Re: Comercialization?

[boris@ucsee.berkeley.edu (Boris Chen)]

In article <68598@apple.Apple.COM> rhill@netrun.cts.com (ronald hill) writes:
>
>elenar@netrun.cts.com (Rob Costa) writes:
>
>
>> Is it just me or does Kate seem a little less .... hmmm
>> "Majestic", "Angelic", "Bizzare" than she used to be?
>>  
>> It seems like ever since she did that lously song with Peter Gab.
>> her music has begun to seem to me to be more comerical.  Less
>> Grand somehow.  As if she's simplifing it to reach a larger audience?
>>  
>> Someone please tell me im just imagining this...

I think you are imagining this. If you listen to TKI, *that* sounds more
commercial. If you want to think of The Dreaming as her first album (or
first real album), then you still have a little trouble. I think most
of HoL is less 'commercial' than the stuff on TD. Yes, there's
RUTH, but there's also WtW. As far as TSW goes, she seems a little
more consistent as far as the 'commercialality' (I like making up words,
so shoot me). But the only really 'commercial' songs on there seem to be
Love and Anger, and This Woman's Work. The Sesual World (the song) seems
to lack the obvious melody to be 'commercial.'

I have a little trouble with this whole issue, since everything seems
hinged on the assumption that to be commercial is to be bad. Certainly,
it is the case that many of what is commercial is bad, but to say
that because something is commercial, it is bad, is not so soundly based.
It's kind of pointless to ask an artist whether something's commercialality
is intentional or not. Few artists (no smart artist) would say, "Yes,
I wrote the most mainstream song I possibly could, sacrificing all
artistic integrity, to have a hit song." I suspect that KT just sits there
in her studio creating all these songs, and some guy at the record company
nudges her to keep this on the album, and reserve that for a b-side, or
stick it in the middle somewhere. Of course, I'm sure she's not one to
be pushed around (based on her earlier actions), but I'm also sure that
she knows that in order to get kids to eat brocolli you need to sometimes
make it look better, and perhaps they will eat it and end up liking brocolli. 
Bad illustration, I know, but I think you know what I mean. Some kate-fans
originally bought their first album because of 'commercial' songs like
RUTH, and ended up liking all of it.

--boris