Not looking fondly back through the rear-view, Mike Doughty is now taking his hate for Soul Coughing directly to individual fans via Twitter
It’s a fact of life that at some point in the creative process we all lose control of our work to those who actually consume it. Once I put the finishing touches upon a music review or piece of commentary, my portion of the creative process is complete; it is up to readers to decide what to make of it. But it’s easy to forget sometimes that for all the meaning we ascribe to our favorite songs, their creators may have had completely different associations with the work.
Ask any band that struggled to find succcess, happened upon a hit single out of nowhere, and then just as quickly was sloughed back to obscurity. You’ll hear a similar tale. That same band might go on for ten more years writing perfectly workmanlike music but they’ll forever have their name and musical reputation tied to that song which made it. So what happens when, decades on, you’re ready to admit as an artist that the music you’re known for is complete rubbish?
At a certain point the artist’s creation moves beyond his or her control, and becomes the property of the listeners who define its real value or meaning.
All of which makes this critic wonder: is there a point where artists should step back, shut up, and admit that, while they may hate something they recorded in their past, it has meaning to the fans, and therefore there’s a value to not dumping artistic baggage on music beloved to fans?
Apparently Mike Doughty has pondered that question and decided that the answer is a resounding no.
Doughty has spent the last decade writing low-key pop music in an acoustic vein, twisting bits of electronica into his sound as he sing-raps songs like “Looking At The World From The Bottom Of A Well” and “Na Na Nothing.” And he’s been lucky enough to be able to continue to make a living in the world of music, despite the fact that he left Soul Coughing (the band which made him famous in the first place) more than a decade ago. Still, hearing fans request Soul Coughing songs at his shows has apparently aggravated him so much he’s reduced himself to lashing out at fans individually on Twitter:
"No, I really hate green eggs and ham!" Doughty's pre-Thanksgiving tweets re: Soul Coughing
I agree Doughty shouldn’t be arguing with his fans. A simple “I’m not going to play that because I want to focus on my new material” is all that’s necessary.
This also reminds me of Iron Maiden’s last American tour after they released The Final Frontier. A lot of fans were outraged that all the songs but one or two were from their past four albums. No one in Maiden ever trashed the fans, but it struck me that their last four records were big sellers everywhere in the world…except the US. I can’t blame them for wanting to promote their new material (which is more musically sophisticated) at the expense of songs they have literally played thousands of times (especially after a recent nostalgia tour with all the “classic” material).
I guess the artist has to take into account what the fans want to hear and balance it against what they want to play. Either way, I bet criticizing fans for liking the older music won’t do much for an artist’s wallet.
No matter what the musician likes to think, the concert goer is the customer. Most people want to go to a concert and hear the famous stuff from the group, that’s just the way they are. When they pay $60, $70,or $80 for a ticket, they want to hear the best, and by best, they mean the popular stuff. They also know that the band is plugging a new CD, so they don’t mind two or three new songs. However, like the businessmen they are, if musicians displease the customer (audience) too often, they will find they are out of business.
I once went to a famous rock musician’s concert. I paid $70 each for two tickets. As this rocker was a decade past his prime trying a comeback album, we expected the usual nine or ten hits and a couple of new ones to promote the CD. Mind you, this guy probably had 20 top-40 hits, so we aleady knew we wouldn’t hear them all. What we got was seven new tracks and five hits (I think there were only ten tracks on the new album!). Worse yet, the new album was a dud, so most of the concert, that we paid premium ticket price for, was mediocre at best. Needless to say, he’s one performer I’ll never pay to see again, even when he’s eventually playing at the local casino. I wonder how many non-hits he’ll get to play then?
As far as the mind-numbing repetition of playing that megahit night after night, they are paid money that most mortals can’t even comprehend. Most of us do at least one mindlessly dull task over and over at work every single day, sometimes for years. I don’t feel the least bit bad making the bold suggestion that they put themselves out a little to earn their millions.
Years ago Todd Rundgren used to refuse to sing “Hello It’s Me” live. He got pretty angry when audiences kept wanting it. Be careful what you wish for, especially if you only have the talent (or luck) to shine once. Most musicians are liberals: success equals failure, remember?
