An Exploration Into the Attraction, Importance and Role of Authenticity in Popular Music

 I consider this topic one of the most central components of popular music.  It has been sought after and striven for by many musicians and indeed fans.  I believe it is important for many bands to appear authentic, and I believe many bands would do a lot to seek this term.  According to Hugh Barker and Yuval Taylor there is nothing more prized or fetished in popular music than authenticity, something I agree with regarding the majority of musicians,/ however I feel its importance changes in different eras –

Barker and Taylor go on to summarise how the notion that honest, pure, self-expression is the thing that matters to most, according to them it killed Kurt Cobain and Sid Vicious as being or even feeling fake can be a fate as bad as death.  This opinion is a little extreme in my own mind but demonstrates its importance.  In this file I want to briefly analyse authenticity, demonstrate its importance and what makes it so attractive to performers and fans.  I want to compare some inauthentic acts with some authentic bands, view some performers who have radically chased this term.  And then finally I want to have demonstrated how authenticity has shaped the popular music we listen to.

So what is authenticity?  I’m sure you are familiar with the subject, Allan Moore has done extensive investigation in his own studies.  His detailed research illustrates how key this can be to popular musicians, in one of his books on the subject he begins by classing authenticity as; ‘Authentic’. ‘Real’. ‘Honest’. ‘Truthful’. ‘With integrity’. ‘Actual’. ‘Genuine’. ‘Essential’.  and ‘Sincere’.  Certainly this aptly dissects its meaning, other angles on the definition even detail the quest for authenticity as being a battle between good and evil.  Reaching authenticity is obviously meant to represent the good succeeding, Roy Shuker for example states how it can represent a series of oppositions:  mainstream versus independent;  pop versus rock;  commercialism versus creativity or art versus commerce.

One thing that is crucial in understanding authenticity is how no song is ever going to be utterly authentic, no-one writes a song comprised so totally honest and so fully self absorbed.  Even if someone did account their deepest secrets, and the writer was in some form of trance as the perfect lyrics were intertwined magically with the perfect chord sequence, the song would still not be one hundred per cent authentic.  Authenticity is an absolute.  No-one is absolutely certain of their every thought, the mind has not been explored by humans yet, thoughts flicker so quickly, gathering every shred of a thought process would be fruitlessly impossible.  Instead authenticity is judged say as a Javelin competition would be, bands seeking authenticity try and get as far along as possible to achieve the most respect, however, to add to that equation is the fact that more respect is perceived to be gained if it seems you are not deliberately aiming for this.

Hence ‘real’ and ‘genuine’ seem to summarise authenticity the best.  But how can a song be classed more real than others?  Well it seems fans and many critics want bands to be singing about true life facts.  This craving seems to have progressed dramatically.  The top selling rock and metal bands of the 1970s and 1980s were crass, entertaining and the majority were hugely inauthentic, referring to Barker and Taylor, they note how in recent years, top selling rock and metal bands; ‘Staind, Nickleback and Evanescence for example, concentrate on adolescent introspection.  People want to hear about problems, real problems (however real they may actually turn out to be).  The more truthful, honest and revealing a song is, the more authentic it is classed.  An insight into an individual’s experiences is what is desired.’  Stories sung that are then revealed as false, or just a general disregard to truthful topics are prime examples of ‘inauthentic’ music, the term opposite of authenticity. 

I wanted to cover some individuals and some moments that have significantly affected authenticity’s role today.  First of all Kurt Cobain.  Cobain is widely regarded as one of the most authentic musicians of all time, however unfortunately it seems he reached such a high level by dying.  His actions, and demise, similarly to Richie Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers, almost left critics with a guilty feeling.  His death underlined his work, it highlighted how he really meant what he had preached and performed.  Surely death cannot be the best way to gain such high prestige in this subject?  If so that is tragic.  To again refer to Barker and Taylor and underline Nirvana’s prestige, they write how; ‘Nirvana’s guitar based simplicity, rawness of emotion, combined with Cobain’s ethics and loathing of the music business made them the ultimate authentic band of this era.’  This quote highlights the package of authenticity.  In my opinion Cobain set a bench mark those seeking authenticity have tried to follow, of course without having to loose their lives.
 
Another individual who played an interesting role in the development of authenticity is Elvis Presley.  Not regarded as the most authentic artist due to his persistent covering and his links to appropriation of African-American music, personally something I do not agree with, yet it is what he did for music that deserves recognition.  He bridged the gap between white and black musicians that was horrifically distant as recently as half a century ago.  He almost acted on stage, giving crowds new kinds of live performance.  He laid the foundations for rock music to reach where it is today.  Also he delivered new levels of authentic performance that were listened to by anyone regardless of their colour.  He connected to his audience like no-one before, and gave everything when on stage.  Elvis never got that authentic in his music, acting till the end, but he paved the way for rock music which eventually evolved to involve different forms of authenticity.

When glancing through the history of popular music there are many key moments that undoubtedly shape authenticity’s role, for example when the Monkees decided to actually play their instruments.  Clearly not happy with labels of being false, and criticisms of their musicianship the band made this conscious decision to appear more like the successful Beatles.  However, all was not cheery within the Beatles either, John Lennon also played an important role in the path of authenticity.  Lennon was never wholly satisfied with the lovable image the Beatles had feeling his personality was not shown fully.  He had a constant battle trying to demonstrate how genuine he was which possibly ultimately hindered his level of authentification.  Throughout his career he did anything to prove he was not fake. 

Another big moment was the uncovering of MTV Unplugged.  This show demonstrates many artist’s desire to be respected and again, it’s many applicants demonstrate authenticity’s significance.  When this show was introduced, around the time of Nirvana, their was a huge rush from many bands to get involved and succeed on it.  Not all bands want this and it certainly does not determine success, but for many it is fundamental.  Fans also tuned in to judge, similarly to how they do now on the countless talent shows that appear everywhere, challenging authenticities dominance?

These shows such as pop idol and X factor also play their part in authenticity’s prominence.  Many say how these shows hide authenticity’s value.  These shows promote the ‘bad side’ as Roy Shuker would say, the manufacturing of bands and individuals.  However these shows are unsuccessful in fighting against authenticity in my opinion it still manages to appear in different formats, for example when numerous sketches of competitors are shown backstage trying to reveal their real self. 

It is in fact also becoming more common for artists to even invent or exaggerate life’s troubles to gain an authentic tact, for without authentic tact what is success?  This sentiment is felt by many.  Avril Lavigne, winner of a talent show, released her first album which proved a success down to the song writing of her producers.  Despite her success the singer could not deal with criticism directed at her for being manufactured.  She promptly ditched the song writing team for her new album and produced a far weaker effort.  The most manufactured pop musicians will still strive for elements of authenticity, even if it is not there.  Does their general failure after these shows (for where are the likes of Gareth Gates, Michelle McManus, Steve Brookstein and Shane Ward now) come back to authenticity?  Undoubtedly in part yes, such is the role authenticity has played in the history of popular music.