Jack White and Bono have shared their thoughts on fame.
As published in music critic Robert Hilburn's new book Corn Flakes With John Lennon (and Other Tales From a Rock 'n' Roll Life), the two (who were interviewed separately) comment on celebrity culture, their role in the music industry and on the future of rock.
Stressing the importance of artistry, Bono stated:
"I certainly went through a self-conscious phase, and it makes you ugly. . . . And it can change the way you walk and think because you don't want to let people down. . . .
"I am much more recognized now than I ever was, but I don't notice it anymore. People come up to me all the time, and I don't care if I've washed or if I'm crawling on my hands and knees out of a night club. The artist's journey is away from self-consciousness. That's where you've got to have tenacity. Bruce[Springsteen] certainly has that. Lennon had it. I had that".
The U2 singer also pointed out a reason why young bands might be afraid of massive stardom:
"I think one thing is they are suspicious of fame because fame is now associated with 'celebrity,' and that has become oppressive in our society. The bands don't want to become part of this thing which is crawling all over us. But when they pull down the shutters and block out the light, they lose their curiosity. I've never seen art improved by someone who has double-locked the door, turned off the light, and found a little cupboard in the back of the house where no one is going to find them. There is something about the spotlight that keeps you sharp."
The spotlight, and how he reached it, was also the topic of Jack White's interview:
"The area of Detroit I came from wasn't the golden age of Detroit in the 1930s and 1940s," he said. "It was the 1980s, and nothing seemed to work [...] It wasn't like a real city anymore. . . . So like a lot of artists do, you go to your room and you shut it all out".
"I never said, 'I don't want to be famous,' or 'I don't want to be the best I can be at what I'm doing,' or 'I don't want to share my music with millions of people instead of a roomful.' I was willing to do whatever I had to do to reach an audience."
"But it was a fight all the time because it was the music scene around me in Detroit who would go, 'Oh, I don't know if you should be on the cover of Rolling Stone' or 'I don't know if it's a good idea to sell your records in Starbucks' or whatever. That's the reason I finally had to leave Detroit and move to Nashville, where you don't run into that thinking.
White stated that he could not picture himself as a 'spokesman' like Bono or Bruce Springsteen, but added:
"There was a period when I thought I was just making music for myself, but I sometimes feel it's bigger than that," he said. "I feel like I'm an antenna and I'm being used - by God or by whatever - and I want to be that antenna. I'm not going to stop it. I've never thought, 'I'd better slow this down because there's too much ambition or too much passion coming out of me.' "
Robert Hillburn is an American music critic and writer. You can view his website here. His memoir Corn Flakes with John Lennon (and Other Tales From a Rock 'n' Roll Life), is out now through Rodale Press.
1:45 PM | 14/10/2009
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