It’s a strange thing in America. We’re expected, and driven, to be a sports fan for a lifetime.
A Packers fan myself, I can root for Brett Favre as a cybernetic organism in 2029 (and don’t think they ain’t working on exactly this over at ESPGeN) and not be thought of strangely.
But if I mention my love for Thin Lizzy when I’m 75, this will come my way:
“Why don’t you grow up?”
It’s normal “job” in Europe. A musician is an artist. Music is a vocation. A skill. Highly valued, especially in the live element. So, for a Euro-someone to mention that he or she is a fan of any given band at an advanced age is not a developmental detriment. They’re also allowed to cheer for West Ham United.
In Iron Maiden’s case, you can root for Eddie and the Hammers. Cheers! Aces High! Up the Irons!
But here, a musician is a miscreant. A loser that got lucky, even if he or she sold any of their craft. It’s the only job in the USA where being an addict is expected! And in some cases, encouraged. Can’t think of another one like it. If you poll psychologists about their own chemical joyriders, you’ll find a consistent ratio of them is addictive.
Bricklayers, pilots, sheriffs, etc…
But, their addictions would not be seen as immature. Or showy. Or a matter of course. Or fuel for career disdain. Those employees seek help, get offered help, forced to receive help. Help. Then, back on your horse as a recovering addict.
Musicians are expected to be on the horse, and that’s the wrong kind of horse. Drugs and their lure are tragic enough, but it’s tough trap to avoid. Touring is an environment where alcohol is currency (I cannot count the amount of times I got paid in beer - whether I wanted it or not.).
Addiction is as commonplace as yelling “1-2-3-4” before a song. Look what happened to Dee Dee, fer crying out loud.
Quick example - Was the late Amy Winehouse known for her talent or for the substance sideshow she became? Was her addictive behavior the show, or her music? And what if she was an athlete who was on your fave team? Would you think the same way about her?
Americans are expected to outgrow music and the musicians they love by age 30-ish. It’s seen as a pimply rite of passage. The “Love of Music” is something that is to be endured by elders as a phase, and fed by young ones as a cause. Then it’s over, like squeaky voices and bad manners. After all that immature riffing, real adulthood can begin.
And GOD FORBID a child wants to be one! “Good Lord, I’d rather have him on a rooftop with a loaded rifle than be in a band”, I heard one parent say. I gave her a quizzical look, and said “Yeah? A musician? Like me?”
Insert awkward stuttering here…
Part of the employment perception problem, I think (thanks for asking) is that musicians, whether they’re hobbyists or pros, begin the same way – in the garage or basement, hammering out a three chord song. Then they get two songs down; four, eight, 16, etc…
They play a party, they play a club, they get signed and they move up the performance ladder. Other musicians (famous or obscure) can all compare notes – they have the same job transit system. And there are no diplomas or sexy suffix letters after your name to enforce respect for your efforts.
Dentists don’t have that particular albatross. I've been at parties with DDS’s and they don’t all get psyched about a root canal, run out into the garage, fire up a chair and some nitrous, then drill away on a guest.
And if they do, I wanna go to that party. I’ll bet Slash will be there.
But, musicians can do that (with the nitrous, too). Bono can walk into a rehearsal studio in any city, and find something in common with the band that’s rehearsing there. They all look at each other; agree on a tune and the creative stripes all match.
It’s a valuable skill.
It’s communication at the most human level.
And it ought to be more valued here - at least as much as the Cyber Favre we have coming out of the stem cell huddle.
Maybe by 2029…
Maiden America
8 years ago
I think a lot of that perception problem is because if you look at whatever might be regarded as the "golden age" of music for artists in this country, a prevalence of drugs, alcohol and/or immaturity flanked the music as closely as, well, Jim Leavelle.
ReplyDeleteLook at the era you emerged in... Only now are people actually starting to appreciate that the music that came from the artists might have a longer legacy than the artists themselves. Bret Michaels and his Rock of Love may not help that perception, but stations like Jack FM sure are.
I think an argument can be made that, like the steroid era in baseball, pop musicians made their bed wanting to live like rock stars, and now they've been forced to lie in it and get treated like the embodiment of the persona they created.
I didn't mean to get so heavy, but I think this may have started something (and I meant topically heavy, not Rainbow pizza heavy)...
It was absolutely the Golden Age in Rock Music. And much like The Waxworks in Sunset Blvd, they still hang together, dressing the same, looking for subjects to rehash about the Old Days.
ReplyDeleteThe 80's LA Rock scene was very much like the LA 20's Silent Era - kids moved in from the Midwest and looked to make it big. Just watched a documentary on Clara Bow last night that drew a BIG parallel to my thesis.
The difference is, talkies didn't kill off our era.
Age did.
Age brings up an interesting questions: Will your music be considered "oldies" in another 10 years? It already qualifies as classic rock, in a lot of cases. In ten years, will it be able to be played on K-Earth, which only plays music through the '70s now??
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. After a certain point, the song/emotion yellows with age and becomes nostalgia.
ReplyDeleteCould be worse - SK could not be classic at all or ever.