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| Tori Amos: My Teen-Age Voice |
1. Do you think that the music in your teen years is better than the music being played on the radio now?
2. Did you feel an "emotional" connection to the music in your teens?
3. What did music do for you when you were a teenager?
4. Were you obsessed with music in anyway when you were a teenager?
5. Who were your favorite musicians when you were a teenager and what drew you to their music?
6. What are your thoughts regarding the current state of the music industry? (The business itself, the mainstream artists, internet piracy, etc.)
1 - Yes! Absolutely music was better back then. But then again I wasn't as picky and critical as I am now!
ReplyDelete2 - I feel a musical connection to all the music throughout my life!
3 - Music connected with friends and we bonded through liking the same artists. It gave us hope and something to do together.
4 - I wasn't obsessed with music, but I was definitely obsessed with a few Rock Stars!
5 - Billy Idol was the BIG ONE for me. I loved his look and the energy behind his music and his clothes! I also listened to Madonna, Cindy Lauper, The Go-Go's, Wham, Stray Cats, and basically anything that was on the radio and that my friends were listening too. I didn't really have a unique taste in music. I just followed the crowd. I was a "New Waver" ( it was 1984 of course ) and not into "Goth" at all. I didn't like The Smiths, The Cure or any of those bands! I liked the fun upbeat music.
1. No. Personally I was 18 in 80' and found the 80's spoke more to me (Police, Elvis Costello, Alternative) though as a musician also I was pulled in by Yes and Genesis. I think those who think that todays music isn't as good, are not listening to all that's available. It is a rare top 40 artists (Tori Amos, Alanis Moroset) that gets deep, meaningful lyrics out to the masses.
ReplyDelete2. For me, I was a little suppressed to what was out there and toward the 17, 18 years, that is when I met friends who turned me onto amazing things. Peter Gabriel is a huge influence.
3. It took me out of my problems for the moment or helped me deal with them.
4. I was a keyboardist and composer so hearing new things that challenged me was always amazing. It made me think of what I could do.
5. Yes, Genesis, Peter Gabriel. Smart Art.
6. Since it "can" all be downloaded easily without any payment if someone chooses that route, the game is very different. I think it kills new artist who need to eat and can't make money. Though, you can now self promote and self sell very easily and make money on your tours. It actually effects the Music companies more than monetarily creative artists.
1. Do you think that the music in your teen years is better than the music being played on the radio now?
ReplyDeleteYou know, I feel more attached to the music of my teen years than to most of the music I hear now, but if I were a teen now, I would probably have bands that speak to me now the way my music did then. Back then, it was hard to impossible to find "my" music on the radio. Now, I think, with the music streaming on the net, it would be possible to ferret out stuff my teen self would have really connected to.
2. Did you feel an "emotional" connection to the music in your teens?
YES!!!! It saved my life, no exaggeration.
3. What did music do for you when you were a teenager?
Music spoke to me, spoke for me, made me realize that other people in the world were like me... Music helped me find my tribe.
4. Were you obsessed with music in anyway when you were a teenager?
YES! Played in bands, supported my friends' bands, hung out at the record store, made mix tapes, got grounded many times for being where I wasn't supposed to be, listening to music. If I was awake and not constrained by location (e.g., school) I was listening to music.
5. Who were your favorite musicians when you were a teenager and what drew you to their music?
Blondie, Ramones, Talking Heads, The Buzzcocks, The Slits, The Cure, Modettes, Joy Division, Bowie, Iggy, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, The Clash, The Jam, The Who, The Cramps, X, Fela, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Peter Gabriel, Robert Fripp, Hall and Oates, King Crimson, forget it, I could go on all day! I'm leaving out hundreds of artists. Love drew me to their music, love and identification.
6. What are your thoughts regarding the current state of the music industry? (The business itself, the mainstream artists, internet piracy, etc.)
