Friends of mine went to see ex-Throwing Muses frontwoman Kristin Hersh the other evening. One of the doyennes of the great American alternative scene in the 80′s and 90′s – the real one, not the corporately owned vanilla bullshit one of today – she now records mostly for a committed fanbase. The show incorporated perfromance art, spoken word and music.
They told me an interesting thing – they had found certain sections of the show harrowing. Not a word you readily associate with a rock show. Hersh spoke of how a lot of her music came to her from very dark places, how she had felt worthless and talentless and spoke candidly of her suicide attempt, walking slowly through the snow with blood dripping from her cut wrists, leaving it to fate whether she lived or died. As you can imagine, the song she played next was not a cover of ‘I Love It When You Call’ by The Feeling.
I’ve often wondered when suffering for our pleasure becomes selfish voyeurism on our part. Arthur Lee described drugged-up scuzziness perfectly, because that’s the way his life went. Did Húsker Dú sound so utterly compelling, so fucking unhinged because they were three speadfreaks, confused about their sexuality travelling in a van fucking each other? Would Evan Dando or Kurt Cobain have been the writers they were without the demons? Look at Shack – it’s a grubby little world on their albums, because it’s a grubby little smack-infused world they lived in. And I haven’t even mentioned Ian Curtis.
It’s perhaps because of the need for authenticity. Bono has striven for years to be taken as seriously as his idols, but never will be. Pete Doherty’s tabloid notoriety is, you suspect, somewhat self-generated. Incidentally, I’d seperate Doherty from his female version, Amy Winehouse, and again it’s due to authenticity. The song which fired Winehouse into superstardom was ‘Rehab’, a song she admitted was about her booze issues before she had made it big. This is not someone who chases it to mask a lack of talent, and until Doherty proves he can write a coherent album without Car Barát there to hold his hand, that suspicion will linger.
I think that’s why I love the Hold Steady. I’m sure there is some of Craig Finn in those lyrics – there must be – but it’s character driven,almost novelistic. I think this allows him to go places he personally wouldn’t want to. Does it make it any less authentic, any less real? Maybe. And there is the crux. We want the artists to go to the places we don’t have the bottle to and report back. We slag manufactured pish for its lack of soul. Maybe I’m helping perpetuate this rock n’roll syndrome? Who knows. I’m off to listen to some Shane MacGowan. Lives his gimmick, that lad.
Filed under: General Stuff Tagged: | Cobain, Kirstin Hersh, liberines, music, Pete Doherty, the Hold Steady
angst driven songs need to be authentic I agree. But music can equally be joyous and liberating, created to express elation, love and happiness….and that is just as valid. Whatever your mood, there is music to fit it, that is the beauty of it!
Yes, but joyous songs still need to have come from the right place. Two examples ; ‘Friday, I’m in Love’ by The Cure up against ‘Stars’ by Simply Red. Both upbeat love songs, but I think we know which one was written to exist and which was written to make money!
As I say, I dunno the right answer to this dilemma. Richey Manic carved ’4REAL’ into his arm; I still thought he was a style over substance cockend. Equally, everything guys like Craig Finn and Will Vlautin do has a the hint of artifice, albeit novelistic, and I still love it.
Though if Mick Hucknall would like to prove how ’4REAL’ he is by butchering his eyes with a nailgun, I’d happily watch.
The problem comes when the artists ‘gets better’ but loses an edge: do we as fans have the right to moan? Or as human beings do we celebrate?
Kristin Hersh remains a highly talented songwriter, but she was a ‘genius’ when she suffered badly with Bipolar Disorder.
Mark Eitzel is a genius but had even better songs when he drank more, and was more confused re sexuality, drugs and death.
Can I complain?
Yes. And no.
As a human, of course you wish them happiness, health and wealth. As a music fanatic, no, no you don’t.
I think that’s why people have a finite shelf life of brilliance – it just wouldn’t be fair on them to wish them to live a long life of the type which creates artistic ’suffering’, as the other option is the Kurt Cobain/Ian Curtis route.
And I think that’s just too great a price to pay for four great albums rather than three.
But I’d be willing to inject Kasabian with heroin and make them live in Siberian gulag for three months to test that theory. Bet it would still be a shite album.