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Last Post 9/13/2004 1:30 PM by  Rev Jules
Are Damien Rice fans really Young Fogeys ?
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Rev Jules
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9/15/2004 5:20 PM
quote:
Originally posted by jmc105
can an artist be both popular and credible?
Yes, they can. Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Nirvana, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles. All very credible musicians, all who continue to sell by the shedload. By the way guys, be careful about getting into an argument with each other when there is no mutual agreement on what terms such as 'chart' etc actually mean. You should all keep in mind that the requirements for a chart position differ from country to country and from chart to chart. An artist can be number one in the UK R&b charts yet not smash the top twenty in the chart broadcast on TOTP. Also bear in mind that charts do not represent actual total sales but rather sales from what are called 'return shops'. The charts are closer to polls than they are to sales figures. In some countries, the charts are not derived from sales but rather from airplay. Also bear in mind that accreditation requirements for gold and silver discs differ too. You can sell x amount of a record in Ireland and be awarded a platinum disc but sell the same amount in America and you will not even qualify for a gold there. Also, discs can be determined also by what is called 'units shipped' as opposed to 'units sold'. For those of you naive enough to believe and base arguments on official statistics for sales and chart positions I would direct y'all to a very good book about the music biz entitled 'Hitmen'.
jmc105
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9/15/2004 5:32 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Rev Jules
quote:
Originally posted by jmc105
Originally posted by Binokular
can an artist be both popular and credible?
Yes, they can. Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles. All very credible musicians, all who sell by the shedload.
maybe i should rephrase the question - something like - can an artist go from being highly regarded but relatively obscure (like damien rice or, hopefully soon the frames) to having a much higher profile and achieving commercial successful, without losing credibility? it's not a black and white situation, but i think there's something to it... btw, sorry for not getting anything written, had a crazy week...
karlvin
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9/15/2004 6:03 PM
Some good points binokular ... had to do some thinking about those. I think the fact that "charty" has a negative connotation is not just because of the way people use it but rather that of late it's content has been a reflection of lots that is negative about modern music. I agree that things are picking up , there is nothing wrong at all about creating music that is popular in fact that's the way it's been for hundreds (thousands?) of years. In fact it's why we have a chart to quantify what's popular. Yes people sometimes do take it too far but to say that it's indie or alternative types is not strictly true what's the difference between Damon Albarn saying "I make this music for me etc." and some pre-fabricated boy band attempting to convince us that they are really into songwriting and have a huge input in their music ? I agree with your point on the "ease" of songwriting and I retract that statement :-), anyone who writes with an audience in mind constantly crosses that bridge. I've nothing against R&B or dance music and most definatley not pop music. However I do have issues with the fact that currently it's hard to hear anything else on major channels or radio than R&B , and I'm not convinced that that's because the record buying public actually like it , it's more likely that some (not all) have been duped into buying this music to be hip/cool/square , take you pick by the massive marketing / media campaigns you spoke of , I'd just like to see some of that spread around , i.e. when dance music was at it's heyday (in chart sales!) it was the exact same. Perhaps this is always going to be the case but I for one am looking forward to the swings and roundabouts so that things can level out , we get an equal blend and people can then decide for themselves which genre or genres they like the best , and not necessarily at the exclusion of others. I guess one way of starting this would be to have more independent radio stations like phantom on air / with licences. phew , rant finished , I too have had too much coffee today !!!
Binokular
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9/15/2004 6:15 PM
Hi JMC, was wondering when you'd show up, hows things? Yes, the term chart music has negative connotations, I'm saying it shouldn't. It reeks of elitism. Boybands and "manufactured" pop are often rubbish and bland, but that doesn't mean that they can't deliver the goods from time to time. Why be so dismissive? You know, the Sex Pistols were essentially a manufactured band, the brainchild of Malcolm Maclaren. This "ooh, they're manufactured pop" thing is rubbish, again indie kids running for the high ground. Great manufactured bands of the past: The Temptations, Jackson 5 (and much of the motown label), the Monkees, etc. Just because things seem a bit grim for manufactured pop at times is no reason to dismiss the format. You said credibility is when a "number of particular people to like you. these are the connoiseurs, the experts, whose opinion carries weight among others. for example, journalists, and musicians who already 'have' credibility, can bestow credibility through the media" Very true, I agree with you, sounds like runs the risk of being dangerously close to snobbery and elitism doesn't it? Thats not to diminish the role of the music press, hey, I write the (very) occasional review on Cluas myself so I guess that makes one of the Dark Lords Henchmen too (Eoghans gonna soooo kill me ), and it would be nice to think that someone would read one my reviews and value my opinion, but its just an opinion, same as anyone elses. So to answer your question about being credible and popular, yes they can, look at Radiohead. Eternal critics darlings (odd article excepted) and healthy record sales. I have two theories why backlashes happen. One is a journalist wants to make a name for himself and appear clever by knocking over some sacred cows, the other is that journalists get a bit bored of a partcular artist. Imagine the situation, a poor scribe sits at his desk contemplating his latest assignment "Ah nuts, the Editor wants me to do ANOTHER feature on the Frames, righto time to start a backlash so I can write about something else for the next six months"
Binokular
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9/15/2004 6:21 PM
quote:
Originally posted by karlvin
I guess one way of starting this would be to have more independent radio stations like phantom on air / with licences.
Right on Karlvin, give radio back to the people! *falls off soapbox*
jmc105
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9/16/2004 12:29 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Binokular
...I have two theories why backlashes happen. One is a journalist wants to make a name for himself and appear clever by knocking over some sacred cows, the other is that journalists get a bit bored of a partcular artist...
totally agree with your first point - i read a review of the frames single 'finally' which ripped it apart, ending with something like 'hopefully this song is bad enough to lose the frames all the recent support they've won'. it couldn't have been worse if glen hansard had run over the guy's dog while stealing his girlfriend. but then that's the problem with criticism as opposed to journalism. journalism should be fair and unbiased, but the role of the critic is to form and voice an opinion. unfortunately that opinion will always be biased, and sometimes in ways that will unfairly colour the writing. despite the exceptions mentioned (and even some of those came in for an amount of negative criticism) i still feel that, generally speaking, increased popularity harms credibility. and damaged credibility manifests itself as some kind of backlash. which is fundamentally unfair, since a cd won't change regardless of how many copies it sells. of course, a backlash is also fuelled by those who start out not really liking a band, watch them become ever more popular, listen to and read from fans going on and on about how great this band is, gradually grow to hate them and finally crack and go on the rampage on some poor innocent message-board or letters page or whatever. which i suppose is another way of popularity leading to negativity. and then in this country we have the 'who the fcuk does he think he is' mentality that sees us always secretly hoping that last night's lotto winner is a 98-year-old farmer from mayo and cursing when we see some poxy young gobs**te in the paper with champagne in one hand and a giant cheque for ridiculous euro in the other. in the end (philosophical moment approaching...) i'm glad to be able to say that i like damien rice's music. unoriginal? originality is an illusion. full of false sentiment? not for me. for me "o" is a cd i bought after witnessing some great gigs, waiting a long time and not being disappointed. it's a cd i love listening to. and in the end i'd much rather have that than not, a bit like the way you might feel for someone who doesn't like chocolate.
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