I appreciate that the music now seems to belong more to the musicians. The industry itself seems like it's in a constant scramble to catch up! There has to be a balance between giving people access to the music they crave and making sure the artists are recompensed for their hard work. I have always thought that it's too bad that the little artists whom people connect to fiercely seem to be (and to be treated like) an entirely different species from the HUGE MEGA STARS. Not sure what can be done about that, 'though!
1. It feels like music in my teens was "better", but I also appreciate the current music and artists, so I have to say I like the growth shown in today's artists.
ReplyDelete2. I was very connected to the music in my teens. I feel, in a lot of ways, it "got me through" my teens and teen life during that age stage.
3. Music during my teens allowed me to cope with very strict parents that did not think a child's voice or opinion counted. (Children were to be seen and not heard.) Music would allow me to escape the generational gap, and take me away from my home life (which felt more like a jail?!)
4. I was obsessed with music. It was my escape, it was my salvation, and it connected me to myself in a special deep way!
5. Favorite teenage artists were: Elton John, Carole King, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Haircut 100, The Thompson Twins, and The Flock Of Seagulls!
6. I guess I accept that it is what it is. You can't fight progress in technology and although I had the extreme privilege of being in the biz for a long time, when it was still a lot of fun and really made a difference in sales, we are at a point where touring and merchandising are the only means left of the business. Unfortunately, now tickets are way out of whack price wise, and perhaps a new business model needs to come into play while accepting the current music sharing and internet accessibility of music. It is exciting to see how this will all play out, and what new businesses will result that do not even exist at this exact time. Stay tuned!?
1. Do you think that the music in your teen years is better than the music being played on the radio now?
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a teenager I didn't really pay attention to what was being played on the radio, but I do think a lot of the music that I listened to then is better than what is popular now.
2. Did you feel an "emotional" connection to the music in your teens?
Yeah, it was pretty much everything to me - back in those days I would memorize all the words to songs, know every little tidbit of available information on my favorite bands, etc. If I missed a concert by someone I really loved, I would be devastated.
3. What did music do for you when you were a teenager?
Mainly provided escapism.
4. Were you obsessed with music in anyway when you were a teenager?
Completely and totally obsessed.
5. Who were your favorite musicians when you were a teenager and what drew you to their music?
Pavement, Superchunk, Polvo, Sebadoh, Unrest, Fugazi, Teenage Fanclub, Dinosaur Jr, My Bloody Valentine - they were the coolest!
6. What are your thoughts regarding the current state of the music industry? (The business itself, the mainstream artists, internet piracy, etc.)
I think it's a sad state of affairs.
1. no about the same or better now - more breadth, more genres and social reflection. From John Lennon to Joni Mitchell to the Ramones to Radiohead to Balkan Beat Box, it's all been good...
ReplyDelete2. oh yes. some more than others, but the music of my youth is always evocative of better times (even if they weren't). the nostalgia effect...
3. music was a refuge and an outlet. high spirits, rebellion, the need for change. Woodstock generation here - we believed music could change the world - "c'mon people now, smile on yr brother, everybody get together and try to love one another right now..."
4. not obsessed. but music was always in the background. you know, "the soundtrack of my life..."
5. John Lennon and the Beatles - made the trip with them from romantic love to protest. 'Imagine' is a seminal mind-blowing controversial song even today... Later the Ramones..."Wanna Be Sedated" is my favorite song from the brain-dead Reagan era...
6. I fear for the artists. A life in the arts is always a crap shoot and it's a race to see whether corporations or non-paying fans will do the most damage...
1) Absolutely. There seemed to be a higher level of musicianship and less dependency on studio effects.
ReplyDelete2) Oh yeah! The religious music moved me spiritually, the classical and pop emotionally.
3) It gave me purpose in many ways; a raison d'etre.
4)Uh,yeah! For instance, I heard a guy sing Vesti la giubba , so, i went to the library and borrowed the record(yes,LP) and listened over and over.
5)Odd mix......Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Leoncavallo, Zombies,Hollies, Skynyrd, Allmans, many gospel groups....too many to list and an eclectic group.
