Addiction is an interesting angle. A lot of artists wonder how much they'll lose by giving up alcohol, drugs, sex, etc., which, more often than not, leads to worsening abuse—eventually death. As much as they're addicted to their vices, they're even more addicted to their craft; it's crushing for them to consider their creative abilities are tied to an outside source. So to give up that muse is to—ironically—surrender life. It's an unfortunate side-effect to what people unaffectionately refer to as the "artistic temperament."
I think we dicussed the "influence of drugs on music" in another thread, but I found this interview with F.M. Cornog (East River Pipe) recently, and he had a good quote about it:
It's a total bullshit rock & roll lie that a person can be a complete wasto/alky/drug addict and still be a creative, productive artist. It's bullshit. During that time in my life, I only had time for 2 things... (1)getting fucked-up, and (2) getting more money so I could get fucked-up again.
Cornog, of course, was a homeless drunk for a couple years before getting signed to Merge Records.
----- We were wasps with new wings, now we're bugs in the jar.
Originally posted by ericg75: I think we dicussed the "influence of drugs on music" in another thread, but I found this interview with F.M. Cornog (East River Pipe) recently, and he had a good quote about it:
It's a total bullshit rock & roll lie that a person can be a complete wasto/alky/drug addict and still be a creative, productive artist. It's bullshit. During that time in my life, I only had time for 2 things... (1)getting fucked-up, and (2) getting more money so I could get fucked-up again.
Cornog, of course, was a homeless drunk for a couple years before getting signed to Merge Records.
It's not a lie. Keith Richards has found the perfect combination to not only survive 168 years, but also manage to stand upright and play a guitar.
Originally posted by m.leland: It's not a lie. Keith Richards has found the perfect combination to not only survive 168 years, but also manage to stand upright and play a guitar.
I believe Keith Richards is a robot, or at least some sort of cyborg. I can't imagine the man has actual human organs keeping him alive. I saw a picture of him recently walking through a city, barefoot, in Rolling Stone. Real people don't do that. That's cyborg shit.
----- We were wasps with new wings, now we're bugs in the jar.
Originally posted by m.leland: It's not a lie. Keith Richards has found the perfect combination to not only survive 168 years, but also manage to stand upright and play a guitar.
I believe Keith Richards is a robot, or at least some sort of cyborg. I can't imagine the man has actual human organs keeping him alive. I saw a picture of him recently walking through a city, barefoot, in Rolling Stone. Real people don't do that. That's cyborg shit.
Don't be ridiculous. Robots need oil. Oil didn't exist 100 years ago.
Good topic. Though perhaps the question should be "What is a musical genius?" The accolade of genius is bandied around far too much these days, especially when it comes to music. Abba, Oasis, Michael Jackson to name a few have all been called geniuses. All of them have written great songs but do they really deserve it? It doesn't come down to personal taste though. I love Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, they might even be my favourate band, but i disagree when people say they were geniuses. I think a Geniuses is someone who pushes back the bounderies, does things that havn't been done before and does things that no one else could replicate as good as them. Geniuses should stand alone and they should be few and far between. Hendrix was one, The Beatles too. In recent years the only one i would even consider giving the accolade to is Radiohead.
Originally posted by ericg75: I believe Keith Richards is a robot, or at least some sort of cyborg. I can't imagine the man has actual human organs keeping him alive. I saw a picture of him recently walking through a city, barefoot, in Rolling Stone. Real people don't do that. That's cyborg shit.
Speaking of Richards, can we think of him as a genius? You must be doing something right to be coined "The Human Riff."
I think of genious as someone who not only treads new territory and makes it work, but someone who can, over time, explore different mediums and push those boundaries as well. Like in the way the beatles are able to tell stories through many different genres without sounding stale or redundant. Basically everything they touch turns to gold, or a shiny silver at least.
the original post asked whether someone might consider any musical genious today on par with mozart. Well I don't know about equal talent (hard to make a direct comparison) but I know I listen to Kid A the same way as I listen to mozart.
The layering of samples in "everything in its right place", the white noise and gradual build up of "how to disapear completely", the disturbing mix of sounds in "idioteque", takes me where no other music ever has and transformed the way I listen to music. Nothing comes close.
The head of state has called for me, but I don't have time for him
Interesting how troubled, more disturbed artists like Brian Wilson and Phil Spector (and Van Goph) get the genius tag, wheras seemingly well adjusted musicians like Paul McCartney don't.
In terms of churning out classic songs, Paul McCartney shits on Brian Wilson.
Anton Newcombe, of The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Has released over a dozen albums, all written by him, and is probably one of the least appreciated musicians around in my opinion.
Originally posted by Stocky: Interesting how troubled, more disturbed artists like Brian Wilson and Phil Spector (and Van Goph) get the genius tag, wheras seemingly well adjusted musicians like Paul McCartney don't.
...Paul McCartney shits on Brian Wilson.
Paul shits on Brian Wilson? That is disturbing behavior. Get that man his Genius Tag.
----- We were wasps with new wings, now we're bugs in the jar.
Originally posted by Joewithajay: Anton Newcombe, of The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Has released over a dozen albums, all written by him, and is probably one of the least appreciated musicians around in my opinion.
After watching Dig, I've got a pretty good idea why Anton Newcombe and the Brian Jonestown Massacre aren't appreciated. They suck. And releasing dozens of albums all written by him isn't any great feat. Ryan Adams released a dozen albums this year.
I would top my list with Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, two legendary song writers who were largely shunned by mainstream music because of their unorthodox vocal styles. I know that Tom Waits gets lots of love around here (and he deserves all of it), but I would like to see Cohen get a little more love. Halleluja is an absolute classic song, one of the best of the last century...
I never hated any of you/I loved you all at the time
Originally posted by DrAwesome: I would top my list with Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, two legendary song writers who were largely shunned by mainstream music because of their unorthodox vocal styles. I know that Tom Waits gets lots of love around here (and he deserves all of it), but I would like to see Cohen get a little more love. Halleluja is an absolute classic song, one of the best of the last century...
This is exactly what I think as well, Cohen has a very great stream of record from the debut to the unfortunate Spector incident. And the return with "I'm Your Man" and "The Future" is also allright, even if the last two albums have been abysmal.
I find it a bit hard to talk about geniouses due to the problem of definitions, but I would also place Boards Of Canada here.
I don't think Leonard ever produces "abysmal" music. Ten New Songs (2001) sounds great to my ears, and Dear Heather (2004), while not his strongest effort, has several good songs. There's nothing abysmal on either record.
I know he doesn't appeal to everybody, but what makes him special are his lyrics. He's a musician, but I bet he'll think of himself as a poet in his final days. He definitely gets a place in my personal Hall of Musical Geniuses.
Kind of a chauvinistic thread so far. Was anyone going to mention Bjork?
********************** Metal-Archives POTD
quote:
im looking for pretty much the most uninspired/unoriginal brutal and/or slam death. with little or no variation in vocals. stuff like disgorge(us) and condemned.
