SUBJECTIVITY

‘The term subject is useful, then, in that it encourages a more critical attentiveness to the ways in which the “I” is not autonomous, to the fact that it does not exist in a sort of vacuum. Rather an “I” or “me” is always subject to forces and effects both outside of itself (environmental, social cultural, economic, educational, etc.) and within itself’ (Bennet& Royle2016, p. 151).  Subjectivity is the theoretical concept that affects our creative thought process from our experiences as individuals. These experiences can come from many factors; the Swedish band ‘Ghost’ is a theatrical metal band that uses Christian/Satanic imagery and symbolism. The use of Duality creates conflicted feelings for the audience, they can take it as evil and satanic and that the band worship the devil, Or just a talented group of musicians dressed up to create an interesting concept to intrigue listeners at there shows.

ESSENTIALISM

 ‘Social identities…are associated with normative rights, obligations and sanctions...The use of standardized markers, especially to do with the bodily attributes of age and gender, is fundamental in all societies’ (Barker 2007, p. 221) Australian Underground rapper Chillinit conveys the message of Essentialism. This is heavily seen in his music specifically in the song ‘1nner Thoughts’, he raps the following lyrics, ‘My brother what makes you a man is how you put your family first, that’s real man shit’.  Essentialism is the concept on values within your morals and society, being a ‘real’ man is the idea of working hard, protecting, helping and always being there for our friends and family. This essentialism concept is explored within Chillinits music.

UNCONSCIOUS

 The creative artist can be thought of a someone able to ‘generalize his or her daydreams in such a way that they are able to gratify the audience’s own unconscious desires without inducing guilt’ (Silverman 1988, p. 158) Jim Morrison (1943-1971) was front man for the American rock/blues band ‘The Doors’, he is known to be one of the most controversial musicians in the music industry from his powerful imagery within his poetry, to his run ins within the law. Jim created 3 main characters that relate to his dark side which links within his unconsciousness, ‘The Shaman’, ‘The Lizard King’ and ‘The Killer Hitchhiker’. As a child Jim Morrison witnessed a horrific car crash seeing Native Americans dead on the street. This links to the Shaman as well as his meaning within the world, his chaotic struggles with fame is represented as The Lizard King and Morrison’s dark desires within his unconsciousness is represented to his character, The Killer Hitchhiker. The poet uses his unconscious thoughts within his poetry and the audience give him gratification in doing so. ‘The artist dreams aloud and in public’ (Strachey in Freud 1974, p. 420)

OVER DETERMINATION

‘Repetition compulsion is also a psychic defence used to repress unwholesome thoughts from the conscious mind. Repetition and repression are the mind’s mechanisms for clearing space in order for the ego to function. But failure in these mechanisms results in morbid anxiety. Thus repetition both conjures up the uncanny from the primal mind and forces the uncanny back down to the subconscious. The mind traps itself in cycles of repetition’ (Klein 2005.p. 79). British Punk/Pop artist YungBlud is known by his musical story telling by the topics of gun violence, romance, sexual assault and mainly mental health.  The construct of over determination can be seen within his music, his life experiences conveys the repetition of mental health and can be seen as the main topic of his music. Over determination occurs when one concept is created through multiple or repetitive like experiences or dreams. In this case its YungBluds battle with mental illness but is thankful for it, since it makes him as an individual.

SENSORY KNOWLEDGE

‘I call them my repetitive vision. I still see them. [They] cover the canvas and grow on to the floor, the ceiling, chairs and tables. Then the polka dots move to the body, on to my clothes and into my spirit. It is an obsession’ (Kusamain McCurry 2009) Australian psychedelic rock musician Tash Sultana conveys the philosophical idea of sensory knowledge through her live performance acts. Her wide use of instruments and their timbre tone colours creates interest to the individuals hearing. The sight from the audience is also interacted through Tash Sultanas movement on stage and the trippy/Psychedelic images seen on the green screen makes the whole experience quite interactive. Sensory knowledge is the use of the human senses and how it affects the ideas we capture through artwork, for example how individuals have different feelings and emotions towards certain colours.

