In general, the art that we love means something to us. It makes us feel happy, sad, it comforts us, it gets us riled up, it gives us goosebumps, it challenges us, shows us something new about ourselves…. It means something to us.
When you listen to "Blue in Green" or "Flamenco Sketches" by Miles Davis, they give you that feeling of calm and love. Or when you hear Kanye West’s "We Major," you immediately get pumped up and ready to attack your day. Or on November 1st, when you hear the first notes of Darlene Love’s "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. That is the power of amazing art…. But what about the people that make the art? Do they have a stake in giving you those nice feelings? Should our feelings be transferred to them as the creators of the art we love?
Yes… No… Maybe… Well, the only thing to be sure of is that it’s definitely complicated. Fortunately, on today’s show we’ll be digging deep into these questions as we discuss the concept of Art vs. The Artist. And, with a topic this heavy we just had to bring on an expert guest to help us untangle everything.
Special Guest: Tom Moon
Tom Moon has been writing about pop, rock, jazz, blues, hip-hop and the music of the world since 1983. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die, and a contributor to other books including The Final Four of Everything. From 1988 until 2004 he served as music critic at the Philadelphia Inquirer and his work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GQ, Blender, Spin, Vibe, Harp and many other publications. Since 1996 he has contributed to NPR's All Things Considered and he’s also won several awards, including two ASCAP-Deems Taylor Music Journalism awards. Beyond his bonafides as a music journalist he’s also an accomplished saxophonist whose professional credits include several tours with the Maynard Ferguson orchestra and recently he launched EchoLocator which is a newsletter devoted to nearly vanished sounds, spirits, ideas and recordings.
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