Jesse Spillane
Ether DiverOne thing that has become extremely clear to me as I have done this Other People's Music project for years: even the most unpopular, critically scorned backwaters of music have been deeply influential and have passionate, generations-deep fanbases.
Having grown up in an era of rockism, with its focus on establishing canon and a veneer of "objective greatness" for its anointed subjects, and the accompanying disdain and dismissal bordering on hate speech for anything that challenged that paradigm, it's been eye opening.
I'm finding albums that sound like stuff that Rolling Stone was excoriating in '89 as "pure self indulgent wankery from an artists who should know better" and its obvious the person who made it didn't agree with that take AT ALL LOL
Not to mention whole genres that were ridiculed and treated with disgust that have been reclaimed -- disco and fusion are the two that immediately leap to mind. Man, Serious Rock Guys HATED fusion (but secretly loved Steely Dan LOL) for the longest time.
If there is a message here, it is please enjoy and utilize criticism for what it is worth, but NEVER let any critic or cultural commentator tell you something is useless, worthless, pointless or not worth your time. If you like it, at all, so do many, many other people, and you're right to do so.
And certainly, if you're a musician, just make what you love.
élytres - François Dumeaux@etherdiver Yes! It's my way to think about it, too.
If I like making it, there is chances that (at least some) other people will like it too.
If I like making it, there is chances that (at least some) other people will like it too.
ArapallaThank you Fank Zappa. 😎
Andy Incarnate (He / Him)@etherdiver That's one of the things I try to work into what I do, it's definitely a guiding principle. I think I picked that up from Brian Eno's little book "What Art Does". Someone else (can't remember who) said they got advice from Steve Albini when they were recording their album, he said "Don't forget why you came here". Both trying to encourage you to try to express your authentic self. Those things have stayed with me.
Kevin@etherdiver Exactly. One of my fondest memories is from my first show not opening for someone else. We had an audience of two - our significant others - until a random guy stumbled into the art space and listened for a while. I'll always remember that guy and wonder what he thought accidentally coming on a drone performance. Anyway... the point is we were playing because we loved it. Nothing else.
@kevin I have seen INCREDIBLE performances in bars with more staff working than people there listening. The idea that something has to be popular to be good is a mind poison.
@etherdiver It's baked into our culture. Back when you had to really search out new stuff, there was this metal head who berated me for being into hardcore and metal demo tapes. They weren't real to him. For me, that's where *the* real shit was happening! Hopefully, he grew out of that attitude.
W6KME@etherdiver Having played rock in every decade from the 60s to now, I've noticed one thing. 25% of rock is pure music, joy, rebellion, sex, and fun. The other 75% is terror over being seen as not cool enough. All the genre hating stems from that.
Hell, the overwhelming need to shove every band into a defined genre is part of that too. Without that, how can one be sure that they're hating or liking the right thing?
Paul_IPv6teens: "we show that we are unique and rebels by dressing exactly like the cool kids and listening to the same music as the cool kids"
Undercat@etherdiver Robert Christgau never deterred me from enjoying something just because he hated it.
HernanLG@etherdiver
There's an audience for everything imaginable. I've always thought that, and heard Miss Tammie Brown say it not so long ago as well
There's an audience for everything imaginable. I've always thought that, and heard Miss Tammie Brown say it not so long ago as well
@HernanLG There is! And, maybe just as important, lots of people do not care how big an audience they may get, they just want to make more of the music they love.
Owlor 🦋@etherdiver Bandcamp has a bunch of really excellent indie ska music and that's a genre that most people who aren't specifically into it tend to treat like a joke.
@Owlor Nice! I'm not a fan myself but I'm not surprised it's flourishing! And I'm glad to hear it.
Jason Garber@Owlor I’ll always have a soft spot for ska!
Do you have any favorites at hand? Would love some recommendations on Bandcamp.
Little Ways@jgarber @Owlor I'm not the person you asked but I strongly recommend JER -
https://jerband.bandcamp.com/album/death-of-the-heart
https://jerband.bandcamp.com/album/death-of-the-heart
Death of the Heart, by JER
15 track album
@Littleways @jgarber It really is queer people, people of color and queer people of color that's carrying the torch for ska and innovating within the genre
@Littleways @jgarber Really, it's JER you gotta watch, if something interesting is happening with ska, they are probably involved somehow.
@Owlor @Littleways Ahh, yeah, I've come across JER's records on Bandcamp before.
@jgarber The album Ordinary Life by We Are The Union comes to mind https://wearetheunion.bandcamp.com/album/ordinary-life
Ordinary Life, by We Are The Union
11 track album
@jgarber Then there's Tape Girl, which mixes ska, alternative rock and electronic/chiptune together https://tapegirl.bandcamp.com/
@Owlor OMG that cover of "Mr. Telephone Man"…!
@Owlor This is familiar-looking. It must've come across my feed when it came out. Thanks for the recommendation!