I wasn't suggesting that the only good songs comes out of 'personal hell',
but that is the generally the section of an artist's works that gets
heralded. And even if music is cheerful, upbeat or inspiring, it might have
come from a very dark place.
Also of course good music can come from a very good experience, but this
does seem to be rarer.
>paula cole sings songs that are pretty up beat
'Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?' sounds upbeat, but listen to the lyrics,
this is true with a lot of her songs.
Yes the Beatles early work is cheerful, but it's their later stuff that is
highly regarded by most, and they weren't a happy bunch for most of the end
of the sixties.
Yes Stephen Stills is cheerful, but is any of his work as acknowledged as
Neil Young's 'Harvest'?
Michael Stipe, 70's Bowie, Sex Pistols have all been used as examples, but
surely their best received work has come from rather screwed up periods of
their lives.
>and of course, joni's t.i. was very dark while t.t.t. was
>very happy.
I love TTT, and I think it's just as good as TI, but which one got the
grammy and 5* reviews, and which one got 'more of the same' reviews? Also
albums such as Hejira and Blue are always given the most praise, and they
are not drawn from times when Joni was content with her lot. Compared with
(my original point) that during WTRF she was probably having quite a nice
homelife.
This isn't to say of course that an artist can't draw on past experience, or
be a keen observer. But if you're not careful, everything can start
sounding like Neil Sadaka 'Boy meets girl' gee-wizz kind of stuff.
It's the same thing with artists and novelists a lot of the time.
Right, I'll stop now, as I'm sure I've already established a reputation as a
miserable bastard (- Don't Let It Bring You Down ;-) ).
Rob
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'Grand pianos crash together
When my boy walks down the street'
- The Magnetic Fields
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