Live performance used to be the the performer, a microphone, and the audience. Then lights came into the picture. Then choreography. Then backup singers and dancers. Now, more than ever, live performance of popular music is a spectacle and extremely theatrical. Nowadays it is a rarity that simple performance makes the cut. I understand how many think that this may be a problem, but it seems as though this theatricality adds an interesting dynamic. It adds a sense of facade and cinema to the whole picture. As long as the music is not lacking, there's no problem with it.
Unfortunately, the Grammy Awards did feature some artists that had sub-par performances, mostly because of the use of AutoTune. AutoTune is great when used as instrument by artists like T-Pain. At the same time though, it inhibits the performance. The Blackeyed Peas' "I Gotta Feelin" was nearly destroyed because of live AutoTune.
Good Use of AutoTune (Jamie Foxx and T-Pain): This performance definitely goes along with the theatricality in terms of costumes. It also introduced different "characters" throughout the performance, including Slash.
Bad Use of AutoTune (The Blackeyed Peas):
More about the theatricality:
Every stage performance is obviously theatrical in one way or another, but here's some examples that stuck out.
-Lady Gaga and Elton John had entire set, complete costumes and even a small story line.
-Pink used silks to go along with her Circus theme, and sang the entire song while basically being a trapeze artist at the same time.
-Arguably the most theater-like performance, however, was Greenday's "21 Guns." The sogn was performed with the cast of their new musical "American Idiot," which is based off their album of the same name. (see next post)
The song that Pink performed, "Glitter in the Air," really embodies the theme of the whole music scene and this year's Grammys. It's about spectacle and magic. The music we listen to is reflective of the real things in our society that we deal with every day. In many ways, these every-day occurences and happenings are heightened and idealized so that we may see ourselves more clearly. Each of these artists added a heightened sense of reality to their performances. Call it magic, call it theater, call it cinema, call it "glitter in the air," call it dream-like; the point is that these artists developed a foundation in reality (via their lyrics), but allowed us just enough of this magic to escape into an ideal world without forgetting our foundation.
Will.i.Am of the Blackeyed Peas stated "Welcome to the future" at the end of their performance. If they mean the future is AutoTune, we're screwed. But if the future means flashy costumes and sets and even plot lines in the music industry and not just on the Silver Screen or on Broadway, then that's a good thing. Maybe we're back-tracking, and more singing will be incorporated into films, and more acting will be incorporated into concerts. Wouldn't that be nice? What do you think?
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Of course, this is entirely my own personal preference and opinion, so it'd be silly to think it holds any weight outside of the fact that some people might agree with me. But I've always found theater in live pop and rock music to be interesting to a point, but easily distracting.
ReplyDeleteWhen I go to see a musical, I want to be entertained and see an interesting story and characters. But my expectations for going to a concert are different. I want to feel an intimate connection to the performer and his or her music, and I think overly elaborate production numbers and storylines are an incredible distraction from that. A concert, even a big concert with lots of lights and video, should still, in my mind, have an element of being in the performer's living room.
The Lady Gaga example above is interesting, because for all her popularity I just did not get her until I saw a video of her playing the piano and singing one of her songs by herself. Then I understood a little better why she has so many fans; she's a talented musician and songwriter. But I'm put off by the characters and overtheatricality above -- until she just comes out at a piano and plays and sings with her band (and Elton John, of course). I see where the music is coming from.
(Side note: What is it with Elton John playing with random artists at the Grammys? He did a similar stunt with Guns 'n' Roses in the early 90s.)
Anyway, I'm not trying to say all theatrics in music are bad, or that artists should stop experimenting. Far from it. My feeling is just that the modern music industry has far too much reliance on using production and glitz and celebrity to sell a product that often has no substance. I want to see more honesty and transparency from those mainstream acts.
Rock on.
~Sam