… but when does it become too much? This question will be examined in more detail here.
It’s nothing unusual that some bands announce their albums with a big bang and others rather quietly. But this is often the case with further insights into their lives. While some feel like they’re spreading one piece of news after another into the world at every meal, others don’t even show a small sign of life in between. Two bands that couldn’t be more different are The 1975 and the Arctic Monkeys. Although both acts come from a similar genre, have a similar fan base and age range, and became famous through their appearance on similar platforms, things are different for them.
Too much?
He eats raw meat on stage, posts personal messages on his Instagram story, kisses his band members (or fans) on stage and goes wild “Chicken Shop” dates. We’re of course talking about The 1975’s Matty Healy. If anyone is known for regularly polarizing, it’s him, whether on stage with his band or in private. The Brit is known for seeing every opportunity for artistic freedom and making it his own. It’s nice that he lets us take part in his life, but we needed the information the singer is circumcised and doesn’t understand the Easter bunny? How much do we really want to know?
If you look at the current “Still… At Their Very Best” tour by Matty Healy and his group, you get more than just a concert. We also get a discussion group, a podcast and a comedy show. Basically a 4-in-1 show. Admittedly, not every action the Brit performs on stage is a brilliant performance; some are probably miles away from it. But you have to give him one thing, he knows how to put on a show. Whether it’s reading out fan signs, handing out his clothes to the crowd, telling anecdotes from festivals or deliberately posing for filming visitors: Matty Healy is there. And when he’s not on tour, he shines all his expressive energy into personal interviews, YouTube formats and his Instagram account so we never have to live for long without a more or less interesting update from him.
Too little?
Who exactly is this Alex Turner? During 2014 still viral mic drop videos The Arctic Monkeys singer’s songs were circulating on Tumblr, although a cloud of disinterest surrounded the singer even back then, but in recent years things have become increasingly quiet about him. He and his band released the album THE CAR in 2022 and went on tour worldwide with the record. A record full of complex thoughts and feelings, but do they really belong to the man who brings them live on stage?
On Social media There are updates about new music and shows and at the concerts we get exactly what was announced: the live performance of some songs. Nothing more, nothing less. The Brit is also not present on social networks and interviews are also in short supply. The last ones were about a year ago, before that there was almost no news, apart from the album releases. But wouldn’t it be nice to find out a little more about Turner and his band? How does he feel about the Easter Bunny, for example?
You could say that it doesn’t matter how much or little we know about an artist because it’s about the music. And don’t get me wrong here, the Arctic Monkeys end up in my top artists of the year every year and the record AM in particular is an all-time favorite for me. Many of the songs, whether the younger, quiet pieces or the rocky ones from their early years, appealed to me. But would it be nice to know what kind of person is behind these works, what moves him and what else he does? In any case!
It’s the mixture that counts
Both examples are probably not necessarily the desired ideal and many would prefer a mixture of both. Of course, artists don’t need to get naked in front of us for us to build a connection with them. Nevertheless, I spend a lot of time with them. Whether in the shower, on a train ride, in my favorite bar, it doesn’t matter. When I share so many moments with the songs, I would also like to know who is accompanying me. And even though I never actually meet any of them, I feel like I know them to some extent when they explain in interviews their aversion to surprise parties and occasionally talk about what happens in their everyday lives. The tracks get a face and a story.