God, I hate music snobs. If it kicked ass when you were sixteen, it still kicks ass. No need to hide behind your now “sophisticated” musical tastes.
Except the Thompson Twins. You actually should be ashamed of listening to them.
I wholeheartedly agree. I just keep adding to the stack. I rarely ever take anything out of it. Devo was fun when I was 16, and every now and then it’s still fun!
And I like bands that mix it up. I love “Close to the Edge” by Yes, but on a nice sunny day I need their smaller stuff like “Owner of a Lonely Heart.” If all they did was one massive epic after another, it would get dreary. In fact, that’s precisely what happened! THEY got sick of it! That’s why they did “Owner…” Then they eventually went back to their epic-length stuff. And now when you see them in concert, they provide a great variety of music.
I never heard of Doughty or Soul Coughing. If you’re even more obscure than Veruca Salt and The Sundays, then what’s the hub-hub?
Bub.
I agree about the aneomic Thompson Twins; I can’t tell you how much I would’ve loved to put that woman’s big-billed caps to the torch. There was almost certainly some sort of contract with the Devil involved there.
However top of the list is Radar Love: I would like to buy the rights and then raise money from “fans” to launch the master tapes into the sun.
Man, I hate “Radar Love,” too. Another song I’d like to launch into the sun is “Blinded by the Light” by Manfred Mann. I can’t turn on a classic rock station without hearing one of those. And anything by Bachman Turner Overdrive should be burned in a pit and paved over with a shopping mall built on top.
As for the Thompson Twins, “Hold Me Now” was OK for a pop song, but I can’t say I was ever a fan. Back in the 80s, my taste ran more toward hard rock. Not exclusively (the Police are still a favorite), but I listened to more Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and Rush than Duran Duran.
I agree. Don’t forget Mannheim Steamroller or other man made or natural droning noises set with musical notation.
I’ll agree with “Radar Love” and Manfred Mann’s cover of “Blinded by the Light”, but the one song I wish never to hear again is “Hocus Pocus” by the Dutch band, Focus. The song has yodeling – YODELING!
Mike Doughty? Soul Coughing?
Who’s ever heard of this guy or his music?
You know I’ve never heard Vincent Damon Furnier express any regrets over the music he created.
When a musician starts to believe himself to be an “artiste” is where the creativity ends and the assholery begins.
Roger that – think Springsteen (who regards himself as the reincarnation of Woody Guthrie, a “progressive” folkie from the ’30′s who also took himself wa-a-ay too seriously), Sting, Madonna, and “Lady Gaga”.
It’s pop music, not art. And Radar Love rocks.
Excuse me, Art is subjective, and Music is Art, You think Radar Love rocks, I don’t, we are BOTH correct,
That’s why it’s called ART
Bob ARThur Lozonne
Some people live in trailer homes and some people will not. That is not subjective but a fact. If someone in a trailer home won the lottery it is possible they would have a 23 room trailer house built with gold fixtures and velvet paintings. Radar Love is the equivalent of a trailer home. It is possible to like a thing without needing to say it is the Mona Lisa as justification. Just like it but don’t tell me lipstick on a pig deserves a Playboy centerfold just because you lost your eyes in WW II.
One thing about the music business is that it is still a free market. Either a consumer likes a song or a band or a particular type of music or they don’t. And if they do they will buy it and if not they won’t. Simple as that. Some musicians need to get their head out of their rears and see the business for what it is, a business. I say these things as a musician. It drives me up the wall when I hear other musicians say “I can’t play my music, the man has me boxed in” and all the other inane drivel that a lot of musicians spout. I say so what, no body is stopping a person from playing. If what they do doesn’t pay the bills then get a real job, go home and play to your hearts content. And I think Radar Love is a great song!
Are you suggesting some kind of software that mimics the common traits of the last 50 years of hits that can be used by “musicians?” Why talk like making music is like digging a ditch or buying stock?
If I, as an artist, ever truly realized music was a business, I’d quit at that moment. I’d become a wedding photographer and do my music on the side. That way I wouldn’t come to hate it.
