What does it mean to you?
On a recent discussion surrounding mainstream music and 'selling out' i have pondered somethoughts about music in general and what i personally feel is a great musical philosophy to hold to oneself.
Recently my favourite band The Mars Volta was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Single for the song Wax Simulacra. Quite ana chievement for a progressive rock, latin, salsa, funk, punk band to be honest - but to look who they're up against - Disturbed being one opponent - it occured to me that the way we divide music into categories of 'good', 'bad', 'generic' and 'mainstream' is completely irrelevant. The Mars Volta have also garnered a shit-ton of publicity following their latest endeavour The Bedlam in Goliath. Magazine and radio interviews set aside - it appears that the band are garnering somewhat of a wave of publicity and 'mainstream' attention of sorts.
This attention has worried many existing fans - driving them to thoughts of the band selling out, becoming mainstream, attracting fan boys and girls a plenty. What i suggest is you needn't worry about all those things. No matter what artists/bands you listen to. Music isn't about what is cool, what is popular, how much money the artist makes, what clothes he or she wears or the perfume they produce. Music is about feeling, emotion and the way it makes you feel when you hear the sounds.
Music is, from my point of view a very private thing, and this is because music is unique to the listener - it doesn't matter how many people listen to 'your' band - it matters how you feel about the music when you have your headphones in, or when you're in your room blasting out your favourite artist. On the contrary, music can also be very public - when you go to a gig you share the experience with others, you feel the crowds energy feed off the bands stage presence - but in the end it all comes down to one word - feeling.
posted by Alex @ 11:25 AM
2 Comments:
I think that most fans are worried that the band they like will change their sound once they go mainstream to STAY mainstream. I know some bands that, once they got famous, they changed their music to suit the majority of their new fans, instead of staying true to the old music that their old fans liked. While it's better for them since they have more fans (which means more money for them), it also drives the true fans away from the artist. For example, Tera Melos has said that their next album/EP/whatever will be different from their previous stuff, going farther away from math rock. There's no telling how it'll turn out, but if it is an entirely new and undesirable sound to the current fans, then they'll probably stop going to shows, stop buying CDs, etc. That new sound could also attract a wave of popularity. That's why fans are afraid of their special underground/indie/unknown/etc. band going big. At least, that's how I see it.
I apologize in advance if this seems jumbled, random, etc., because that's just how I am (haha).
i totally agree.
i have no problem with bands that go mainstream - as long as they make music for themselves and not for the money - coz in my eyes making music for pure financial gain is not musicianship or art
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