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> but knowing that there isn't a person behind those words, feeling what I'm feeling, definitely detracts from the experience of the whole. I recently had a di

> but knowing that there isn't a person behind those words, feeling what I'm feeling, definitely detracts from the experience of the whole. I recently had a discussion about this with a musician. I said that I didn't like when music was produced (and certainly lyrics written by) somebody else than the performer. I said it took away from the experience of 'getting to know' the person I was listening to. She basically replied, that I was being extremely old fashioned, and that this 'idea' of music was very harmful for the business. She said it prevented people from working together and each contributing what they did best. If she's right, I guess we just have to interpret the music on its own, and not see it as a mental state of some individual creator. Maybe this is related to, when authors are annoyed that people identify them with their main characters. In any case, non-individual art doesn't seem to be going away.

Ntrails 10y ago
I only really care whether the singer is able to convey the emotion behind the song. In reality I don't even know who writes a given song most of the time, only the performer. We can argue whether, for example, Adele is better at conveying emotion because she wrote the song. What we shouldn't do is claim that it's impossible for someone to do so if they didn't write the lyrics themselves. Now, once you abstract that, does it matter whether the original writer was human as long as they produce something a singer can then connect with emotionally and then project? I don't know. I feel like ignorance would be bliss.
illumin8 10y ago
The way popular music is produced today, the artists performing almost never write their own music. Songs are shopped around by songwriter/producers to music labels, and label executives say "yes, that song properly portrays the slutty image we want to market for Miley Cyrus, we'll buy it." Then Miley performs it and we all cringe... It's sad, but this is the reality of the music industry today. It also means it's highly unlikely that a modern version of the Beatles would ever exist or become successful in the music industry. I guess Coldplay is probably the closest we will come (they certainly write all of their own music).
dandelany 10y ago
An interesting point, but s/person/people/ and the same argument still applies. It's about the humanity, not the individual.

Ntrails 10y ago

I only really care whether the singer is able to convey the emotion behind the song. In reality I don't even know who writes a given song most of the time, only the performer. We can argue whether, for example, Adele is better at conveying emotion because she wrote the song. What we shouldn't do is claim that it's impossible for someone to do so if they didn't write the lyrics themselves. Now, once you abstract that, does it matter whether the original writer was human as long as they produce something a singer can then connect with emotionally and then project? I don't know. I feel like ignorance would be bliss.

illumin8 10y ago

The way popular music is produced today, the artists performing almost never write their own music. Songs are shopped around by songwriter/producers to music labels, and label executives say "yes, that song properly portrays the slutty image we want to market for Miley Cyrus, we'll buy it." Then Miley performs it and we all cringe... It's sad, but this is the reality of the music industry today. It also means it's highly unlikely that a modern version of the Beatles would ever exist or become successful in the music industry. I guess Coldplay is probably the closest we will come (they certainly write all of their own music).

dandelany 10y ago

An interesting point, but s/person/people/ and the same argument still applies. It's about the humanity, not the individual.