Last year, NPR ranked it No. Contact us at letters time. By Brandon Tensley. TIME Ideas hosts the world's leading voices, providing commentary on events in news, society, and culture. We welcome outside contributions. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors. Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.
This album permeated culture in a way that few albums have before it existed and made you a massive star. How were you handling the public gaze at the time?
I think most people appreciate being recognized and appreciated for their work and sacrifice. That, to me, is a given, but living a real life is essential for anyone trying to stay connected to reality and continue making things that truly affect people. The pedestal, to me, is as much about containment and control as it is adulation. Finding balance, clarity and sobriety can be very hard for some to maintain. Never being told no if the answer is no by people afraid to disappoint will obviously also distort the mirror in which we view ourselves.
On the other hand, a person with a vision can be way ahead, so people may say no with conviction and resist what they fear only to find out later that they were absolutely wrong. The idea of artist as public property, I also always had a problem with that. The entitlement that people often feel, like they somehow own you, or own a piece of you, can be incredibly dangerous. I chafe under any kind of control like that and resist expectations that suggest I should somehow dumb-down and be predictable to make people feel comfortable rather than authentically express myself.
I also resist unrealistic expectations placed on me by people who would never place those same requirements on themselves. I can be as diplomatic and as patient as I possibly can be. Absolutely, which I touched upon in the answers before this one. Life is life, to be lived, experienced and enjoyed with all of its dynamism and color. If you do something well that people enjoy, often they want the same experience over and over.
A real person can be stifled and their growth completely stunted trying to do this without balance. We all have to grow, we all have to express ourselves with as much fullness and integrity as we can manage. The celebrity is often treated like a sacrifice, the fatted calf, then boxed in and harshly judged for very normal and natural responses to abnormal circumstances. I saw someone lambasted once for discussing episodes of anxiety before going on stage, as if anxiety was only a condition of the non-famous.
Some days are better than others. The unfairness, the harshness was excessive to me. I had a ton of jealousy and competitiveness to contend with. Provoking that kind of aggravation was probably intentional.
The flip side of that adulation can turn severely ugly, aggressive, and hostile if people make another person responsible for their sense of self-worth. You can either take that abuse or say no to it. After subjecting myself to it for years, I started to say no, and then no turned into hell no, then hell no turned into f ck no…you get my point. If you could talk to yourself at 22 now, what would you say?
If I had known what I know now, things would probably have unfolded differently. I would have continued to invest in people but I would have made sure I had people with the love, strength, and integrity around me to really keep their eye on the prize and my well-being. I would have with greater understanding tried to do more to insulate myself and my loved ones from that kind of attack. Looking back on that period of your life, do you have any regrets? I have some periods of woe, some periods of sorrow and great pain, yes, but regret is tough because I ended up with a clarity I might not have been able to achieve any other way.
I would have done a few things differently though if I could go back. I would have done my best to shield myself so that I could better shield my children. I would have rejected the manipulation, unfair force and pressure put on me much earlier. I would have benefitted from having more awareness about the dangers of fame. I would have been more communicative with everyone truly involved with The Miseducation and fought hard for the importance of candid expression.
I would have demanded what I needed and removed people antagonistic to that sooner than I did. You have released music since Miseducation and have continued to play live. The problems started when four musicians claimed they were not properly credited for their work on Miseducation. When she resurfaced in on her MTV Unplugged 2. The record was a commercial disaster. New music was infrequent.
In she rush-released single Neurotic Society, a mix of eddying electro and double-time stream of consciousness. The reason for its quick release was that two days later she was imprisoned for three months for tax evasion of more than half a million dollars.
A year later, she played a string of shows, with the first night marred by sound issues and lateness.
0コメント