Re: Welcome to the Cult!

[ed.suranyi@ETAK.COM (Edward J Suranyi)]

Hi, all.  It's been a while.

I just have some comments on Fiona's message
about the book "Cult Artists", which I've also seen.

She said: 

>There's a seedy little book out that I saw yesterday called "Cult Artists",
>brief bios of artists that are not widely popular but who have devoted
>followings.

>Yes, Kate is in it, but don't rush out to buy it. It's the standard potted two
>and a half page bio, photo from the Red Shoes era, and a few lines about her
>devoted fans who trade tapes and talk over the Internet. And a quote from an
>unnamed fan who describes listening to her as "a religious experience".

>To give you an idea of how sloppy this book is, Elvis Costello (I assume this
>is the same one who has a number of international hit singles and albums) is
>also defined as a "cult artist".

Actually, compared to Mariah Carey, I would say Elvis Costello is
certainly a cult artist.  He's had a few minor hits, but nothing
really major.  I guess it depends on what you mean by "cult artist".
The authors of the book meant, I suppose, artists that have strong 
followings yet have never become major stars in the mind of the
general public.  As such, I didn't
have a problem with most of the artists included in the book.  The
only really iffy case was the Grateful Dead, whose cult is so huge
they really could have been considered stars, if it weren't for
the surprising fact that they really only had one hit single in their
careers.

Take care, everyone!

Ed Suranyi
ed.suranyi@etak.com