10/27/08

Vol 3, Issue 4: Writing to Vent, but also Inspire: The Duality of Songwriting for the Public Arena

Continuing on from last week’s discussion regarding making a difference with your music and associated celebrity, this week, I thought it appropriate to touch on the art of writing songs that hit social/political chords. Though everyone, myself included, has a handful of cheesy love songs that they secretly indulge in, these days, I find myself cringing at the very thought of listening to the radio because it’s so heavily laden, to steal a line from Aerosmith, with, “the same old song and dance.” In other words, the love thing (and the hate thing too) have been done to death, and unless you’ve got the poetic skills that could take on Steven Tyler himself, I suggest that writing about other issues of concern is in your best interest.

After all, as we learned last week, music does have healing power, so instead of being cliche, why not write about something that could sincerely make a difference in a listener’s life? Moreover, if we analyze your potentiality for success strictly from a commercial standpoint, as much as the industry may seem to be about homogeneity, artists who really speak out for issues that they believe in do get recognized, even if sometimes it takes the music industry a while to catch up with their already established cult followings.

From my own personal experiences, I can tell you, with the upmost sincerity, that there is nothing more fulfilling in life than knowing your words, your art, have helped someone get through a tough time. Though in the grand scheme of things, Unpretty, my band’s debut album, may never go platinum, land a spot on the Billboard charts, or likely get listed as one of Rolling Stone’s “must haves”, it fulfilled its purpose when it inspired its first listener, and acted as a healthy outlet for their emotional expression. And so, in my eyes, it was every bit as successful as an album that profits millions.

However, it’s important to recognize that there is no way that I, nor could any other artist, ever write an album composed of socially inspiring and/or politically charged songs without having gone through turmoil themselves and learning from those experiences. As my history of rock’n’roll professor, Mr. Evans, always said, “the best artists are, undoubtedly, the hurting units”.

This anecdote brings me to the point that I want to make about the act of songwriting and its duality: although an artist’s initial inspiration to immortalize their feelings into music comes from a personal place, and is primarily motivated by the act of catharsis, when an artist decides that a piece they have written is going to be distributed to the public domain, no longer can that piece retain that same degree of private intimacy if a) said artist wants his/her music to be relatable (and therefore successful) and b) if said artist wants to be able to take any form of criticism (whether constructive or not).

Now, this is not to say that the songs that one intends to release to the public should be composed of fluff or that massive rewrites of all of your works are in order- quite the contrary really. What I’m merely trying to express is this: yes, you should write about things that have and continue to personally affect you, but, if you want your music to make sense to the rest of the world, you need to do this in such a way so that your lyrics can be related to a bigger picture (not just your own existence), and remain open enough for personal interpretation on behalf of your listeners. Most importantly, I think it is absolutely essential to leave your listeners with something to hope for and strive towards. Bitching about how the world has done you wrong because its various institutions are discriminatory is merely the first step, inspiring people to take their anger, frustration, fear, or sadness and turn it into a positive emotion, one from which they can learn, grow, and take action is what art is supposed to be about.

On the other side of this argument however, I do understand that, as a fellow artist, having someone potentially misinterpret your work, especially if a piece is particularly significant to you, can be very frustrating, if not infuriating, and so I suggest the following: if you write a piece that is sacred to the core of your essential being, do NOT release it - keep it for yourself because once you put it out there, if it becomes a victim of criticism, it won’t simply be your work that they are insulting, but rather a piece of your soul, and that is a harshness from which no one can easily recover.



About the Author:


Rose Cora Perry the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit
http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

10/5/08

Vol 3, Issue 3: Do Entertainers Have an Obligation to the Public to Address Social & Political Concerns?

When it comes to issues of personal responsibility and one’s greater impact on their fellow human beings, I’m truly an existentialist at heart. Not to get too philosophical on all of you, but music and philosophy really do have a lot in common when you think about it.

The very first “rockstars”, if you will, were truly the rhapsodes of the ancient times that traversed from polis to polis spouting tales of mythical heroes and their conquests set to the gentle tune of the plucking strings of their lutes. While this depiction is far from that of, say, Axel Rose, at its very root, there is a striking similarity. Just as the rhapsodes were storytellers who were compelled to captivate audiences with their words in hopes of both inspiring them and providing for them a form of escapism, our modern day musician very much has the same power within his grasp. Unfortunately, to a greater extent within today’s industry, the initial aim of the rhapsodes, that of, stimulating contemplation amongst their crowds, has been all too forgotten consequently leaving us subjected to music that rarely has meaning.

To return to my initial statement regarding my personal beliefs about existentialism: for those of you unfamiliar with this philosophy, please allow me to briefly (and yes I mean briefly), summarize: An existentialist is one who believes in the acceptance of personal responsibility for all of his/her actions. He/she contests that one must be thoughtful in all of their choices and behaviours because of the inter-connectivity of all of human nature. The existentialist holds that if one is to partake in a particular action, just by simply committing the act themselves, they are in essence telling the rest of the world that it is okay for everyone else to act in the same manner. Therefore, if one allows themselves to behave towards others in a rude and obscene way, they should not be surprised if others act similarly towards them as their own behaviour has dictated to everyone else that acting in such a way is perfectly acceptable. So, I’m sure you’re wondering now how this relates to music?

Well, it is of my humble opinion that, if one has been granted the amazing opportunity to live in the public limelight and obtain at their convenience all of the luxuries which such a lifestyle affords, then it is absolutely their responsibility to society to embrace this sort of existential perspective for a number of reasons.

For starters, our society is one that values wealth, fame and beauty, and as such, those who possess these qualities also possess a great deal of influence and therefore the power to make a difference. It is not only their direct participation that can contribute to change, but as well by participating in worthy causes or campaigns, they will influence others to do the same.

While I am the first to support any musician (and/or anyone else who is famous) for lending their celebrity towards some social cause, it seems rather contradictory to me if that very same celebrity doesn’t take advantage of the difference they could make simply with their art in itself. When one both produces art that is degrading or promotes violence, and/or discrimination towards any other group, and then the next day donates a whole bunch of their cash to charity, to me, they are sending a very conflicted message. While it is good that they are willing to donate their funds to a worthy cause, if the previous day, they were promoting negative messages through their art, then rather than appearing to be a social benefactor as intended, to me, they appear to be performing a pay off - an attempt to try and cover up the fact that their artistic contributions are questionable, at best. This brings me, of course, to my next point: why do people desire to be rockstars in the first place?

If you’re in it for the sex, money and drugs, please just stop - the world doesn’t need any more Amy Winehouses. If, on the other hand, you are an artist such as myself, who believes in the healing power of music, and who in fact, has been healed by the impact of fellow artists yourself, then please, step forward, we need more of you in this world. It was a sad day indeed when people forgot about the power that music has, and it was an even sadder day when every song on the radio became about sex, drugs, love, hate or all of the above in some sort of sick twisted self-obsessed conjecture.

Though I’m the first to acknowledge that celebrities, whether musicians, actors, or models, are real people just like you and me, and therefore, it’s not surprising when their marriages fall apart, or they get into mischief, I do feel that if you’ve been lucky enough to reach an elevated place within society, then it is absolutely your duty to try and educate the public, and to use your reputation for some good.
So if you’re not in it to make a difference, don’t get into music at all - this world already has enough issues to contend with, we need some better rolemodels, and we need them now.


About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit
http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/