Friday, July 10, 2015

The Emily Dickinson Effect

The movie about Amy Winehouse is out and Amanda Palmer wrote a post over it. She talked about how she was really grateful that she never became a massively popular rock star because the industry is so horrible about destroying its own. I see her point and I know it's true, but I also find that very depressing.

Why is it that we won't let artists just be artists? Why is it that they have to be hounded and chased and scrutinized? Some will say that's just the price one pays for fame, but why do we find that acceptable?

I think Amanda Palmer is one of the best artists currently working. I probably listen to one or more of her songs every day and view her as one of the top three people I would love to see in concert. My favorite album of this year is actually an album she did several years ago that I just found.

And yet, I know she gets tons of pushback from people every day. Trolls bother her. People criticize her. Some asshole went on her husband's blog and stated that Amanda was only famous because she was married to him and fequently got naked. It's offensive and it's complete bullshit.

So she has to walk this fine line of being an artist and trying to be open and be herself, but also worry about all the hell that such things can bring. I think one of the things that bothers me about this the most is that  there are tons of people who have so many stories and songs and gifts to share with the world, but the world is such a fucking scary place, they just feel it's better to hide it away.

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