(no subject)
Sep. 6th, 2024 10:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatAmanda Palmer's blog on Patreon has been intriguing me and I've been commenting on it. But so far for free - I've not upgraded yet. Taking a wait and see approach. I also like her music recommendations:
Roan Chappell - California
I actually found her comforting. She reminds me of Phoebe Bridgers, and a bit of Palmer. Kind of Alternative meets Grung, with a touch of Pop.
I should explain my view of music? I am, as you've no doubt figured out by now, an unrepentant and complete culture junkie, with seemingly eclectic taste, burgeoning on the non-discriminatory. Also, with zero tolerance for culture vultures/critics or snobs.
So, basically, I'm musically curious. I love it. And I will check out any band, musician, singer, songwriter - regardless of genre, to see if I like them out of pure curiosity. I really don't have a specific genre that I cling to. There are genres that I prefer over others. And admittedly I like lyrics. But for the most part? I'm just a curious soul.
This tendency has annoyed, bewildered and puzzled many friends and ahem, boy friends over the years. It particularly bewilders music snobs and music nerds.
However, I'm also a moody curious soul - so if I'm not in the mood for something or it requires too much effort - I won't try it. (ie. Anything on radio - radio isn't something I can access easily except through a computer, and just no. I get all my music through Apple Music App, which has unlimited downloads. I've been using Apple Music since they invented it, and my brother, niece and sisinlaw have it as well.)
I prefer music on MP3 - because I can hear it through my Bose earphones. I don't own a record player or a CD player, nor plan too. I don't like records. Never did. I find them ridiculously difficult to play. Scratch easily, damage easily, and the sound isn't as good at the MP3 or CD or even the cassette. I was happy to give up on them. They also take up too much space in a small apartment. The only thing I liked about them was the album covers and libretto included within the album, but that wasn't always easy to come by. And I can live without it - for good sound. (And no, you will never convince me that records sound better than MP3 or my phone, so do not try.)
I'm not however, a music nerd. I don't care about the specifics. Often forget the name of the artist, the lyrics, have no idea what album it is from, or when it was recorded. Worse? I am paralyzed with not caring all that much. Music criticism is kind of lost on me. I don't care. All I care about is - does the song move me? Did I like it? Did I see a movie in mind?
Do I want to hear it again? That's it.
So, music criticism - is lost on me? I don't see the point of it? I don't tend to read reviews of music any more than I do of paintings. I only read book, television and film reviews - that's it.
I'm not even into music analysis. I don't understand music well enough to analyze it. I just either love it or don't. This shocks folks who are used to me analyzing everything. But I just don't tend to analyze music. I don't see the need to. I'm not a musician, I don't want to be one, and I can't really read music well. I just enjoy it and it makes me happy.
But Palmer asked an interesting question in a long winded and round about way...
"Below, I’ve pasted the statement she made a few days ago. The press picked it up and the pundits (and Jewel) have weighed in. I’m going through a really hardcore transformation of my own as I re-tool and re-navigate my relationship with my own value, my own music, my own body and autonomy, my own naivety in the face of the world and the cultural kool-aid still flushing out of my patriarchy-molded, clogged, egotistical and attention-hungry veins. It’s been a lot. Younger artists whose work I love - Phoebe, Lorde, Billie, Chappell - they all provide a mirror for us olds as we gaze into the chasms of our own decisions. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to carve the time out, but I’m really inspired to write a piece about this for the substack if I can. So before I crack open the inkwell…talk to me about anything: Chappell, fame, parasocial pain, your own rethinking of what success means and what our culture does and doesn’t get right about it.
Always curious to know what the crowd is thinking. 🤘🔥🌈♥️
….
From Chappell’s IG:
For the past 10 years l've been going nonstop to build my project and it's come to the point that I need to draw lines and set boundaries. I want to be an artist for a very very long time. I've been in too many nonconsensual physical and social interactions and I just need to lay it out and remind you, women don't owe you shit. I chose this career path because I love music and art and honoring my inner child, I do not accept harassment of any kind because I chose this path, nor do I deserve it.