CREATIVE INFLUENCE

‘Poetic Influence—when it involves two, strong authentic poets,--always proceeds by a misreading of the prior poet, an act of creative correction that is actually and necessarily a misinterpretation’ (Bloom 1997, p. 30.) American antichristian rock musician ‘Marilyn Manson’ created his persona with two controversial individuals’ names. Marilyn Monroe the beautiful actress and infamous serial killer Charles Manson are the two individuals that influenced Marilyn Manson’s name. Marilyn Manson finds creative influences within duality, religion of Christianity and Satanism.  He was mutual friends with fraudulent Satan worshipper Anton Lavey, as well as finding inspiration from his old band members when he started on the scene of alternative rock music. ‘To “make one’s name” means making one’s mark, achieving recognition…of one’s difference from other producers, especially the most consecrated of them’ (Bourdieu in Harrison & Wood 2003, p. 1021).

AUTHENTICITY

‘Confession is considered to bear a special stamp of authenticity…It has become...a crucial mode of self-examination...a dominant form of self-expression, one that bears special witness to personal truth...truth of the self and to the self-have become the markers of authenticity’ (Brooks 2001, p. 9). Red Hot Chilli Peppers (1983-present) are one of the biggest bands in the world; they have achieved this from being Authentic and continuing to stay true to their creative outlet. The band has been through drug addiction, death and many other disputes but at the end of the day it’s a band of brothers working hard for their fans and that’s why we love them. Each album they compose sounds completely different from the previous, there experimentation with funk, rock, punk and EDM with the classic peppers sound of Fleas funky bass lines, Anthony’s unorthodox vocal melodies and Chads complex rhythms screams how authentic their music is.

CREATIVE IDENTITY

‘the individual is a naturally occurring unit, that is preyed upon and entrapped by society, and that true freedom and fulfilment can only be gained by rejecting social pressures, and by giving individuality uninhabited expression’ (Mansfield 2000, p. 18).  American Ambient/Metal/EDM Rapper/Producer Ghostemane has one of the most interesting creative identities in the modern scene of the music industry.  In his music he discusses the topics of depression, Occultism, quantum physics, Astrology, BDSM, drugs and duality. Ghostemanes use of these topics and his production of Analog synthesisers, 808 drums and metal like vocals conveys he is no artist that cares about societies standards. His identity and creativity shows no limits towards his music or his visual representations in his Music Videos.

FRACTURED IDENTITY

‘The subject previously experienced as having a unified and stable identity, is becoming fragmented; composed, not of a single, but of several, sometimes contradictory or unresolved, identities’ (Hall 1996, p.598) The American heavy metal band Slipknot (1995-present) use the creative construct of fractured identity, this is represented with the use of their authentic masks. The masks are symbolic as they convey the metaphor that every individual hides behind a constructional mask within society. Fractured Identity is also represented in the song ‘Devil In I’, the front man Corey Taylor sings, ‘Step inside… See the devil… you’ll realise I’m not your devil anymore’. Meaning that he can embrace the dark side within himself and still be a good person while doing so. Humans in general struggle with the concept of chaos and order, the band slipknot encourages listeners to be themselves even if it doesn’t fit into society’s strict box.

SOCIAL IDENTITY 

‘Identity operates as a set of resources which people draw upon in presenting and expressing themselves…and is performed to some extent through the alignments people make with different groups’ (Tagg& Seargeant2016, p. 343). Gustav Ahr (Lil Peep, 1996-2017) was an influential grunge/punk rapper splicing sounds, like Nirvana type melodies and modern trap 808s to compose his own style/Genre known as ‘Emo Rap’. In Gustav’s adolescence he was labelled as a ‘bad kid’ or a ‘bad influence’, these claims affected him greatly however he turned his negative criticism to build his Persona. Gustav Ahr is not just known for his music but for his fashion statements, from his outrageous purple/black undercut, to his unconventional gothic vintage apparel and his tattoos that cover his whole body with each illustration having an emotional story. Lil peep took the cliché as a Goth/Addict using this category as his identity within society but only his friends, family and fans knew that Gustav Ahr was just a sweet misunderstood young man.