It (jazz) isn't like it used to be. The guys aren't together. They're all separated. Individuals now. Bird was a symbol. It was a clique, a clique of people. Who all believed in one thing: gettin' high. And playin'.
Charles MingusRead
Playing in an independent rock band will eventually make you equal parts truck driver, gladiator and mule. Glamour is for those with trust funds.
Interpretation
Being in an indie rock band involves hard work and sacrifice, dispelling the myth of glamour.
In this quote, Neko Case describes the gritty reality of being part of an independent rock band. Instead of the glamorous life often imagined, musicians face the challenges of hard labor and resilience, likening their experience to that of truck drivers, gladiators, and mules. This emphasizes the sacrifices musicians make in pursuit of their passion, contrasting it with the privilege of those who have financial support.
In practice
During a speech at a music festival, you might quote this to highlight the dedication of indie musicians.
It (jazz) isn't like it used to be. The guys aren't together. They're all separated. Individuals now. Bird was a symbol. It was a clique, a clique of people. Who all believed in one thing: gettin' high. And playin'.
It's very strange how electronic music formatted itself and forgot that its roots are about the surprise, freedom, and the acceptance of every race, gender, and style of music into this big party. Instead, it started to become this electronic lifestyle which also involved the glorification of technology.
If all I do in my life is soothe someone's spirit with a song , then let me do that and I'm happy.
There is nothing to keeping a band together. You simply have to have a gimmick, and the gimmick I use is to pay them money!
When I started to sing like myself - as opposed to imitating Nat Cole, which I had done for a while - when I started singing like Ray Charles, it had this spiritual and churchy, this religious or gospel sound. It had this holiness and preachy tone to it. It was very controversial. I got a lot of criticism for it.
Hip-hop kind of absorbed rock in terms of the attitude and the whole point of why rock was important music. Young people felt like rock music was theirs, from Elvis to the Beatles to the Ramones to Nirvana. This was theirs; it wasn't their parents'. I think hip-hop became the musical style that embraces that mentality.
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