“Why talk like making music is like digging a ditch or buying stock?
Because if a person is going to make a living as a musician that person must accommodate the marketplace. Simple as that. Elvis didn’t become as popular as he did because he performed music everybody hated. Same for Buddy Holly, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Black Sabbath, etc.
I do my music as a side deal. Never depended on it and as a result I play what I want, how I want and when I want. My greatest enjoyment is when I do it for free. This is not for everybody for sure.
Well, if one is going to accommodate the marketplace then the issue certainly isn’t music but fame, wealth and adoration. I understand many musicians would do a 180 in order to achieve success because in a sense the music itself is irrelevant. I’m just saying what kind of a knob would do that. I like photography. If I love travel photography and hate wedding photography but can make a living at wedding photography, why not just get into another field altogether? May as well since the two skillsets are completely different. Love what you do, do what you love. Some people love money, some people just need it. Art emanates from both imperatives. Well, more or less. Some people won’t compromise though it is uncomfortable sleeping under a bus bench.
i think the “accommodate the market” might not have been the best way to say it
as accommodate could infer the dreaded notion of “selling out”
if one does make a living through music at any level there must a market/audience — be it some passersby tossing some coins into the guitar case; getting $50 for a gig at the local pub; giving lessons; repairing instruments; etc. etc.
i’m only responding because i think both john senz and mike2 are nailing the essence
Selling out is an inevitability for the long haul. At some point for a successful band (meaning national airplay and recognition), the creative well will run dry. Also fan expectations may put a straight jacket on the band’s future output. At that level, the band becomes a business entity with other non-musician people in the decision process. To stay in the top requires more than raw talent. Other players have to be brought on board.
It is a rare band that can buck all the outside influences and more or less do their own thing and stay relevent in the music scene. I’m referring here to super groups. Granted there are a lot of bands on the edge of greatness, that still call most of their own shots.
Tom if you look at music in 1970 so many of those bands made music for themselves and within the imperatives of their own culture. They became incredibly popular. If you listen to Edgar Winter at that time, King Crimson, Grand Funk, Marvin Gaye and so many others, they did what they wanted to do and you either liked it or you didn’t. One could never think of “Layla” by Derek and the Dominoes as anything but them following their own muse.
Bands today aren’t following a muse but desperately seeking a way to plug into success and they are going about it backwards since auto-tuned post this and post that plus endless versions of rap inspired pop songs is a grind.
The unasked question: Is Doughty willing to give up the royalties for copies of his older music either sold previously or in the future? If he really hates it all, he can always pull a Cobain, but then no one would notice or care.
The modern music scene and the ongoing arguments between musicians and fans reminds me of the old quote from Henry Kissinger about the viciousness of academic infighting – “The fights are so savage because the stakes are so small.”
Never heard of these guys.
People in other entertainment mediums often say the same thing. An actor/ director will be famous for working in a certain film and then complains everytime he is interviewed the interviewer keeps asking about that film. I remeber one actor saying that when ever was being interviewed or met someone who recognized him that always asks about a certain film he was in he used to wondered why no-one asks about all the other films he did. Then he said he finally relized “Hey, at least people are remembering me for something!”
That reminds me of an interview I saw on one of VH1′s “One Hit Wonder” specials. An interviewer asked one of the artists (I don’t remember who) how it feels to be remembered as a one hit wonder. He answered (and I’m paraphrasing here), “Well, I don’t know. How many top ten singles have YOU had?”
i hate tempermental artists! actors, musicians or otherwise.they need to understand that if they really did it for the ‘art’ they would just do it. but ALL artists are corporate singing monkeys, no matter how much they pretend otherwise..they need to do their ‘schtick’, get paid, go home and shut up. i dont need their temper tantrums, or their opinions.
Seriously – Radar Love rocks, although it is the weakest song on Moontan. And yodeling is cool now and then.
How bout the Foo Fighters? When the Westboro Baptist Butt-heads set up a protest in front of the stadum that the Foo’s were playing at that night. Dave and the boys hopped on the back of a trailer and did a live performance mocking these morons right there in the parking lot, all for the fans. That’s class