RE: (TV) Most Unlikely

["Casey, Leo J" <CaseyL@volpe.dot.gov>]

Ms. SecretX, 

Does this mean that you believe in the school of thought that an artist has to be neurotic or unhappy to create great art/music?

I have to confess that I sometimes subscribe to this theory.  Some of my favorite musicians/artists seemed to have created their best work when they were not happy (and I' ve noticed that a few who later became happily married or had great success subsequently had quite a drop-off in the quality of their work).  

On the otherhand, a part of me wants (has?) to believe that a happy, less neurotic person would be more free and thus more creative.  I also feel more than a little weird about hoping that someone like TV stays neurotic and unhappy so that he continues to supply us with great music.

Maybe it's not 'being unhappy' but 'anxiety' that is the real creative wellspring.  Too much anxiety leads to artistic paralysis, but a lack of anxiety leads to a lack of tension---a  dullness like Kenny G.  For me, good music is about/requires tension and release.  My theory about Tom V. is that he is a very sensitive (overly sensitive to the point of being gifted like Walt Whitman) and sometimes quite anxious person, but I'd lay money on it, that he's never been in therapy for fear -----like Norman Mailer and others -----that he lose his Muse-------------but I'm getting very close to psychobabble.    

This subject is related to another question: Is it possible to separate the art/musician from the person who made it. What if someone is a complete bastard but creates the most wonderful music (does the fact that a particular artist (say Bob Dylan) beat his wife, was is boorish (Mozart), or a fascist (Leni Refinstahl[sp.?] or Ezra Pound) invalidate their work)?  

	Leo

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	secretX@webtv.net [SMTP:secretX@webtv.net]
> Sent:	Wednesday, May 24, 2000 10:04 PM
> To:	tv@obbard.com
> Subject:	(TV) Most Unlikely
> 
> Tom's point was that 1880 or So is a good song
> 
> Getting back to "most unlikely to succeed": In fact, in the CBGB
> graduating class of bands Tom's was the least successful compared to
> Patti Smith, Blondie, Heads, Ramones. Do you think Tom would have been
> more successful if he weren't sensitive and paranoid? But if he weren't
> so sensitive his music would be dull. I'd take Tom's paranoia over
> whatever Byrne has. When I first met Tom people from the CBGB scene told
> me, "Watch out for that guy. He's a cold distant paranoid back-stabber
> etc." I didn't listen. I thought Tom was misunderstood. I was young and
> dumb. As time progressed I came to see how artistic sensitivity can be a
> curse as well as a blessing.
> 
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