I’m looking for one thing real tonight

One Thing Real – Dan Bern

Matt Yglesias is unhappy that a Diet Coke ad is not properly representing the division of labor in the production of pop music. Yes really.

Apparently the ad depicts Taylor Swift writing the lyrics to a song, when in fact someone else wrote it; she merely performs it. Except, in fact, she is credited as a co-writer on the song. But nevertheless, he wants to insist, he’s got a larger point here. Which is: “there’s a kind of odd convention arising out of rock music that the ideal is to be making a recording of yourself playing a song you wrote yourself.”

Look, people do sometimes place too much priority on authenticity. There is plenty of room in our musical culture for people who ‘merely’ perform or for people who ‘merely’ produce. Or for people who write songs but don’t perform. Some of the finest music in rock and roll comes from studio musicians playing for a buck. Some of the best songs of the 60s were made by Phil Spector from behind the controls, or written by Goffin/King but sung by other people. Modern pop music is often generated via two distinct groups of people (pop stars and producers) linking together in various ways.

And that’s all fine. There’s lots of good music in there.

But it’s not a coincidence that a LOT of the very best music of the modern era comes from people who take charge of the entire chain of custody in their music.

The imaginative element of music, which is what really matters to us, has very little to do with pure virtuosity.  Anyone can record a cover, and sometimes the cover will be (technically) far better produced than the original. But on the whole, the ‘best’ version of a song is usually the one recorded by the original artist, and that’s because there’s an organic component to the whole process.

Even more, if you are going to follow an artist for a long time, it’s because their entire artistic output gels together. It’s about their ability to consistently produce high-quality work that comes from a particular place, that speaks to a certain personality.  If Okkervil River releases a new album, I know that Will Sheff wrote some brilliant lyrics, and I know that I’ll be hearing him sing.  And that’s what I want.  It’s not a ‘problem’ that Sheff doesn’t have the most technically pure voice.  I don’t WANT a perfect rendition.  I want the beautiful cracks of “Westfall” or the soaring and jagged peaks of “The War Criminal…”  Isaac Brock has a lisp.  Dylan is Dylan.  Michael Stipe has a range of about seven notes, but R.E.M. writes songs for that voice.  And so on.

All of which is to say: while great music certainly CAN be made via the division of labor, it still makes plenty of sense to valorize the artist or band who can start from nothing and turn it into a complete song.  It’s not the only way to make music, but it’s certainly one very important way.