The women who came before | The Old Guy

I was able to put my huge, stupid white guy foot in it once more.

The work of singer/songwriter Sabrina Carpenter, one of an increasing number of female singer/songwriters who have recently taken over the airwaves, was highlighted in an article headlined The increasing Gender Divide, Three Minutes At A Time in The Atlantic.

Naturally, this is nothing new to us elders. The 1960s and 1970s saw a huge explosion in the number of female singer-songwriters. Janis Ian, Judee Sill, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, Laura Nyro, and the renowned Carole King are just a few—but by no means all. When I highlighted a few of these artists in a comment, I received the answer that the younger artists now had their chance to shine.

A sigh

Every age ought to be able to claim some artists and pieces of music as their own. However, the arrogance of younger individuals who claim to have created something that many of us are aware has existed for some time makes my teeth twitch.

Without the candid songs of Joni Mitchell, Janis Ian, and Laura Nyro, none of the younger singer-songwriters would be around today. Because THEY created the confessional genre and the now-required performance in which the artist sits at a white grand piano and soulfully performs a song with four chords and no bridge, if you ask any contemporary vocalist who their influences are, those names will keep coming up.

What am I supposed to say? Sixty years ago, songwriting was far more serious.

I am also aware of how this sounds. An elderly (white) man lamenting how much great the music of his youth was and how nothing made today could ever match it.

No, it won’t. My generation is the only one with those memories and the thrill of seeing some of these artists play for the first time. I’m sorry the younger generation was left out. Furthermore, it will take some time for the more recent items to win our hearts.

But now, high-quality work is being produced. How could it not be? I’ve previously waxed poetic about Billie Ellish and Taylor Swift. I was happy to find that musicians like Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, Ms. Carpenter (whose work is notable for being both futuristic and retro), and a plethora of others either compose or co-write all of their songs. I might not agree with the particular musical styles they employ, but if the song is well-written, I’m all for it.

To be honest, I’m worried about how much an artist’s political beliefs or self-identification influence whether or not an audience accepts them. It wasn’t always like that. The way artists portrayed themselves was largely accepted in our day and age. With Annie Lennox and David Bowie, everything changed. Although their androgynous looks may have caused some admirers to take notice, it ultimately didn’t matter. You went along for the ride if you had already established a connection with an artist through their artistic expression. These issues have become nearly as significant as the music due to social media, which is incorrect. All works of art must be appreciated for their own sake, independent of the authors’ personal histories. After all, great work is frequently created by awful people.

According to Nate Jones, who wrote on The Vulture, Chappell Roan became too well-known too quickly and was unable to handle the strain. As David Bowie famously said, “Being famous does change a person.” Their longevity in their chosen field of activity is determined by how they respond to it.

Freak-outs have happened before. For these, Axl Rose gained notoriety. KISS’s Gene Simmons left an interview with Terry Gross. Jimi Hendrix said he simply didn’t feel it when he left the Madison Square Garden stage. A great performance frequently depends on the relationship between the performer and their audience. When performing stand-up, Larry David would frequently leave the stage, crack a joke, and then leave the stage if he didn’t receive the reaction he was hoping for.

A person’s soul is affected strangely by fame. A person can become exhausted by the continuous demands placed on their time, energy, and artistic abilities. With the knowledge that her followers will still be there when they return, Adele and the majority of musicians nowadays know when to take a vacation. If you’re not careful, fame may ruin you so much that you lose all you’ve fought for and, in some situations, it’s too late to start over. This is what happened to musicians like Amy Winehouse and the Gallagher brothers from Oasis.

Younger artists should take a cue from their elders about longevity. I hope people take a look at a career like Joni Mitchell’s, from her recent sickness and recovery to her enshrinement as the Queen of Tell All Songwriting, to her fresh-faced ascent in Canada to a string of hits and admirers. What a crazy journey! However, she continued.

That’s the cost of making great art, according to some. It’s the cost of living, in my opinion. Each of us has both good and bad years, as well as moments of exceptional elegance and horrible emotional difficulties. It is our responsibility to use the positive experiences we have had in life to remain resilient and help others, as well as to use the negative experiences as teaching opportunities and possibly as role models.

I’ll be paying attention. You ought to.

Raise your lovely grey heads!

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