[quote]SinisterMinister wrote:
I think a lot of people (including several people in this post) are missing the point on Cash. He was, first and foremost, a MUSICIAN. And his ‘outlaw’ title was related to his MUSIC.
At the time he started making records, he brought a very raw and unique sound to a very cookie-cutter industry. He tackled taboo issues and presented a taboo image. Some of this perspective is lost on us because we can hear other artists with his sound (or at least his influence).
But when he came out, and as he progressed, he showed a willingness to follow HIS OWN heart and ideas, going against convention and taking some pretty big risks. Though it may seem like no big deal NOW, his choosing to sing and record for a bunch of prisoners was, AT THAT TIME and FOR HIS CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIAN AUDIENCE, pretty damn ballsy. He put his entire career on the line for what he believed. That makes him a trailblazer and, in a certain sense, an outlaw.
It’s comparable to a band like Metallica: Back in 1989, they were considered a damn heavy band with a sound that ran counter to much of the formulaic ‘Hair Metal’ stuff on MTV. Then they put out ‘The Black Album’, become the biggest band in the world, completely change (and, unintentionally commercialize) the metal genre. However, over time, they become considered less and less extreme, or heavy, because their ‘outlaw’ sound is being used by every garage band in the country. Now, they’re considered old rich rockers who sue 15 year old websurfers. But back in '89…
The fact that the ‘outlaws’ succeeded and started pulling the mainstream towards them has had the effect of making them appear a bit less ‘outside’ than they originally were.
Being a criminal doesn’t have shit to do with being a part of ‘outlaw country’ music. That’s some bullshit image hype. And much of the hooplah surrounding Cash (at this point) IS bullshit image hype. Which is why people who talk shit about country music still claim to like Cash. What they don’t realize is that he IS the country music they don’t like. They just want to be associated with the image that’s been created around him. He’s now a movie star, a pop star. [/quote]
great post. people forget that musicians, the great ones, just do what they do and it;'s the public and the press who attach these images to them largely after the fact.
even more confusing is today’s celebrities are completely cheating and cutting out all the work, not paying the dues and focusing on pure image. image that in the past was created as a by-product of the work that you did.
paris hilton is the extreme example but really look anywhere on today’s music scene and you see more marketing and image control than actual music product. that’s just ass-backwards.
interesting what you wrote about metallica…last night driving home on the radio i heard and interview with an albert einstein biographer who said einstein was a rebel all his life and always avoided authority.
he made a pretty good case that einstein wasn’t any smarter than his peers in the world of physics but was definitely more creative largely because he didn’t follow the classic academic paths that people like him are supposed to follow. the irony was came when his theories were accepted he became the authority, he became the establishment, and was no longer the rebel. he had a hard time dealing with that.
pretty much the same thing metallica went through. and some fans resent them for it but i think that’s shortsighted. “selling out” is not to be confused with reaching the pinnacle of what you’re trying to do. “selling out” is changing yourself for money. metallica has always stayed true to themselves and simply took it as far as it could go. big difference.
nowadays bands it seems like bands are sold out right from the start.