When I'm on stage, when I'm performing, when I'm in drag, when I'm at a work event, when I'm doing press...I am at work. Any other circumstance, l am not in work mode. I am clocked out. I don't agree with the notion that l owe a mutual exchange of energy, time, or attention to people I do not know, do not trust, or who creep me out-just because they're expressing admiration.
Women do not owe you a reason why they don't want to be touched or talked to. This has nothing to do with the gratitude and love I feel for my community, for the people who respect my boundaries, and for the love I feel from every person who lifts me up and has stuck with me to help the project get to where it is now.
I am specifically talking about predatory behavior (disguised as "superfan" behavior) that has become normalized because of the way women who are well-known have been treated in the past. Please do not assume you know a lot about someone's life, personality, and boundaries because you are familiar with them or their work online.
If you're still asking, "Well, if you didn't want this to happen, then why did you choose a career where you knew you wouldn't be comfortable with the outcome of success?"
—understand this: I embrace the success of the project, the love I feel, and the gratitude I have. What I do not accept are creepy people, being touched, and being followed.
This situation is similar to the idea that if a woman wears a short skirt and gets harassed or catcalled, she shouldn't have worn the short skirt in the first place. It is not the woman's duty to suck it up and take it; it is the harasser's duty to be a decent person, leave her alone, and respect that she can wear whatever she wants and still deserve peace in this world.
I want to love my life, be outside, giggle with my friends, go to the movie theater, feel safe, and do all the things every single person deserves to do. Please stop touching. me. Please stop being weird to my family and friends. Please stop assuming things about me. There is always more to the story.
I am scared and tired. And please-don't call me Kayleigh. I feel more love than I ever have in my life. I feel the most unsafe I have ever felt in my life.
There is a part of myself that I save just for my project and all of you.
There is a part of myself that is just for me, and I don't want that taken away from me.
Thank you for reading this.
I appreciate your understanding and support."
My response? I only posted a portion of it...since it kept cutting me off.
As to your question... I've been thinking about this a lot over the past several years, particularly with how social media interfaces with artists - at times on a frightening level.
In sum? I agree with Chappell, completely. The artist owes the audience no more than the art. That’s it. And that is intimate enough on its. Own.
Art, I've always believed should stand on its own? I kind of agree with David Bowie's assessment (which I saw in the art exhibit at Brooklyn Museum of Art), where he stated that art changes as we interact with it. It is different things to different participants. It's not just the creators but all who come into contact with it. It's also a way of understanding another's point of view - to get a glimpse into their psyche, and in some respects to connect with them. Art can be shockingly intimate at times, the most effecting art - I think - often is or the most memorable - the bits that stay with me. (Which may be why we swing away from those who do horrific acts or things we find morally repugnant, because we are afraid of that intimacy with them? Yet, should we? People are complicated? And it helps to understand them better? I don't know the answers to that. I know I've swung away. [This bit I did not post - because I didn't have enough room and deemed it off topic.])
And in regards to privacy - since art is often in of itself an act of intimacy in that the artist is sharing with us a piece of themselves, do we have the right to ask for more? I don't think we do. I think that's presumptuous and invasive, and the artist is right to push us away at that point. Art is magical when we are mutually sharing it – the artist shares their creation, and we share our reactions to it, either by playing with ourselves, interacting with it, or analyzing it, however we need to interact with the art – the artist doesn’t necessarily need to know – just that the very act of interaction – gives the art life outside of the artist.
I know as an artist myself - that what makes me shy away from sharing my art - is that fear of too much of intimacy, of those I'm sharing the art with - clamoring for more than I can give them, or rejecting it out of hand for not being what they expected, or worse thinking my very act of sharing the art - is in invitation to know everything about me or to judge me? Instead of greeting the art with curiosity and an open mind – too often it is greeted with judgement, moral or otherwise. And that’s painful for something so intimately shared.
There's something to be said for the purity of anonymity or a pseudonym. I want my art to stand outside of me - to be seen on its own, as part of me, but also apart. I want those I share it with - to be free to play with it in their own sandboxes, without necessarily telling me. I like the idea of art as being like a child - that you send on its way, but like any nervous parent, with more than a little trepidation and fear, but the art, the creation takes on a life of its own, all the more powerful when we, the artist, are left out of it - watching it go off and succeed. Those we choose to share it with? Should see it as a gift, paid for or otherwise, and ask no more of us but to play with it, forever and a day.
