Your Question:

08/11/2020Chris

Can a bands image hurt the way they or their music is perceived? Marilyn Manson has such a clown image and then he does a mature blues rock album yet people can't move past the eyeliner and makeup. Korn has such a horrible image of dreadlocked baggy pants wearing bros, and when they hooked up with Terry Bozzio and did an electronic album, nobody took it seriously. Can a bands image take away from the music?

My Answer:

You’re asking me a subjective question. Of course anyone’s image affects how they are perceived for better or for worse. Perception is the responsibility of the beholder. I’m not sure why anyone would take Marilyn Manson or Korn seriously solely based on their music. But what you personally get out of the music is your own issue based on all of your own biases, reference points, education, psychological hangups, etc. KISS’ image, for example, had a strong, positive affect on me as an adolescent. Over the course of 40 + years how I perceive all that now has changed. Think about the kinds of music you might listen to that aren’t encased in any sort of image, like contemporary classical music. Would your impression of the music change if you knew what György Kurtág, e.g. looked like? Keep in mind that a public figure’s persona is probably filtered through a lot of other intentions and collective altering.