THE HARD R: WHY ARTISTS DESERVE TO HAVE A VOICE BEYOND THEIR ART
Why Should We Shut Up?
When I say ‘We’ I’m talking about the people out there who take their blood and put it to paper, celluloid or a digital hard drive. Seriously, why should we stop putting creations out there for everyone to judge? Do you honestly think that an artist doesn’t have any other thoughts or opinions but their art? It’s unfair, it’s nasty and I’m here to tell you we’ve got shit to say. It’s just sad that artists, musicians and filmmakers are maligned when they have something real to say. It may not be right but it’s as much from the heart as the art we create.
It’s about time the mentality of ‘entertain me and that’s it’ stops. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m wrong a lot of the time. I’ve predicted things right and I’ve predicted things wrong. But here’s the rub, when you put yourself out there you’re bound to fuck up more times than not. I learn more from my failures than I do from my successes. When you fail you realize your shit DOES stink, badly.
Look at my Terminator Salvation blog: I was wrong! Dead wrong! I didn’t see the movie but I don’t want to from the feedback I’ve seen. At least I had the balls to say what I thought. It was about a movie, but I said it, I lived with it, and I now admit I was wrong. It takes more to do that than to sit silent. I don’t mind being the butt of jokes or insults. It keeps me grounded to know I am flawed.
Maybe that’s the reason we should speak out. So we can understand how full of shit we really are. Musicians and artists are full of shit for the most part; journalists, bloggers, entertainers are too. We’re in the business of selling people and getting an emotional reaction from them. It’s very rare where you hit something that’s important in a social context or has real meaning. I think it’s important to speak out enough to where you’re lucky enough to hit that nerve, if it still exists.
That’s one thing that bothers me about the metal scene to a certain extent. When you’re unknown you can do no wrong. When you’re popular you’re at the will of the people who made you popular, which makes you a slave to their preconditions. They want a part of you but only certain parts. I get it. You’re not married to a band. It’s not ’til death do us part. But understand that people are people whether they punch numbers or play an A chord. But respect their opinion even if you don’t agree.
Isn’t this the reason why blogs are so popular? Anyone can state their opinion. Look at the growth of Metalsucks over the past year and a half. It’s grown immensely because people respect the opinions of the writers on the site. They come here for a point of view they can’t get anywhere else. I think it’s great that they have musicians give their perspective because there really isn’t a platform for that sort of discussion.
I understand people get angry at me because I speak about shit besides metal, but metal to me can get very boring. I’m a well-educated metalhead. I know my history and I know my shit, but I’m no teacher.
If you have any questions about the music business I’ll use my next blog to answer them. I’ll answer ten questions that you have. Make them good, pussies.
