The Ringleader Part 1
March 25th 2008 11:23
In this cyberfluent culture we live in today it's possible for anyone to pick up an instrument,record some tracks on their computer and upload it to myspace. And that's great. We are getting to hear some great music this way,if you can sort the wheat from the chaff.
But just having your own myspace page doesn't make you a rockstar, people.
Students, we will today discuss the concept of a frontman/woman and how behaviours on and off the stage formulate the mystique and legend behind those we idolise.
NOTE...This list may possibly be biased but I'll do my best. I'm sure I'll anger many people with my choices. This list consists of music legends. I don't care about some obscure band you heard at your best friend's cool brother's house.
These are in no particular order...
Iggy Pop
The undisputed king of garage, Iggy and his delightful cohorts The Stooges fused rock with a punk attitude.
The once quiet scholar James Osterberg morphed into a rock n roll legend with various electrifying shows that cemented him as a musical tearaway. It is ironic that a boy voted "Most Likely to Succeed" would later writhe onstage in broken glass and be famed for smearing himself with peanut butter while singing "I wanna be your Dog".
Rebellion stirred in Iggy and he embraced it. He didn't try to "get a real job". He ran with the wolves, took the risks, provoked the audiences and now, past 60, is still doing it. His time in the sun may be over, but he's still here.
The Stooges were a great band, but Iggy was the spirit.
He WAS the Stooges.
Karen O
Where to begin?
The sexually charged, off the wall energy-ball hyperactive frontwoman of New York's (art punk?) trio is a force to be reckoned with.
In no way do I want to detract from the fine musicianship of Brian Chase and Nick Zinner, but Karen gives the YYYs that extra kick that leaves you feeling raped of your senses.
The intensity of her performance at live shows translates incredibly onto their records.
She screams, she sweats, she bleeds.
For christ's sakes the woman broke her own arm at a gig once!
And she's a prime example of fashion not dictating music, but enhancing it. The creations she wears (which are made specifically for her) add to the image of her as a provocative bird of paradise.
The frontwoman others want to be, Karen cannot be imitated. Though many have tried. Patience Hodgson anyone?
Beth Ditto
Not only does this woman sing like a soul mama, she puts conventional images of a "sexy" woman to bed.
Stripping naked onstage, confronting the audience with the notion that a larger woman can flaunt herself and be comfortable and desired, Beth holds audiences entranced and begging for more.
She doesn't push her face in the media and whinge about George Bush. She does what musicians are supposed to do. She writes a song about it.
A strong female musician who should be revered.
Jim Morrison
Immortalised on film, responsible for many teenagers' introduction to pot and acid , Jim was the sexiest and most charismatic frontman of the 20th century.
He was electricity personified onstage, and offstage, legend has been created in his honour.
Drug use and alcohol abuse surrounded his personal life, and his ability to write some of the most thought inspiring lyrics makes him a classic frontman.
The amount of people who make the pilgrimage to his tombstone is a testament to how his charisma continues to inspire so many.
Well I'm sure you realise that's just a fingertip into the coke pile, and there's plenty more to come. Feel free to let me know what you think, and who gets your motor running...stay tuned.
But just having your own myspace page doesn't make you a rockstar, people.
Students, we will today discuss the concept of a frontman/woman and how behaviours on and off the stage formulate the mystique and legend behind those we idolise.
NOTE...This list may possibly be biased but I'll do my best. I'm sure I'll anger many people with my choices. This list consists of music legends. I don't care about some obscure band you heard at your best friend's cool brother's house.
Iggy Pop
The undisputed king of garage, Iggy and his delightful cohorts The Stooges fused rock with a punk attitude.
The once quiet scholar James Osterberg morphed into a rock n roll legend with various electrifying shows that cemented him as a musical tearaway. It is ironic that a boy voted "Most Likely to Succeed" would later writhe onstage in broken glass and be famed for smearing himself with peanut butter while singing "I wanna be your Dog".
Rebellion stirred in Iggy and he embraced it. He didn't try to "get a real job". He ran with the wolves, took the risks, provoked the audiences and now, past 60, is still doing it. His time in the sun may be over, but he's still here.
The Stooges were a great band, but Iggy was the spirit.
He WAS the Stooges.
Karen O
Where to begin?
The sexually charged, off the wall energy-ball hyperactive frontwoman of New York's (art punk?) trio is a force to be reckoned with.
In no way do I want to detract from the fine musicianship of Brian Chase and Nick Zinner, but Karen gives the YYYs that extra kick that leaves you feeling raped of your senses.
She screams, she sweats, she bleeds.
For christ's sakes the woman broke her own arm at a gig once!
And she's a prime example of fashion not dictating music, but enhancing it. The creations she wears (which are made specifically for her) add to the image of her as a provocative bird of paradise.
The frontwoman others want to be, Karen cannot be imitated. Though many have tried. Patience Hodgson anyone?
Beth Ditto
Not only does this woman sing like a soul mama, she puts conventional images of a "sexy" woman to bed.
Stripping naked onstage, confronting the audience with the notion that a larger woman can flaunt herself and be comfortable and desired, Beth holds audiences entranced and begging for more.
She doesn't push her face in the media and whinge about George Bush. She does what musicians are supposed to do. She writes a song about it.
A strong female musician who should be revered.
Jim Morrison
Immortalised on film, responsible for many teenagers' introduction to pot and acid , Jim was the sexiest and most charismatic frontman of the 20th century.
He was electricity personified onstage, and offstage, legend has been created in his honour.
Drug use and alcohol abuse surrounded his personal life, and his ability to write some of the most thought inspiring lyrics makes him a classic frontman.
The amount of people who make the pilgrimage to his tombstone is a testament to how his charisma continues to inspire so many.
Well I'm sure you realise that's just a fingertip into the coke pile, and there's plenty more to come. Feel free to let me know what you think, and who gets your motor running...stay tuned.
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