The Poetic Resistance Thread

[Aki Celeste]

So I’ve been thinking about what Mika has said – or what I’ve heard he’s said – regarding his experience of the music industry, and how he’s learned to carve out a place for himself, his style, and his sound. I then came across an article in The Atlantic (available here – sorry about the paywall!) that discusses how “old music” (e.g. Bowie, Springsteen, and other mega-stars from the mid- to late 20^th century) has overtaken music from newer artists in terms of revenue from catalogs, LPs, and downloads from the internet. The gist of the article seems to be that it’s partly due to a risk-averse climate in which record labels are deathly afraid of being slapped with copyright lawsuits, as well as being locked into older business models. Yet it was through taking risks and circumventing older business models that bands like The Beatles burst into popularity in the first place, so it’s not exactly a winning strategy in some cases.

 

I was surprised and a bit sad to read this, although I believe that new music and art is bubbling to the surface in other ways, through platforms like YouTube and TikTok, and I was wondering what thoughts others might have. Particularly in light of Mika’s allusions to “poetic resistance” and the death of the traditional music album. What does poetic resistance mean to you, and how might it shape and transform the music industry (or not) in the years to come? Are the younger generations becoming truly less creative and producing music that is not as good as that from older generations, or is today’s creativity just in need of a better mouthpiece? Or is it doing just fine as it is, without the help of the industry?

 

I personally am not a creator of music or video content, although I have dabbled in music and theatre performance. Frankly, the idea of putting myself out there in that way feels like a step I’m not ready for, although I am working toward reaching it. I believe that so much of the creative act has more to do with confidence and reassurance that you don’t have to get it “right” every time, even if it’s just in the form of your inner voice or that one good friend who tells you to keep going through your hesitations and mistakes. I'm curious to know how others, who are more active in the semi-public sphere of the internet, experience poetic resistance, particularly when others are resistant to your resistance!

 

Poetic resistance for me can be as simple as letting my mind roam free, even if it’s just for a few minutes during a busy day, and attempting to capture some of the resulting visions on paper (or on screen, or microphone, or whatever the preferred method of recording might be). It almost feels more like opening myself up to a universally shared force, rather than trying to cook up something within myself, although it does require my participation to manifest. It’s taken me several years to feel even remotely comfortable with sharing the results, so I guess for me, the idea of poetic resistance is also about creating anyway, whether my creations are “seen” or not – creativity for creativity’s sake. Maybe with a little "f***-you" attitude thrown in, as Mika mentioned in one of his IG Lives with MFC.

 

Clearly there are many more thoughts/discussions to be had around this topic, and if there’s a better home for this thread, point me in that direction. I’d also be curious to hear from people who have a better sense of what Mika has said on this topic, as I still have a lot to catch up on!

[holdingyourdrink]

I’ve only discovered this thread! I think it’s a beautiful topic with lots of facets. I cannot comment on the music industry or any industry for that matter, as I am not active in that world. I can only tell you what it means to me personally and what my own walk of poetic resistance has been so far.

To me it’s like Mika said, just a big “f* you”, but not for the sake of being different, but for the sake of being yourself and staying true to yourself. That’s at least the way I interpret what he means. If everything around you is monotone (grey), but deep down inside you are not, then be that crazy colour in the grey and wear and be it with pride. 

So when I started following Mika at the beginning of this pandemic, I kept reading interviews of him where it has always been clear, that it’s okay to not be mainstream. And that’s it also okay to be proud of who you are and what you do. This seems and sounds incredibly simple and “duh, of course!”, but in every day life it is very easy to “conform” to the majority, without truly noticing that you are moving away from your true self. 
 

To me personally, it means that I let more colour in my life and that I started drawing again. More colour in my life as in in my clothing, accessories… and more colour on paper: as I had always wanted to master coloured pencil, after drawing only in graphite 20 years prior. The colour after the grey  

And with these choices I experience a strength and pride that I am closed to myself again. It makes me happy and gives me (even more) energy!