We’ve dicussed the process that music often goes through to make it “popular”…. Editing in the studio, airbrushing of the artists in glam mags etc…
Jack Black and Kyle Gass from Tenacious D have also (kinda) recently been accepted as “popular” music… But what have they had to sacrifice to achieve this?!
Over five years ago I went to a Tenacious D concert at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney (before they’d started in Movies and really started to sell their image)…. They were rarely heard on the radio and played some rocktastic tunes at their concert.
Over the last few years, however, including at their concert last January, I’ve noticed a more commercial sound and image being portrayed by the band.
The following clip is from the Tenacious D movie “Pick of Destiny”. This film, according to many long term Tenacious D fans, was an “embarrassing sellout” that should never have happened. Since the film, however, the band has surely received much more radio time on Sea Fm and Star Fm (Central Coast, NSW). They have hit the big time by packaging their image and editing their music to make it more user-friendly.
*sigh*
Still, they really can “rock your fucking socks off”! :p
This post (and this enture BLOG) aims to highlight the other, more interesting aspects of music that are often ignored or under-represented by mainstream music journos, radio, etc that often focus on Top 40, easily packagable “disposable” music.
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I find it amazing that what I originally took as a joke band akin to Weird Al Yankovic’s less-than-serious covers, Tenacious D are actually entertaining and write some pretty great songs. The vulgarity and obscenity within some of their lyrics isn’t something I’d normally appreciate, and outside the context of the band’s performance I doubt I’d listen to such rubbish for long before I switched it off. But for their faults, the Rage Kage and JB rock out with their … you get the idea.
I wonder though; how do you market two plus-size gentleman of unremarkable physical stature and appeal within the realms of top 40 pop-sheen and plastic bodied imbeciles successfully? I guess a movie or two helps, as well as a growing fanbase that appreciates a bit of dirty humour. And we all know it’s because of Dio!