The struggle to find identity is not limited to literature and fairy tales, but is applicable in everyday life. I like to see the struggle to find identity in music.
The band Weezer released their first album (the blue album if you're interested) in 1994 in the midst of a grunge revolution. They almost immediately found their niche as the nerdy, hardcore, almost punk rock band that sang well written, clever songs like Buddy Holly and The Sweater Song. They became very popular and found a lot of success with later releases.
But like all bands, there comes a time when the artists feel like they cannot relate to the new generation and make music that will please their audiences. So like many bands Weezer almost twenty years after formation moved away from what made them who they were and tried to change their style to fit in with the changing musical scene.
Now how is this related to identity? Well every band has a distinct sound. I'm willing to bet that everyone can name a band or musical artist that has a distinct musical sound.
Weezer found their sound and their distinct musical identity in 1994.
In the song Back to the Shack Weezer apologizes to its listeners for pursuing a musical style that was not their own and they acknowledge that they were the most successful and the happiest when they were making music their way. There isn't another band that can replicate Weezer's sound or do what they do better then they can.
Musically Weezer found their identity and so have many other noteworthy musical acts.
I love how you connect what we are talking about in class to your actual life. I really like the argument and the song is good too. I think its interesting how we listen to so much music but we dont listen with a critical lens.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting looking at how an idea, like a band, develops and matures exactly as a person would. They did veer off from their true selves(as some characters from the short stories did) and went through phases. When Weezer was at riotfest on sunday, they almost exclusively played from the blue album. It's kind of very cool to look at artist's opinions of their own work sometimes, it makes them more human.
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