Ostrich with Ketchup and the Bedroom Artist

[Kiki]

Do outlets like Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites take away from the myth surrounding the music star?

So I started right off with a question. It is not related to the music which will sound the same no matter how much pointless things they said on the Internet. It's the same notes isn't it? Same words and beats per minute and the like.

Well... could it effect the listening experience?

When people are bombarded with opinions from their favorite artists daily, listening to them promoting their own products rather than a middle person and learning what they are doing at each very moment, does it take some of the magic away? Even if the artist says "WOW! I'm riding an Ostrich now" on twitter and then later putting "I have now eaten it! Tasty:P" does it just seem a little mundane? People hear so much of these. Alongside them are questionnaires that magazines give them ("What's your favorite children's book, favorite sauce, favorite sausage, most overrated this, most overrated that) which some use to give "edgy" or outrageous answers for the sake of it. Answers that have already been given in some form.

... which leads into a much nastier area. When trying to stay ahead of the outrage race, some artists will venture into racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc territory. They take steps on fragile boards of movements that are still being laid and having trouble in this day and age. And when they get called out for it they will put on that callous grin and imply through carefully chosen words that people who are complaining are "easily offended" or "conservative" and perhaps laughably "oppressing" them! Oh the horror! They are stepping on my rights! Well... there is horror alright. The younger fans reading these twitter messages and internet updates will feel the need to side with the artist to appear "cool". Some of these young people will, which in turn gets the behavior accepted by many more in society. Before you know it the youth that should be making steps forward are getting held back because they think there are no more steps to take. An absurd idea that taking part in a charity event or donation of some kind acts as a currency, a "Get out of the blame free card' if you will for times they give these oh so "edgy" opinions. The peasants think they are all classless and free. Through mp3s and bootlegs they get liberty!

Is that how this will play out? The gods of the stage becoming the disgruntled bedroom artist, not above trampling the oppressed to get inside your head?

Even if these ideas aren't fully realized and are used to pull causes in opposite direction, will they lead to a music world dominated by regular people. Ones which you know like to go to this cafe, go on holiday there and shop in that place. Ones that people can approach as friends and may even get to play with onstage should Hermit the Banjo player be ill. Do we want to know are favorite artists like that or have them as those personalities that only a glimpse of will have chills squeeze from every inch of our being? Do you want to make you're own myths up or get them through their feed every time you sign on?

Then again, if I could only have one or the other out of music myths and a lot less oppression in the world, I would go with the latter. It's only a bit of fun after all.