6)The industry is dying. pre-packaged studio sounds are the main. talent isnt needed. The musicians I respect the most are the old ones still around and the ones that arent famous! You know, like Michelle Payne!
1. I don't even know what's being played on the radio today cause I kinda gave up on that contraption a long time ago. Except for internet radio, since I can choose what I listen to. And ironically, I'm hooked on the 80's station. i think I stopped listening to the radio about 12 years ago when I was in high school and was introduced to indie rock.
ReplyDelete2. I felt an emotional connection to EVERYTHING when I was a teen. I was a girl and my hormones were running rapid! But yes, music spoke volumes for me. I don't think I would have survived my teen years with out it. Also, when I was a teen is when I started being very specific about what I listened to when I made art. Music became part of the process of art making for me. Now I can't work with out it.
3. It induced certain feelings in me and also made me feel validated for being the imperfect and emotional creature that I was and still am.
4. I was and I wasn't. It was an abstract form of art to me that I had a hard time understanding only because I couldn't play it. But I was totally dependent on it for the artforms that I participated in createing: dance, theater, even visual arts.
5.Halo Benders, Magnetic Fields, Tori Amos, Cat Power. 10,000 maniacs.They were the most unique sounds I had ever heard and their sounds seemed extremely visual to me. It was as if I could see the sounds coming out of my speakers. Also, they weren't these pristine songs that came through on the radio. They sounded like the were really written in someone's garage and that raw quality wasn't lost in the studio. I could relate to that dirty, artsy side of the music. Except 10,000. They were very clean and orchestral. I loved all the layers and especially the story telling aspect of her lyrics.
6. I don't know too much about all the details, so I can't talk too much about it. But as far as internet piracy goes. . . I thought someone would find a way to balance that problem out with the big picture. I'm kind of surprised it's still such a problem
1. Do you think that the music in your teen years is better than the music being played on the radio now?
ReplyDeleteI think each generation thinks that the music in their teen years is better than the music that is being played currently, because of the nostalgic factor. When I was a teen, there was music that I really enjoyed as well as music that I could not stand. Overall I do think the music I listened to when I was a teen was more melodic than most of the stuff today.
2. Did you feel an "emotional" connection to the music in your teens?
Yes as I mentioned the nostalgic factor where one usually looks back at the "good old days" of growing up without the responsibilities of being an adult. The music of that time evokes the memories of being a teenager again and the only worries were doing homework and the awkwardness of being interested in girls and going through puberty.
3. What did music do for you when you were a teenager?
It was a method to rebel against the older generation who did not want to listen to the music we listened to and was also enjoyable listening to tunes that related to being a teenager and letting loose.
4. Were you obsessed with music in anyway when you were a teenager?
No.
5. Who were your favorite musicians when you were a teenager and what drew you to their music?
At my parents house, a lot of music I listened to (and still enjoy) included classical music, big band music, and musicals (Oklahoma, Man of La Mancha, Fiddler on the Roof, etc). I was a late bloomer when it came to rock and roll, but really liked ELO, Boston, the Partridge Family (don't laugh), Supertramp, Aerosmith, and even ABBA, and Spike Jones (the original from the 1940's). It was a strange variety.
6. What are your thoughts regarding the current state of the music industry? (The business itself, the mainstream artists, internet piracy, etc.)
I do not follow the current state, but obviously the business model of selling records and CDs has changed to being downloads. I think the studios have dragged their heels and not been leaders as the technology has changed. It seems that some of the artists have their voices so synthesized and are using their physical attributes to remain in the limelight (i.e. Lady Gaga). Would her songs be heard by as many people if she did not put on such a show and prance around in skimpy outfits? Are the artists being judged based on their abilities alone or do they have to do more and more outrageous behavior just to be talked about and in the limelight? I do not remember Pat Benatar running around in her underwear or changing clothes multiple times during a concert. Are the concerts now becoming events that transcend the music? Do music videos have to one-up each other? What if people just listened to the music without seeing the videos and used their own imaginations to conjure up their own images for the songs?