***
Off to bed. I think.
Roan Chappell - California
I actually found her comforting. She reminds me of Phoebe Bridgers, and a bit of Palmer. Kind of Alternative meets Grung, with a touch of Pop.
I should explain my view of music? I am, as you've no doubt figured out by now, an unrepentant and complete culture junkie, with seemingly eclectic taste, burgeoning on the non-discriminatory. Also, with zero tolerance for culture vultures/critics or snobs.
So, basically, I'm musically curious. I love it. And I will check out any band, musician, singer, songwriter - regardless of genre, to see if I like them out of pure curiosity. I really don't have a specific genre that I cling to. There are genres that I prefer over others. And admittedly I like lyrics. But for the most part? I'm just a curious soul.
This tendency has annoyed, bewildered and puzzled many friends and ahem, boy friends over the years. It particularly bewilders music snobs and music nerds.
However, I'm also a moody curious soul - so if I'm not in the mood for something or it requires too much effort - I won't try it. (ie. Anything on radio - radio isn't something I can access easily except through a computer, and just no. I get all my music through Apple Music App, which has unlimited downloads. I've been using Apple Music since they invented it, and my brother, niece and sisinlaw have it as well.)
I prefer music on MP3 - because I can hear it through my Bose earphones. I don't own a record player or a CD player, nor plan too. I don't like records. Never did. I find them ridiculously difficult to play. Scratch easily, damage easily, and the sound isn't as good at the MP3 or CD or even the cassette. I was happy to give up on them. They also take up too much space in a small apartment. The only thing I liked about them was the album covers and libretto included within the album, but that wasn't always easy to come by. And I can live without it - for good sound. (And no, you will never convince me that records sound better than MP3 or my phone, so do not try.)
I'm not however, a music nerd. I don't care about the specifics. Often forget the name of the artist, the lyrics, have no idea what album it is from, or when it was recorded. Worse? I am paralyzed with not caring all that much. Music criticism is kind of lost on me. I don't care. All I care about is - does the song move me? Did I like it? Did I see a movie in mind?
Do I want to hear it again? That's it.
So, music criticism - is lost on me? I don't see the point of it? I don't tend to read reviews of music any more than I do of paintings. I only read book, television and film reviews - that's it.
I'm not even into music analysis. I don't understand music well enough to analyze it. I just either love it or don't. This shocks folks who are used to me analyzing everything. But I just don't tend to analyze music. I don't see the need to. I'm not a musician, I don't want to be one, and I can't really read music well. I just enjoy it and it makes me happy.
But Palmer asked an interesting question in a long winded and round about way...
"Below, I’ve pasted the statement she made a few days ago. The press picked it up and the pundits (and Jewel) have weighed in. I’m going through a really hardcore transformation of my own as I re-tool and re-navigate my relationship with my own value, my own music, my own body and autonomy, my own naivety in the face of the world and the cultural kool-aid still flushing out of my patriarchy-molded, clogged, egotistical and attention-hungry veins. It’s been a lot. Younger artists whose work I love - Phoebe, Lorde, Billie, Chappell - they all provide a mirror for us olds as we gaze into the chasms of our own decisions. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to carve the time out, but I’m really inspired to write a piece about this for the substack if I can. So before I crack open the inkwell…talk to me about anything: Chappell, fame, parasocial pain, your own rethinking of what success means and what our culture does and doesn’t get right about it.
Always curious to know what the crowd is thinking. 🤘🔥🌈♥️
….
From Chappell’s IG:
For the past 10 years l've been going nonstop to build my project and it's come to the point that I need to draw lines and set boundaries. I want to be an artist for a very very long time. I've been in too many nonconsensual physical and social interactions and I just need to lay it out and remind you, women don't owe you shit. I chose this career path because I love music and art and honoring my inner child, I do not accept harassment of any kind because I chose this path, nor do I deserve it.
When I'm on stage, when I'm performing, when I'm in drag, when I'm at a work event, when I'm doing press...I am at work. Any other circumstance, l am not in work mode. I am clocked out. I don't agree with the notion that l owe a mutual exchange of energy, time, or attention to people I do not know, do not trust, or who creep me out-just because they're expressing admiration.
