Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Bottle up and go/ if you're going to hide, it's up to you...
I saw this a week or so ago, and the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. It could be another example of a Pitchfork writer crossing his arms, stomping his foot, and playing contrarian just for the sake of being the only guy to disagree. "When it comes to suicide, critical hindsight is bullshit. Even the most sincere music is largely just performance, theatrical unreality crafted for maximum emotional impact." Which is a fine thesis... when someone doesn't end up committing suicide. Yeah, you can call it performance when someone sings the saddest song ever, then walks off stage all smiles. It's a whole other thing where you write songs dripping in sadness, then take your own life. There's no connection? Come on.
Yes, of course you should separate the singer from the song. Did Johnny Cash shoot a man just to watch him die or take a shot of cocaine and shoot his woman down? I’m thinking he didn’t. But take Springsteen: was there a Wendy that he tried to take down Thunder Road? Was there a Sandy and did Bruce tell her about getting his shirt stuck on the tilt-a-whirl and thinking he’d never get off? I have no idea, but there's a good chance the answer's no. But if you read interviews with Springsteen, he talks about how he wanted more than anything to escape his town, to not be another factory worker. And that’s the metaphor. Whether you think the metaphor is elegant or clumsy or somewhere in between, the image of getting trapped on the tilt-a-whirl was a metaphor for being trapped in a small seaside town.
A writer’s work is informed by the writer’s life. Listen to Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. That wasn't informed by his personal life? Of course it was; it's practically the diary of his marriage falling apart. Was Elliott Smith happy? Listen to his songs, read his autopsy at smokinggun.com. The new album may not be a suicide note. There are probably no lines about wanting to put a knife in his chest while his girlfriend’s hiding in the bathroom. But the same sadness that brought him to his end is obviously an influence in his songs.
On the other end of the spectrum, do I think Lindsey Lohan wants her privacy and to have fun while she can? I am 100 percent certain. (And on this note, you can accuse the young Ms. Lohan of many things, but she’s no starfucker. Do you think she calls up restaurants and says “You have no reservations? Uh, I have two words: Wilmer. Valderamma. A little sitcom called That ‘70s Show? A comedy powerhouse named ‘Fez’?” I don’t even think that works at the restaurant Ashton Kutcher has a stake in.)
Yes, of course you should separate the singer from the song. Did Johnny Cash shoot a man just to watch him die or take a shot of cocaine and shoot his woman down? I’m thinking he didn’t. But take Springsteen: was there a Wendy that he tried to take down Thunder Road? Was there a Sandy and did Bruce tell her about getting his shirt stuck on the tilt-a-whirl and thinking he’d never get off? I have no idea, but there's a good chance the answer's no. But if you read interviews with Springsteen, he talks about how he wanted more than anything to escape his town, to not be another factory worker. And that’s the metaphor. Whether you think the metaphor is elegant or clumsy or somewhere in between, the image of getting trapped on the tilt-a-whirl was a metaphor for being trapped in a small seaside town.
A writer’s work is informed by the writer’s life. Listen to Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. That wasn't informed by his personal life? Of course it was; it's practically the diary of his marriage falling apart. Was Elliott Smith happy? Listen to his songs, read his autopsy at smokinggun.com. The new album may not be a suicide note. There are probably no lines about wanting to put a knife in his chest while his girlfriend’s hiding in the bathroom. But the same sadness that brought him to his end is obviously an influence in his songs.
On the other end of the spectrum, do I think Lindsey Lohan wants her privacy and to have fun while she can? I am 100 percent certain. (And on this note, you can accuse the young Ms. Lohan of many things, but she’s no starfucker. Do you think she calls up restaurants and says “You have no reservations? Uh, I have two words: Wilmer. Valderamma. A little sitcom called That ‘70s Show? A comedy powerhouse named ‘Fez’?” I don’t even think that works at the restaurant Ashton Kutcher has a stake in.)
