer anne burton at
2:11 AM
1 Comments:
I think I'm rare in the sense that I don't even really want to know anything, at all, about the musicians who make the music I care about the most. Every now and then, I'll pick up on something or get curious and try to find out about it myself. But generally, I actively avoid it. This is partially because I don't want it to affect my perception of the person, like if they're an asshole. But it's mostly because I don't care too much. All I really want and need from them are their songs. That's what mattered in the first place, that's what I'm going to care about forever.
Beyond that, I assume they're just normal people, who may or may not be someone I would like. Their songs are some separate, incredible part of themselves, and that's the part I keep.
Like writers and their books. Sure, it's great if they're great and all, but I don't need them to be my friends. I just need their words. You know?
And if they stop writing or singing or whatever, that's okay. I have what I loved in the first place, there's never any guarantee that there will be more of that, in any situation.
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