... sorry to miss a day--had to think my way through this one ...
May 14, 1999
5:03 a.m.
Okay, so it was probably just one of those times where a young guy was talking more than he was thinking. Certainly, even if he meant it, there were better ways of putting it. I'm talking about Art Alexakis, the Everclear singer and songwriter who, in a CNN interview session was asked about comparisons being made between him and John Mellencamp.
Boy. Is it just me, or is there something gnawing about that quote? Somehow, it really rubs me wrong. But I'm not planning to delve into that aspect of the comment, no. I'm not going to spend time discussing how Mr. Alexakis could have been a tad more diplomatic. Instead of being interested in why he said it, I'm interested in why he thought it. I think it has to do with an artist's style and personality and how it affects both their work and the way people perceive it. Us writers get affected by this situation, too, so I think it's a relevant topic for my page. First, let's do a quick assessment of the two singers in question--Springsteen and Mellenkamp. They are similar in many ways. Both write and perform the same brand of music, the Boss being more Steel Mill than Mellenkamp, "the Coug" more Small Town than Springsteen. Both are rugged, both have been through grungy lows of the business, both have made tons'o hits. Both are married and divorced and (I think, married again). Neither can really dance all that well (no, don't ask me to do any better!) Both have been praised highly by critics--both have been panned. For every "Born in the USA" exists a "Pink Houses." For every "Thunder Road" is a "Blood on the Scarecrow." For every "Pink Cadillac" is a "Jack and Diane." The guys are really well matched. But there is a difference. And for me, I'll label that difference as "style." Yeah, maybe "personality" is a better phrase for it--I don't know. But since it seems to affect the way people react to their music and appreciate their substance, I'll stick with style. John Mellenkamp is a smoker and a shitkicker. Bruce Springsteen is a give-it-all-you-got patriot and a poet. That's, I think, the first impression you get when you think of these two. Feel free to tell me different if you think I'm wrong. People are sometimes a little too afraid of Mellenkamp's background to see his artistry, and sometimes a little too awed by Springsteen's genius to notice when he messes up. If their styles were to be recast as writers, Mellenkamp might well be a mainstream SF guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, where Springsteen might be tagged the literary guy who develops from his soul. Mellenkamp might be Harlan Ellison, Sprinsteen might be Neil Gaiman. [I wonder which of those four would be most surprised at my choices, eh?] Think about it. Ellison and Gaiman are similar in their versitality, and their craftsmanship. They are both highly decorated, and prolific. There is a lot similar about them. But they are very different in style and presentation. And in performance personality. And I bet everyone who reads this, if given the same chance that Alexakis was given (the choice to be compared to one or the other) would choose one over the other. It's natural, I think, to covet one artist's work over another's based on our desire to be like that artist--to be related somehow. And I think we make our choices as much on the style and personality of the author as we do on the stories that he tells. Every writer has a style, or personality that weaves its way into their work. In the case of musicians it's in phrasing, or the gravel of a voice, or the way their appearance in a video augments the cold hard words and chords of their product. For a writer I think it's mostly the language he or she chooses to write with--and the pacing that their choices drive. Tim Powers writes books that sound different from Kevin J. Anderson, who writes books that sound different from Maureen McHugh, who writes books that sound different from Sherry Tepper, who writes books that sound different from Jerry Pournell. All of them are danged good writers, though. They tell good stories. I have a great deal of respect for both Neil Gaiman and Harlan Ellison, as I have for Powers, and Anderson, and McHugh, and Tepper, and Pournell . . . as well as for John Mellenkamp and Bruce Springsteen, as far as that goes. Those guys have it, you know? In other words, from my tiny spot looking up, it really wouldn't be too bad to be compared to any of them. In fact, it would be an honor to be mentioned in the same breath--even as they are totally different people, and write totally different types of stuff. And even if I liked one more than the other. Which brings me back to Alexakis's quote--where I promised I wouldn't go!   Have a good day, okay?  You don't have to worry about comparisons, Ron. Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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"If you can't say anything nice . . . " My Ma |
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