Authenticity in Music

Wow, I really enjoyed that article by David Pattie. Heady stuff. I felt like I was just trying to keep up with his ideas, but I am fascinated by issues of constructed personae in performance, etc. I come from a performing background (somewhat – I’m not an actor or anything) and worked for a time in Hollywood (the ultimate in the Inauthentic, some might say), so I really appreciate the idea of authenticity in performace – not just in music, but in acting and writing, for that matter. “Authenticity” is connected to, if not synonymous with, “truth,” and truth, I would argue is what art is ultimately attempting portray or express. I most appreciate a movie actor’s performance when it seems naturalistic and real. I appreciate music that comes from a genuine place. I admire people who are without pretense.
But yes, any performance is by definition artificial, so what I – and any audience member, I suppose – is looking for when seeking authenticity is in fact the illusion of authenticity. I think artists can sometimes transcend that barrier, however. There’s the idea of being “in the moment.” I can cite numerous examples. One that comes to mind is a recent performance on American Idol by runner-up Crystal Bowersox. Toward the end of a song, she broke down in tears because she was overwhelmed by emotion. It was terribly moving, and my wife observed at that moment, “She just won the competition.” Granted, she didn’t, but my wife’s reaction speaks to how powerful an authentic moment can be. Could Crystal Bowersox have premeditated the tears? Sure, but I instinctively think she didn’t. The moment seemed to real, too authentic. I guess another word that goes along with authenticity is intimacy. It was an intimate moment, and that’s something that all humans seek.
When it comes down to it, staged performance is just a figure for real life, anyway. We watch movies and plays, listen to songs, because they reflect our real experience. But the fact is our real experience with other people is often inauthentic, anyway. In most of our dealings with people, our true selves are covered over by façade. All of us present a face to the world. (Reminds me of a lyric from perhaps my all-time favorite singer-songwriter Billy Joel, who by the way I find authentic – “Well we all have a face that we hide away forever, and we take them out and show ourselves when everyone has gone.”) We only show our true face to a select few, if anyone. Is it any wonder that humans seek authenticity as a commodity? They don’t get enough of it in their real lives.
Anyhow, back to the discussion at hand, I believe musical performance can be authentic. If you glance at the transcript from our group’s most recent chat, I talk about how a song or performer is authentic if he or she expresses something in a way that feels true to life, or true to the life experience of his or her audience. Consider Taylor Swift. Her songs about teen love are pretty trite, and it’s easy to write them off as drivel, but they clearly connect with her audience. Does a sentiment have to be original to be authentic? Hardly. And yes, I think Pattie makes a point when he says that there is an unspoken agreement between the performer and his/her audience (at least the authentic performer): “that the music contains within itself a pre-existing truth, and that it is the task of both performer and audience to rediscover and re-express that truth.” Isn’t that why we attend concerts live rather than simply being content to listen to the song over and over again on CD or mp3 or whatever? There’s probably more fidelity (rooted in the Latin word for faith/truth, yes?) to the original performance on a recording, but we crave the rawness and immediacy of the live performance.
So what is authentic? Authentic is when the performer shows real emotion rather than staged emotion. Or when that performer’s staging of the emotion (because, again, all performance is inherently artificial) rings true for his/her audience.
Finally, just to touch on the second article about hip-hop, I think the same standard should hold for authenticity in rap: how real is it? By coincidence, a student came to me yesterday for help understanding, a really excellent article – “Hip Hop Planet” by James McBride – which examines the roots of hip hop.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/04/hip-hop-planet/mcbride-text.html

One of the most interesting points the writer makes is that hip hop has come kind of full circle as an art form; it evolved from spoken word performance, dancing, and drumming from West African, and in the present-day villagers in Senegal have embraced Hip Hop to express their day-to-day experience. That’s real.

PROPOSED ASSIGNMENTS
Assignment 1: Students list top 3 favorite musical artists/groups and 3 adjectives to describe each. We will compile a list on the board and then discuss what students like about them. SOCRATIC METHOD needed here to lead the discussion to the issue of authenticity (key words: "real," "truth," "believable," "identification"). Conclude the discussion by writing 1 paragraph discussion about what makes a singer/artist authentic.

Reflection Questions:
How do you define authenticity? What does it look like in a performer / performance?
Is authenticity an objective or subjective quality?
If something is planned or prepared for performance can it still be authentic?
Can a performance be effective or entertaining without being authentic? How?
Does something being authentic automatically make it artistic or entertaining? Consider freak shows, street musicians, zoos - are those authentic entertainments and is the authenticity something you inherently assume?
Cite a song, movie, story that you think is especially authentic. What is authentic about it?

Assignment 2: Identify a song that you think is authentic. Either play the song in class or bring in a lyric sheet and explain what is authentic about it. Identify a song that you find inauthentic. Either play the song or bring in the lyric sheet to explain why it is inauthentic.