wrote these too comments on my facebook when a friend suggested exceptions to success killing creativity
jacob collier (honestly not really a fan but respect his skills)
“my thoughts: Yeah Collier is good but still young so we’ll see how it goes for him. He’s so skillful and sweet that he might be immune to the temptations and corruption fame offers. And ok now that i think of it there are some exceptions. I think Coldplay are still producing great studio work that inspires me but I think they could be so much better if they skipped all the stadium crap and prioritized the actual songs (maybe even re-integrated their eearly sounds more with all those complex chords, tuning, etc… like some of those early songs are like jazz pieces which is evident in an instagram livestream where Collier and Chris Martin did a show together). Yeah i’m a nerd. Also Paolo Nutini is solid, somehow avoided the fame traps and just went his own way. incredible singer. I think McCartney is still a genius just his standards evaporated entirely for some reason concerning his singing and all the ingenuity of his best stuff. I think health can kill your creativity (Mccartney went vegan in the 80s). You need to be a killer and a fucked up person flirting with rock bottom to produce great art. I hear suffering in Collier and I would like him to dial it up even more and then we will really see what he can do. I would love to produce these artists and 1000% confident I could get their best work out of them but it would be the hardest thing ever for them and they might not survive.”
Then further thoughts on stadium performance art:
“guess for some artists that stadium rush is so high that they keep chasing it even if it means playing the hits. I also dont know what that would feel like. I don’t even necessarily “like” everything these aforementioned artists do but I can FEEL it when they pursuing creative muse and not just what their fans want. Like even metallica completely fuckyou’d their fanbase in the 90s by cutting their hair and going more rock. And many artists like u2 go throught this experimental phase. For other artists like Radiohead, or Beatles or Zeppelin or Floyd or Aphex Twin, everything they do is EXPERIMENTAL phase. So this exploration of form thing i mentioned is for THEM the ultimate rush instead of pandering to a crowd with dumbing down and giving them what they want. FUCK THE AUDIENCE. If i go see a show i want to see someone on stage creating from the heart, not giving a fuck what i want. I want selfish art because creative expressioon is subjective. I don’t like conformity. That said, i might secretly shed some tears when a band like U2 really get into their 80s epic sweeping guitar melodies and all that stuff. I love that too. I’m a sucker for a great pop song. And yes simplicity is not easy. I often think okay simple song, this one wont take long and then it takes forever. Nuance and dynamic are necessary for me, thats why not big fan of stadium art. Some like it to feel that belonging and unity. Kinda like chili peppers how they jam even on big stages. But that’s because they can… they have that confidence. Right now i think there is big gap missing in the music marketplace for a live act that combines all this. Maybe it’s never been done. I mean combining jazz pop classical dark neon boohoo and all of it. I WANT IT ALL!!!!”
And some thoughts on veganism
” Also about the vegan thing, yeah you are right going vegan doesn’t mean much. More of an ethical stance than a nutritional one. You can drink coke and eat cookies and be vegan. They have really turned it into a bullshit brand like yoga to dilute the actual meaning. When i buy food i am able to disconnect from where it comes from because i am too hypocritical and pathetic to have some kind of moral backbone. Then again i think morality is kind of an egotrip. The sun doesn’t give a fuck. Just shines on everyone. Humans (especially men) are killers and rapists, they have to protect the women and children from psychopaths and hold the fort strong. Veganism is a beautiful idea tho. But we love eating innocent creatures and most people are too tired to give a fuck.”