AJ, very interesting thought process and I too go through the same. Some of my thoughts below which might help evolve this discussion. In your case I think it is obvious that your admiration of the person is feeding into your love of his music. Also, I dont think you are an average fan of ARR also, you are probably a highly advanced, highly educated and highly influenced fan :-) Same logic that might apply to average fans who just hear ARR music and forget it in a few months might not apply to you.
But I dont think this logic is linear or works always or even in the reverse. For example, if all the personal traits of ARR remain as is, but his music was average, I dont think we would be having this discussion or forum. In ARR's case it is a deadly combo of both. On the other hand, if the music is brilliant, but the musician (any one or in this case ARR) does not have the best of personal traits, would we enjoy the music any less ? I dont think so.... Part of this is also cultural. In eastern cultures (including India) we tend to adulate our artists and sportspeople, we put them on a pedestal and expect them to be the best of human beings. That explains the large cutouts, temples of film stars etc. Nothing wrong with it, just how we are as a people. From this tends to flow our admiration of qualities like simplicity, humility etc. Whereas in the western world there is a general separation between a person and his/her craft. Due to the sheer admiration in the western world of "individual freedom", people tend to not worry much about how the people are in real life. Yes, there is tremendous curiosity or gossip interest in celebrities which tends to drive paparazzi to chase britney spears, angelina jolie etc. Nothing wrong with that either, just how the western world behaves. Another example is Sachin Vs Ricky Ponting. Indians adulate Sachin including me. Most indians including myself dont like Ponting - reason is simple, he is brash, arrogant and mostly abrasive. But ask an Australian and he will have no value for Sachin's humility or simplicity, they just believe that Ponting is the epitome of sports aggression and admire that quality in him. If you look at their cricketing skills, they are pretty much equal, just cold logic. But for me any day, Sachin is miles ahead, purely emotional decision ! To conclude, I think the answer to your question only lies deep inside you. It depends on how much you emotionally relate to ARR, the higher the more you will be influenced. Also, the same applies to each individual, once you admire someone's craft (like in this case ARR's music) and also emotionally feel you connect with the person or admire the qualities he/she possesses, the more will be your attachment, love, admiration and adulation for the person. Cheers ! Ram On Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 8:17 PM, AJ <purev...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > Was wondering recently that if I wasn't so impressed and amazed with AR as > a person....his cool personality, humility, simplicity, compassion, > integrity, wit, etc. etc., would I still love his music as much as I do now? > But, then again, I further thought that perhaps without those exceptional > personal qualities, his music wouldn't be as pure, sincere, honest, potent, > and overall likeable as we hear it now. When I hear Rahman's music, I also > hear his personality, and all the good qualities I described above. Maybe > because I'm so intensely interested in his life, his career......so devoted > to him, that the man and music are one for me, not able to separate easily > as 2 distinct entities. But, I also feel very strongly that Rahman is > exceptionally talented in bringing the deep qualities of his inner self to > the fore through his music, which is why his music is so emotionally > concentrated and loved so widely. This is surely a type of emotional > intelligence. > > Surely, art.....and music being an art, is an expression of a person's most > inner world......the imagination, creativity......all of that comes from the > deepest of wells within an artist. When we see, feel, or hear an artistic > expression, we are bearing witness at some level to a person's core self > uninhibited by the masked persona that we all are so pressured to give out > to the public world due to our various roles in life. Artistic expression is > really the self in its pure, naked form, which surely invites some degree of > stark exposure and vulnerability at some level. > > On the flip side, when I hear music from a composer who I don't > particularly like as a person gathered from comments, interviews, remarks, > etc. (the likes of Anu Malik, Ismail Durbar, Nadeem Saifi, Jagjit Singh, > etc.).....you know......the arrogant, egotistical, loudmouthed, self > aggrandizing types, it is unfortunate for me that those undesirable personal > qualities do have an effect on to what extent I can truly enjoy their > musical expressions, despite my best attempts to attune to the benefit of > the doubt that these are not inherently "bad" people, and the fact that > their beautiful creations are a sure testament to qualities of goodness > contained. But, in the end, the taint is felt......something that I wish I > could be ignorant about on some level. Recent example, after hearing Jagjit > Singh's bitter tirade towards ARR's achievements, his ghazals simply did not > sound as sweet as they used to be for me. And again, I admit that as > something personal to me, not an objective stance. > > The package of AR Rahman binds so many shades and levels of him as a person > and his artistic intentions. I feel completely grateful, on this end of the > spectrum, to be able to be sensitive to this bound, all in one expression > that combines the person and the creation within its symbiotic shell. > > >
