Do you think more of a musician if you learn that they write the songs that they perform themselves?
Do you think less of a musician if you find out that they don't?
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Do you think more of a musician if you learn that they write the songs that they perform themselves?
Do you think less of a musician if you find out that they don't?
Yes, definitely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr Unne
Yes, but not to the point that I can't enjoy a person's music if they didn't write their own songs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr Unne
Some people have talent, without brilliance. Some people are brilliant without having any talent. And there are those select few individuals who are talented and brilliant at the same time: Jose Gonzalez, Iron&Wine's Samuel Beam, etc.
Honestly, I know this is quite pretentious but it's just me; I think nothing of a performer if they didn't write what they are performing. I think they are a good performer (if they are,) they are a good singer (if they are.) But they're not an artist, the artist is the person that wrote the song.
Maybe because growing up punk changed my life? So when I think of art and music for me it's accessible to anyone. Anybody can write a song. Anybody. All that matters is it has feeling and passion, and they mean it. When someone doesn't I just think, why not? You aren't expressing anything, you haven't created anything, you're doing what you're told. For me it isn't art anymore. There's no expression.
When someone has songs written for them and performs them, that's all they are to me, a performer.
I'll be more inclined to keep up with their work and releases if I know they wrote their own songs as they are more likely to write more songs which I will enjoy but otherwise I dont enjoy a song any less knowing that the performer did not compose it. It's an interesting experience when an actor is also the director and writer but it's not like I judge an actor's performance any less if they didnt write their own lines in a movie.
Interesting point. I hadn't thought about it like that, but it's interesting to think what the difference might be. The whole of the actor's art is interpretation. The musician/singer's art is not as well defined. There are different layers to it as well. For instance, some bands have singers that don't write the lyrics but some of the music, or do write the lyrics but have nothing to do with the music. The same for the various instruments. There are some bands in which one person does ALL the writing, and everyone else just plays their parts. The way we usually think of things, the drummer should "write" and play the drums, the guitarist should write and play the guitar, the bassist should write and play the bass, the vocalist should write and sing the lyrics, etc. That's the standard, I guess. Many bands deviate from this, though, many many bands. Rush is a prominent example. Drummer writes the lyrics, lead singer is a bassist, etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by blackmage_nuke
Looking back, some of the biggest songs, biggest acts, have been artists performing songs other people wrote for them, especially in the last 20-30 years (but even before then), so it's definitely just a personal thing.
I don't know. I think I just feel like the musicians are more in tune (pun not intended) with their music (including the vocals) when they've written it themselves. They're closer to being artists then, not just machines reproducing sounds that someone else created.
Yes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr Unne
I have varying opinions on this. I want to say I prefer people who write their own stuff, but then I think about some of my favorite actors. I watch a few shows and movies that I love to talk about. None of my favorite actors write their own lines, yet I appreciate their performance none the less.Quote:
Do you think less of a musician if you find out that they don't?
Also, some song covers can be really good. I like Marilyn Manson's Personal Jesus, I like Joan Jett's I love Rock 'n' Roll. Still great songs even though they aren't originals.
People love music that they can relate to, and that includes singers who didn't write their own music. I suppose there are a few things that annoy me, though. I don't like it when someone sings lyrics that aren't genuine. Example, singing something like "I grew up in the summer of '79" and the person was born in '84 or whenever.
A person who writes and/or performs music is a musician. A person who writes words is a lyricist. A person who does both is both. A person who neither writes nor performs music, nor writes words to music is a vocalist. Sometimes you can be all three! It's rarer to find someone who is good at all three at once, but that doesn't change the beauty or power if a person is only good at one or two of those things.