Women do not owe you a reason why they don't want to be touched or talked to. This has nothing to do with the gratitude and love I feel for my community, for the people who respect my boundaries, and for the love I feel from every person who lifts me up and has stuck with me to help the project get to where it is now.
I am specifically talking about predatory behavior (disguised as "superfan" behavior) that has become normalized because of the way women who are well-known have been treated in the past. Please do not assume you know a lot about someone's life, personality, and boundaries because you are familiar with them or their work online.
If you're still asking, "Well, if you didn't want this to happen, then why did you choose a career where you knew you wouldn't be comfortable with the outcome of success?"
—understand this: I embrace the success of the project, the love I feel, and the gratitude I have. What I do not accept are creepy people, being touched, and being followed.
This situation is similar to the idea that if a woman wears a short skirt and gets harassed or catcalled, she shouldn't have worn the short skirt in the first place. It is not the woman's duty to suck it up and take it; it is the harasser's duty to be a decent person, leave her alone, and respect that she can wear whatever she wants and still deserve peace in this world.
I want to love my life, be outside, giggle with my friends, go to the movie theater, feel safe, and do all the things every single person deserves to do. Please stop touching. me. Please stop being weird to my family and friends. Please stop assuming things about me. There is always more to the story.
I am scared and tired. And please-don't call me Kayleigh. I feel more love than I ever have in my life. I feel the most unsafe I have ever felt in my life.
There is a part of myself that I save just for my project and all of you.
There is a part of myself that is just for me, and I don't want that taken away from me.
Thank you for reading this.
I appreciate your understanding and support."
My response? I only posted a portion of it...since it kept cutting me off.
As to your question... I've been thinking about this a lot over the past several years, particularly with how social media interfaces with artists - at times on a frightening level.
In sum? I agree with Chappell, completely. The artist owes the audience no more than the art. That’s it. And that is intimate enough on its. Own.
Art, I've always believed should stand on its own? I kind of agree with David Bowie's assessment (which I saw in the art exhibit at Brooklyn Museum of Art), where he stated that art changes as we interact with it. It is different things to different participants. It's not just the creators but all who come into contact with it. It's also a way of understanding another's point of view - to get a glimpse into their psyche, and in some respects to connect with them. Art can be shockingly intimate at times, the most effecting art - I think - often is or the most memorable - the bits that stay with me. (Which may be why we swing away from those who do horrific acts or things we find morally repugnant, because we are afraid of that intimacy with them? Yet, should we? People are complicated? And it helps to understand them better? I don't know the answers to that. I know I've swung away. [This bit I did not post - because I didn't have enough room and deemed it off topic.])
And in regards to privacy - since art is often in of itself an act of intimacy in that the artist is sharing with us a piece of themselves, do we have the right to ask for more? I don't think we do. I think that's presumptuous and invasive, and the artist is right to push us away at that point. Art is magical when we are mutually sharing it – the artist shares their creation, and we share our reactions to it, either by playing with ourselves, interacting with it, or analyzing it, however we need to interact with the art – the artist doesn’t necessarily need to know – just that the very act of interaction – gives the art life outside of the artist.
I know as an artist myself - that what makes me shy away from sharing my art - is that fear of too much of intimacy, of those I'm sharing the art with - clamoring for more than I can give them, or rejecting it out of hand for not being what they expected, or worse thinking my very act of sharing the art - is in invitation to know everything about me or to judge me? Instead of greeting the art with curiosity and an open mind – too often it is greeted with judgement, moral or otherwise. And that’s painful for something so intimately shared.
There's something to be said for the purity of anonymity or a pseudonym. I want my art to stand outside of me - to be seen on its own, as part of me, but also apart. I want those I share it with - to be free to play with it in their own sandboxes, without necessarily telling me. I like the idea of art as being like a child - that you send on its way, but like any nervous parent, with more than a little trepidation and fear, but the art, the creation takes on a life of its own, all the more powerful when we, the artist, are left out of it - watching it go off and succeed. Those we choose to share it with? Should see it as a gift, paid for or otherwise, and ask no more of us but to play with it, forever and a day.
***
Off to bed. I think.