Originally Posted by summeoyo
The original thought as I read on your thread was on "opinions as to the value of an art object". The interpretation of value could vary from emotional to financial. The different areas where critique can benefit on this forum include technique, sing-ability, and marketability - to mention a few. So I would say someone who performs live would be more credible for advice on whether a lyric sings well. But "sing-ability" doesn't register within what the average audience would value. Why? - Because they don't sing songs professionally.
So many equate great selling songs with "value". But consider this - How many of those great selling songs would've been the break-through songs for that artist or any other artist? I doubt that "I AM THE WALRUS" would've been a break-through song for the Beatles(and I like the Beatles). More so today that ever before, artists are marketed to become idols to their fans so that the fans spend money to buy that album and go to that concert when they really only love(or value) less than a handful of that artist's songs IMHO(LOL). I don't want to over-"analize"(LOL)(was that a typo or intentional?) - but if the value is defined as love(emotionally moving) that's going to vary with each individual because what makes me laugh, cry, or wanna make love is different from everyone else.


Thoughtful post, sommeyoyo,

I think art and commerce mostly go hand-in-hand, though aren't necessarily motivated by one another. Although if you look at it in Maslovian terms, "art" happens after more primal needs are met in a society, and commerce is motivated by the need to take care of those needs as well as less primal ones. So indeed, commerce can't define value, since it has it's hands in the cookie jar, so to speak. A vested, biased interest.

Interesting point about break-through songs. "I am The Walrus" is a great example, though, of stretching the boundaries even further apart, in terms of "what can we do as a band and still call ourselves 'The Beatles' "--culminating with the stretchiest when they recorded "Revolution #9" --but don't we all write our own narratives and know that stretching comes after success, unless we think of ourselves as "experimental artists" ..?

I guess, but we all stretch sooner or later, just so we feel alive. We change and in hindsight usually call it "growth" It follows that this is no different in art. That's why seeing Miley Cyrus singing Nine Inch Nails was such a blast!

Mike

Last edited by Michael Zaneski; 07/08/19 01:34 PM.
Fate doesn't hang on a wrong or right choice
Fortune depends on the tone of your voice

-The Divine Comedy (Neil Hannon)
from the song "Songs of Love"
from the album "Casanova" (1996)