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What would constitute a perfect song? There are as many opinions on this as there are people who listen to music. But what if concerns about potential revenue limited the composer? Could a perfect song still be written and recorded, or could the publishing directives ultimately corrupt the composer's creative choices?
Take the band Evanescence for example. I love the album Fallen. If you're familiar with it, you know what I mean. It's truly great on so many levels. Amy Lee's soaring and ethereal voice, Ben Moody's guitar and writing, it's all there. The biographical information regarding Evanescence is readily accessible for anyone with an Internet connection, so I'll skip to the chase with the details I wish to highlight for this essay. Point One: What happened to the solos? Moody's solo in Going Under (for example) almost hits the mark. The guitar tone is there, the playing is decent enough to get the job done. Unfortunately, the unsatisfying brevity of the solo turns it into a missed opportunity. How much of current music is dictated by those at the top of the musical food chain, who insist that short guitar solos are better than long ones, and no solos are best of all? This is a trend that has continued almost unabated since Nirvana and Pearl Jam slithered by on their sad excuses for guitar improvisation. Point Two: what's with Evanescence's so-called "Christian controversy?" According to sources like Wikipedia, and Evanescence's own liner notes in the CD Fallen, Lee and Moody were best friends. This no longer seems to be the case, as Moody left the band shortly after Fallen was released. Why did this happen? They publicly claimed it was "creative differences," but I wonder what those creative differences actually were... When Fallen was first released, it was released on Wind-up records. Wind-up has had more than one band tread the Christian/Secular music tightrope. Creed was another band that matched this description. Moody and Lee first met at a 'youth camp' in 1994, which certainly didn't necessarily have to be Christian of course, but I don't know of too many secular youth camps that refer to themselves as 'youth camps.' So it seems there may have been some sort of Christian influence from the very beginning, at least from Moody. If the youth camp was Christian, perhaps Lee was sent dragging and screaming in protest, I couldn't say. Whatever the case, fast-forwarding to 2003 and the release of the CD Fallen, besides being played on secular radio stations, the CD was getting a lot of play on Christian stations. Then, for reasons only vaguely disclosed, the band later decided against such a connection, as the following excerpt from Wikipedia (with four different sources) explains: Evanescence was originally promoted in Christian stores. Later, the band made it clear they did not want to be considered part of the Christian rock genre, like fellow Wind-up Records artists Creed. In April, 2003 Wind-up Records chairman, Alan Meltzer, sent a letter to Christian radio and retail outlets to explain that despite the "spiritual underpinning that ignited interest and excitement in the Christian religious community," Evanescence are "a secular band, and as such view their music as entertainment." Therefore, he wrote, Wind-Up "strongly feels that they no longer belong in Christian markets." Almost immediately upon receipt of the letter, many Christian radio stations pulled Fallen songs from their playlists. Terry Hemmings, CEO of Christian music distributor Provident, expressed puzzlement at the band's about-face, saying "They clearly understood the album would be sold in these [Christian music] channels." In 2006, Amy Lee told Billboard that she had opposed being identified as a "Christian band" from the beginning. I'm not sure how many feel the same way, but I wasn't particularly excited about the band's music being possibly Christian per se, but instead I had the feeling that there was sober spiritual metaphor being conveyed in the words and music. In other words, I detected a depth to the songs that impressed me. Amy Lee further said in 2006, in regard to the band's former association with Christian music: "Can we please skip the Christian thing? I'm so over it. It's the lamest thing. I fought that from the beginning; I never wanted to be associated with it. It was a Ben thing. It's over. It's a new day." Lee seems to have forgotten, or never came to grips with, the fact that with any art, the observer will draw what they wish from it, regardless of what the artist wants them to draw from it. In the true words of the astute Anna Nalick, "'Cause these words are my diary screaming out loud, and I know that you'll use them however you want to." It's not like the Christian status was keeping Fallen from the mainstream; it was getting heavy airplay on radio and cable television regardless. At any rate, my purpose in bringing the Christian issue up is to pose a question to the reader: Just what did Amy Lee think she would lose if she allowed Christians to identify with Evanescence music? For my best guess, see the title of this essay. Industry insiders (and others) know that to be identified as a "Christian" artist is a stereotype that can potentially turn many secular fans off. All you have to do is compare the most successful Christian bands with the most successful secular bands. There is no comparison in terms of revenue generated. So, in some people's minds, being thought of as a Christian band, or being thought of as a band that creates Christian-friendly music, is somewhat of a super-stardom-killer. The same goes with the production and promotion of movies. We're usually told by successful bands that they merely did what they loved, merely did what came naturally, only followed their true inspirations and muses, etc., and the result was success beyond most people's wildest dreams. But truly... what is actually going on behind the scenes? Follow the money. |