Rock ‘n’ rollHere’s an interesting excerpt from a piece by Sonic Youth member Kim Gordon, from Artforum 1983 called “I’m Really Scared When I Kill In My Dreams”:
“People pay to see others believe in themselves. Many people don’t know whether they can experience the erotic or whether it exists only in commercials; but on stage, in the midst of rock ‘n’ roll, many things happen and anything can happen, whether people come as voyeurs or come to submit to the moment… Performers appear to be submitting to the audience, but in the process they gain control of the audience’s emotions. They begin to dominate the situation through the awe inspired by their total submission to it.”
There’s something in this, something about the live rock show… When she says “rock ‘n’ roll”, she’s not talking about something cool or restrained, she’s talking about freaking out. Still thinking about this one.