Did Amanda Palmer kill one of your loved ones*?
*I mean, I hate that some people cover songs I love too, but (insert song from Frozen soundtrack here)
Iâve found that some people just really want to hate Amanda Palmer.
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Itâs kind of unbelievable how many people want to hate her â Iâm guessing itâs some form of jealousy around the idea that sheâs seemingly been able to build an existence simultaneously within and outside of the âtypicalâ systems of social operation. When you sit down and work âby the bookâ it can be frustrating to see someone go about something differently and achieve success. Some hate also seems to come from a place of misogyny. Sheâs not perfect as an artist (who is) and Iâd expect to see some critique there, but most honest critique seems to be shadowed by a deluge of vitriol.
People are always quick to say that sheâs âstealingâ from people or âexploitingâ her fans, but these are fans who are completely willing to give her money and will jump at the chance to hop on stage with her without a contract. Previous to some of her latest success she was successfully couch-surfing all over the place just on the good nature of fans.
Iâve had the opportunity to talk with her on a few occasions, and sheâs just an absolutely pleasant and witty person. There are no ulterior motives at play, and her motivations are all out there in the open. Itâs a shame sheâs moved on from Boston because thatâs killed the odds of being able to bump into her again outside of a performance.
Thereâs another thing that the haters neglect to mention: Amanda will randomly perform at a coffee shop or other public venue completely free of charge. She not only gets it, but actively participates what she preaches.
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If the level of discourse keeps going downhill like this I donât know if I can take it!!!
/sarcasm
Itâs a compliment.
Personally I am happy with the traditional definition - a professional is someone who does it for money, and an amateur is someone who does it for love.
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I think youâre defining hookers.
You thought hooking wasnât a profession? Itâs usually called the oldest profession.
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I was hoping so! Thanks!
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I didnât have a strong opinion on Amanda Palmer until this:
She supports Jian Ghomeshi and said in a tweet that she kick someone off her stage or from anyplace just because they are "going through stuff "(paraphrased). Because raping women is âgoing through stuffâ.
She can fuck off, for all I care. Sheâs a rape apologist, rapist supporting asshat. Not to mention the rest of her clueless bullshit already mentioned above.
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Huh. A wealthy, privileged person espouses a hardline Conservative economic philosophy of deregulation and free markets. Why am I not surprised by this?
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Good. But what she did and what she said (which was REALLY dismissive of abuse) was still pretty shitty and hypocritical, considering how she has presented herself as a person. The combination of all her past bullshit plus this doesnât leave me with warm fuzzy feeling about her. She doesnât seem particularly self-aware and she seems far more interested in her art than anything else.
Never got the obsession over her, still donât. Meh.
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I donât think so. In fact, I doubt very seriously sheâs killed anyone.
I just thought it the height of arrogance to seriously call oneâs self a ârockstarâ, implying that ârockstarâ can be an actual job title, and claiming that being a ârockstarâ is now what she is and how she makes her living. If she had pressed her tongue against her cheek even a little bit, I wouldnât have cared in the least, but there was no indication at all that AP was joking. Again, you may think it an issue of semantics, but Amanda Palmer is no rockstar. I donât think itâs a title one can bestow on oneâs self. But ultimately Iâm not THAT worked up about it. I was just, you know, weighing in a little bit.
I rather think that a major part of being a rock star is declaring oneâs self one. Isnât that what Ziggy Stardust did for David Bowie?
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Right, but see, if men do it, itâs okay, but once women do that, they are out of line and needed to be shut-shamed and disciplined⌠/s
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But if Bowie hadnât become a real phenomenon, Ziggy Stardust would only be looked at as the theater piece for which it (he?) had been created. Not to mention that Bowie had already found a bit of success as a performer before Ziggy Stardust. Thereâs nothing stopping anyone from declaring themselves a rockstar, but if one does so and remains a postal worker, or a CPA, or a teacher, or whatever, itâs either delusion or harmless fun and games. And, in the same way that not EVERY porn performer is actually a porn STAR, not every performer working the rock idiom is a rock STAR. I would concede that Amanda Palmer is a rock performer, though much of her music I wouldnât even consider to be rock. I wonder if you would be put off by someone declaring themselves to be a genius, especially if they demonstrated nothing of the sort. Now substitute the word rockstar for genius and you might see where Iâm coming from.
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Well, one declares one self a rock star and then one backs it up. Whether one backs it up sufficiently and in the right way (catchy tunes, sales, artistic integrity, outrageousness, etc.) well, thereâs a lot of subjectivity involvedâŚ
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Well, obviously what eliminates the subjectivity is @jaybone23âs âsniff testâ.
