More art vs. commercialism

["L. Bird" <pkeets@hotmail.com>]

The Who has always been pretty much the opposite of commercial, and they 
fall into the very lucky category of artists whose pure message seems to 
strike a corresponding chord within a fairly large audience.  There  was a 
certain amount of packaging to get them started, but once they hit their 
stride, then the whole thing seemed to run pretty well on it's own.  They 
have a very unique, identifiable voice which has allowed them to maintain a 
great deal of artistic integrity.

This is not to say that (like Santana) they shouldn't benefit from available 
marketing strategies.  There was always a certain amount of sensationalism 
within the original line-up that issued from the personalities involved and 
was a part of the artistic product.  It's unlikely that they'd be completely 
comfortable with that same type of sensationalism these days.  We pretty 
much saw what they're comfortable with last summer, and it seemed to fly 
pretty well.

They're an older band, and they've been out of the market for a long time, 
so they do need to consider their image to a certain extent.  It wouldn't be 
appropriate for them to act like kids, but it wouldn't hurt for them to look 
at a certain amount of commercial packaging for their product.  We've had a 
lot of fun imagining that just lately, especially where PSYCHODERELICT is 
concerned, but the fact remains that it's good music, so it's not a matter 
of subverting the product to suit the market.  It's a matter of providing 
vehicles for it to reach possible fans.

That subversion is the thing to watch out for, and it seems to be something 
that Townshend has been worrying about for years as far as a new Who album 
is concerned.  The danger arises when he has nothing in particular to say, 
and so falls into copying past Who successes, or worse, those of another 
band or artist.  That would be commercialism, rather than creative 
synthesis.

I have a lot of confidence in what The Who produced last summer.  If they 
plan to remain a creative force, it was the right thing to do.  When TED got 
out there, face to face with the audience, then they produced the real 
thing.  It was authentic art, and I don't think Townshend had any doubts 
about it.


keets


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