The Weekly Croissant: (Served with Very Hot Tea)
Gossip as Art / Gossip as Podcast / Gossip as Protection
Dear Croissants,
A few days ago I was having drinks with some musician friends at a wine bar when the topic of AI came up, as it often does these days. We were discussing in what ways AI might replace art, and consequently put us all out of a job. Folks were giving their various hot takes on the topic when my friend Madeleine piped in and said something to the effect of “The thing that AI can’t replace is the very human fascination with the person behind the art. AI really can’t replace gossip.”
As someone who has been having a more gossipy and dramatic week than usual, I found this to be a pretty brilliant insight. I told Madeleine that my in-laws had, in-fact, googled her after watching her sing at the Shetland Folk Fest. They became enamored with her music and of course, wanted to know more! They must have found a different Madeleine on the internet because they informed me that she was a Doctor of Music (she is not). But now we can call her Dr. Madeleine, just to spread that little piece of misinformation!
A quick google search just helped me find ALT Madeleine Roger (Madeline Rogers), who is a Dr of music, and also apparently “kind and generous to all”:
I have been listening to a podcast called “Normal Gossip”, which is a “do-no-harm” version of a gossip show, on which the host narrates incredibly juicy, yet anonymized stories that folks send in about their “friends” or “friends of friends”. It is the very human aspects of these stories that make them so entertaining; The awkwardness, the messiness, the relate-ability.
Last night I attended an “Artist Talk” with one of my favorite musicians/painters Andrew Combs at the Julia Martin Gallery in Wedgewood Houston, a very art hoe event if I do say so myself! I have long been a fan of Andrew’s music, and bought one of his paintings a couple years of ago, called “Cherry Canyon” (a wonderfully filthy piece of work IMO).
Anyway, what is the purpose of an “Artist Talk”, except to grow the fascination and interest in the person who makes the art. What are Instagram posts and PR campaigns except an effort to get folks interested in art based on the stories and sordid life details behind the makers? I think Dr. Madeleine was right, this is an aspect of art making that computers can not recreate. I just don’t care enough about who a computer is sleeping with to want to see the art it is making.
On the subject of gossip though, I think it plays another very important role here in Nashville. We have a city full of freelancers, working for, and financially supporting one another through art making. Labels, Artists, and Sync companies are paying musicians, graphic designers, instrument repair shops, tour managers, recording engineers, van rental companies, stylists, photographers, videographers, merch companies, etc. Almost all of these folks are making agreements via an email or a text message about how and when they are getting paid and the terms of their work.
By and large, the creative class of Nashville works on an economy of trust. There are no unions, few contracts, and most importantly, no HR departments. This means that the only thing one has to go on, in entering into a working relationship with someone else, is word of mouth. When you get an offer for a gig or a job, you might reach out to a few friends and say “Hey, was this person good to work for? Did you enjoy it? Will I feel safe as a woman touring with this crew? Did you get paid on time? Are there alcohol and drug problems I should know about?”
This is where the gossip becomes a safety net. If you were sexually harassed, or unfairly fired, or not paid for your work, or made to feel unsafe, or called a terrible name… there is nobody to report it to except your community. And the community acts as its own HR department. Rarely will you see these things dealt with publicly; it won’t go to court and it won’t make the news. But you can bet that word will get around town, and you might find fewer and fewer people willing to work with whoever the perpetrator is. On the surface, abusers might be doing well, and getting write-ups in all of the big outlets, and booking some fancy festivals… but behind the scenes, the community goes to work, and the infrastructure eventually begins to crumble. I’ve seen folks forced into new careers, or even opt to leave town after the news gets around of their misbehavior.
I’ve been living in the world of Bridgerton, and I can clearly see the parallels between Nashville’s music scene and the Bridgerton “Tonne”. The show is brilliant in demonstrating how one can sculpt a crowd mentality through the careful dissemination of select information, creating “buzz” and popularity around certain people. In many ways the gossip can be harmful and unfair, and certainly silly. But it also can be used as a protective mechanism, weeding out folks who cross a line in mistreating others when there is no structural means of filing a complaint.
May we all learn to use gossip only for good, and to live as happily ever after as the Bridgerton siblings!
-Rachel
Hey Rachel - I wish I could remember the name of a book I listened to recently that said some anthropologists now theorize that hominids developed language first not just to warn each other about external threats like predators but to GOSSIP! I was at first taken aback at this thought, but it totally makes sense that individuals in developing society needed to tell each other who was reliable and who was, and what you write about the society of trust within the music community is exactly the same! - Jen