Monday Musings: How Important is Image?

Hello there. So, it's apparent these days that talent is no longer what you need to survive in the music industry.

Wow, if I have to give "Talk Dirty" one thing, it's that I can insult it again and again. But I digress. Something that's become more important in the music industry is image, and how you present yourself. Or has it?  By which I mean to say, hasn't image always been important in the music industry?

Here's The Beatles performing at The Ed Sullivan Show. Would you believe that they got scathing reviews back then? And those reviews not only commented on their music, but on their appearances, commenting on their "sheepdog" haircuts. The Rolling Stones were told to get rid of their singer "with the tire-tread lips". How shallow! How judgmental! How... strangely familiar-sounding.

It's true: this world cares a lot about appearance, and unfortunately this vanity translates into the world of music, too.There's been a sort of backlash as of late, actually, as we learn to accept people of all shapes and sizes and give them equal representation in the media. Believe it or not, we are in fact becoming more tolerant as a society. I think it's called "progression".

There's also the sense of "image" in the sense that your image matches your musical genre. Either that, or your image overshadows your music. For example, KISS. I definitely know KISS better by their image than their music.

Clockwise from top left: Paul, Peter, Ace, Gene. BOOM. Now I'm not saying that KISS's music wasn't good, but they were more of a doll collection than a band. And who might I use as an example in music today?

Oh yeah, The One Who Wears The Dress of Meat.

Say what you will about Lady Gaga's music, but it definitely plays second fiddle to her image. It's definitely what SHE cares more about. So, my answer to the overall question: How important is image, is this: How you present yourself is very important for a performer, whether they realize it or not. I'd also argue that music is a part of maintaining image, rather than the two topics being completely separate entities. Even the ones who are like "I'm all about the music" are, ironically, creating an image for themselves that they are all about the music.

Like it or not, the focus on one's image is here to stay. Which is why I stay hidden behind a computer screen.