In order to even begin this blog I had to really analyze this term. I could have chosen another topic to discuss but this phrase challenged me to understand it better. I was confused by it even when I read it from the context in which it came. The "images" are never clearly pointed out in the article. It's a simplified term for a grander list of topics. In the article there are many images discussed. There is the image of adolesence, the image of men and women and their sexuality and the glitter-glam side of rock and roll. What images are confounding? Or which images are being confounded?
I'm going to go with my first instint on this and say that the "confounding images" are when rock and roll, sexuality and adolesence are all mixed into one "scene" so to speak. David Bowie was one of the first main stream artists to really blur the line between these and make it one large topic.
Another group similar to this (perhaps even a little more controversial) would be Queen. You take rock music which, in its beginning stages, was intented to be kick-ass, in your face, roughness and turn it into something feminine. And not only is it feminine but it's still coming from the in-your-face standpoint and from a man. It's truely a unique experience that still isn't explored very often. There are alot of homosexual or feminine forms of rock but rarely do they make it to the mainstream. An example of this would be The Darkness. Although their music is from a heterosexual standpoint, their theatrics are very feminine and glittery. And because of this they are either openenly embraced or outwordly hated by critics. They aren't a fly under the radar kind of band where they are too mediocre to either hate or love.
I personally love this kind of music, where there are no black and white lines. There are gray areas, blended areas and meshed ideas that don't always necessarily seem to go together from the naked eye. It's a true art from. And I have to bring up again the famous idea that true art is formed when you try something new and even out of your comfort zone.
I really enjoyed your blog. It was simple yet so profound and understandable. Confound means to shock or amaze so I suppose what a "confounding image" is could be different to everyone. I personally, do agree with you. The mixture of feminine and rugged in rock n' roll music is confound. "Glam Rock" was new and different and shocked many people because it was such a cluster of so many different elements that somehow worked so well together. The trial of something new, different, shocking and maybe even awkward is artistic and beautiful. This is a very well put together blog and I look forward to reading more! :0)
ReplyDeleteThe phrase about “confounding the images” in the book also was not clear to me the first few times I read that sentence in the article excerpt. I agree with you that the article presented many images but seemed focused on David Bowie, who seemed truly androgynous. I think your instinct was right in your interpretation of the phrase. The mention of Queen in your blog is an excellent example of confounding the images. Queen was very popular in the mainstream, with a feminine edge, yet a very hard, rocking, sharpness to their music as well. Freddie Mercury, their lead singer, rocked their music powerfully, as well as the rest of the group. I can’t say I ever thought of him as being androgynous though. He was just a male singer, who was gay, not that I cared. I’ve never heard of The Darkness and can’t watch the video as I’m writing this (I’m at the library), but I like how you described them. I really dislike black and white lines, images, thoughts, decisions, etc. It’s interesting that you said their group is either loved or hated by the critics. I’ll have to look into them further. Anyone who steps out of their comfort zone is a strong person in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteOK I had to comment on this post because the video you included was kinda crazy:) I never have heard of the band The Darkness before but now I see where you were coming from in your analysis. It did remind me of Queen and how they tried to break stereotypes and try new things with their vocal style and imagery. I did have to laugh a bit at the music video. It is funny how there is a market for anything, especially in art. I guess that’s the great thing about art is it can be free to express whatever feelings the artist has. I wonder if any artist really gets the respect they deserve. I’m sure their job isn’t easy and they really have to go with their own style and worry about if people are going to like after the fact. That way they can stay true to their image and after all is the way they confound images in the first place. If everyone tried to make music to appeal to the general public, the music scene would be pretty bland I’m sure. I agree with you when some of the best forms of art are when you mix ideas which seem to meet in the grey area. Sometime you have to bring an audience to two different extremes to get your ideas across.
ReplyDeleteI was also confused about the same topic when I was trying to choose one for my own blog. I kind of had the same ideas as you but I wasn’t very confident about them so I decided to choose another topic. I really enjoyed reading your blog you helped me to better understand the context and it was just enjoyable to read. I agree with you that bands and/or artist that push the limits on what is considered the norm and are feminine and experimental are still not widely accepted by society, but I think we are getting there. I tend to not venture too far outside my comfort zone when it comes to a lot of things including music. I stick to what I know and unfortunately music that is like this isn’t part of that. I’ve never heard of the darkness but after watching the video you posted of them I actually like it. I never expected this class to teach me so much about music!
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