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Music of the mad.
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Moon Cat
9577 posts

Edited Aug 21, 2011, 17:56
Re: Music of the mad.
Aug 21, 2011, 17:55
Great thread and I've really enjoyed reading the responses thus far - wel done Unsung Heroes!

I think people have nominated many of the 'candidates' I might have put forward for consideration. Maybe Jeffrey Lee Pierce? Troubled Soul perhaps?

It did get me thinking back to fairly recent times though, and the seeming plethora of artists that were thrown our way with a vast percentage of their 'appeal' being that they were a bit 'bonkers'. I'm talking of the post Florence & the Machine glut of 'kooky' popstars that followed in her zany wake. La Roux, Paloma Faith (who's music seems utterly at odds with her "I'm mad me look!" presentation), Marina & The Diamonds, Emmy The Great et al. For awhile there it looked like being a bit of a 'fruitcake' was the gateway to the mainstream although it didn't seem to translate into commercial success for all.

It was like someone had the idea of taken the percieved eccentricities you might find in genuine (IMO) artists like Kate Bush and Bjork (to name the obvious pair), and compress it into a marketable brand of "crazy", with a nod to ickle girl kookiness as the sexy-mad selling factor.
Whereas I wouldn't think Kate Bush and Bjork would come into the artist as lunatic catergory, I think there is genuine eccentricity in the control and presentation - it's a complete package but where the quest for creativity fuels everything rather than some psychosis. It was quite weird to see such a spirit comodified into a potential selling point in such a rapid-fire, scattershot way.
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