thoughts on authenticity
I have a theory that everyone implicitly knows when art is genuine. Of course, there are a million little variables that can affect someone’s reception of artistic content when they’re consuming it, but if you’re completely engaged and present with the thing (even if you never went to art school or don’t know music theory or whatever) you typically know implicitly when a song or painting or poem feels contrived or lacking in meaning. But authenticity almost never comes from the same place. Speaking from a musical perspective, the lyrics may be jibberish but the music and vocal delivery are traditionally well-produced, like this, or the opposite may be true, where the lyrics are rich with meaning but the musical delivery is just poor (usually this is found in outsider music like this). But it’s equally obvious in both these examples that there is little to no adulteration, filter, or backseat driving (typically from a label) poisoning the artist’s work. They have a vision and they’re executing it, that’s all.
Sometimes the meaning in a piece of art can come from being devoid of meaning, just look at this one. Like this example, intentional meaninglessness is found often in brash pop music, and a commonplace practice in the mid-late noughties or post-bling era hip hop, where the aggression and playful haughtiness of artists like Fat Joe or 50 cent gave way to borderline parody music, semi-mocking a life ‘In Da Club.’ LMFAO weren’t trying to copy someone else, they were riffing on the hedonistic nonsense of the past ten years with earworm hooks that have withstood the test of time.
Direct copying, however, is almost a surefire way to fuck up your chances of authenticity. Odds are your favorite artist’s motivation to create their art will not be yours as well. At the risk of being divisive, just listen to literally anything by these guys and tell me it doesn’t sound exactly like who it obviously sounds like. This said, every artist is in some way a pawn to their influences. There is no way Phoebe Bridgers, Beck, or Parquet Courts would have been at all the same without Elliott Smith, Prince, or Television, respectively. And you can hear these influences blatantly in their music (listen to Adore and Debra back to back, even the damn subject matter is the same). The difference is all of these artists are distinctly themselves, and the best artists do so throughout their entire discographies. Especially Beck, who makes it a point to change his sound with every album.
When it comes to a mindset to don when you’re going into writing or producing or even just conceptualizing a new song, album or project as a whole, there are some themes I’ve found that kind of come on a spectrum. So, for your pleasure, I made a crappy bell curve.
There are probably many other elements I could add to the ends of this curve, but I find these to be the main offenders that can totally fuck someone’s chances of making some kickass art. Now you might be asking, “Hunter, ya lil fuck, there are so many artists that have traits at either end of the spectrum and still have a worldwide fanbase.”
There is a big difference between authenticity and music industry success. When looking at strictly success, this is one instance where two wrongs can indeed make a right. Here I’m actually going to be divisive, so ya ready? As a principle, Djent stinks. This popular subgenre of metal is basically ALL virtuosity, with very little else going for it. All the kicks and snares are typically perfectly snapped to the tempo grid, the guitars are at once the result of meticulously curated pedal chains, and the same time the same metal tone you’ve heard over and over again. Vocals are usually completely autotuned and the lyrical content is so vague that it’s impossible to identify with whatever sentiment they’re expressing. Still, this lowest-common-denominator element is the reason it’s so easy to identify with it if you’re a long-time metalhead (although I find that when I’m really into a genre, my tastes start becoming more and more experimental until I’m basically listening to chaotic nonsense. All roads lead back to chaotic nonsense for me). We like what we’re familiar with in general, but is Djent authentically sound? I posit, (while there are a few exceptions), emphatically no.
I’m going to leave it at this for now, I might make a part two at some point. peace!
