Papalon wrote:Might not be that controversial, but I think the whole "no contact with fans" thing is a bit pretentious. At least talk to us a little bit.
I dig what you're saying, but I've been thinking about this topic on and off lately and want to respond in order to process my own thoughts on it:
The "no contact with fans" thing is as essential to BoC as is their music, their album-and-otherwise artwork, etcetera ... it's part of their art because it is part of them as people.
The Reddit AMA is a good tester for this topic: a little while back, Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) did a Reddit AMA; some of his answers were seen as dismissive and/or terse (answers in the vein of "It's cool" when asked about being signed to Warp) and some users seemed frustrated with his lack of engagement ... OPN may not be the best example, but I often see people frustrated with and/or ganging up on AMA celebrities / figures who give short, non-descriptive answers.
The AMA person in question may just be a short, non-descriptive answer kind of person ... or maybe they're going through a depressive period or are having a tough day (etc. etc. etc.).
Not every celebrity will come in to the AMA zone and play into Reddit's inside jokes, type out twenty paragraphs for each answer, etcetera ... it doesn't mean they're inconsiderate. It's part of their personality.
Extrapolating the AMA thing to the quote endquote "Real World": celebrities (and folks in general) philosophically have a responsibility to other people (read: empathy, or something like it) which is important and, understandably, valued.
However, not everyone (peers, superiors, celebrities, etc. etc.) will give you that.
Expecting it from everyone is perhaps unfair--especially when those people are under public scrutiny, admiration, etc.
If you really want to get to " " "know" " " an artist, you have to respect their boundaries and their idiosyncrasies as part of their form.
Some artists post Twitter updates every day ("New album coming in twenty days ! ! !") and some don't speak to press for twenty years and then just drop an album on yer head ... and everything in between ... and neither are doing anyone a "favor" or doing it "right."
So I've made this argument and I'm not 100% sure how I feel about it but it's an interesting conversation I want to have on here, especially relating to BoC who are flying high in the latter option I presented in the previous paragraph.
Here's a great Atlantic article about (curiously enough, but appropriate!) Frank Ocean, Harper Lee, and reclusive artists / expecting a lot from artists and being frustrated when they do not quote endquote "deliver":
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainmen ... st/494804/
