Jeff Tweedy on the idea of the tortured artist

[@caseylrand]

Very intelligent man, and a very humble response

[@_aworldthatspoke950]

Hello my name is Jeff tweedy and I’m feeling kind of seedy ohowahoh well alright

[@SecretGerms]

all he said was true, ESPECIALLY about older records resonating more deeply simply because of the time factor.

[@RHODOAN]

Speaking from my own experience as a visual artist, depression, drugs and struggles seldom contribute to creativity and usually interfere horribly with it!

[@ManskisTreeHouse]

I love Jeff Tweedy. He is the best. The way he speaks is so eloquently and thoughtful.

[@jademm]

By having intense pain and suffering as a mandatory prerequisite to creating "good" art, it gives the false notion that you can't be an artist WITHOUT chronic depression, drug binges, a dysfunctional family life, etc. I like Jeff's take on it--that great art was created IN SPITE OF the dark times. That sounds infinitely more hopeful and something that everyone can relate to. That said, I do think that a variety of experiences--both good and bad--does lead to richer art due 2 different influences

[@SeriouslyLeslie]

I love this video. Thanks as usual, Jeff Tweedy. I detest the myth of the tortured artist. I wish it would go away, though I'm afraid it's here to stay. It's kind of part of people's psyches now. Musicians with depression aren't martyrs - they are sick people who need help. Depression is SAD, not glamorous. Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain - these are people who desperately needed help that they didn't get before it was too late. Thanks for putting the truth out there, Jeff.

[@japannational-mb2563]

thanks , great words

[@DickyPerot]

I feel like Jeff speaks from a place of truth here, and ultimately presents a more positive/constructive alternative to the old cliche. Bravo. Wilco is a Top Fave!!!!

[@theslothmonkey]

@hejafish I agree with your words. Thank you for sharing. The key to all of this, in an obvious, yet elusive way, is emotion. It is emotion which brings art of the soul. A tortured artist is not a role to ultimately prefer, yet it is something to appreciate as it can be therapeutic for some to relate to and let their emotions surface. ...Important to remember though that the end note ought to eventually be a happier one. -=♥=-

[@HashtagMultimedia]

Art in spite of, not due to dark times. I've been uplifted too much by Wilco's music to believe its roots are all dark and depraved!

[@arthousecouch]

Since no one else will say it: The Whole Love Rocks!!!!!!!!

[@jpaulsteadman]

The tortured Artist Can work both ways and he’s been great art coming from both ends, unfortunately pain requires medication and medication is thought transformed into music or visual stimuli if you can go through both ends and come out a winner then you wouldn’t want to change anything but sometimes people go in to the deep end and they don’t come up.

[@dhand34]

what I would give to see a Uncle Tupelo reunion concert

[@ThaWinnar1986]

What a cool dude. Love this guy.

[@Flatworldfilms]

I haven't even listened to Wilco (YET!), but this guy is awesome!

[@kennynitro17]

What we need, is to have a tweedy.

[@jasonkent3175]

Well said.

[@menschmaschine5]

Those who think the tortured artist is legitimate: it's a fairly recent phenomenon, and many great artists lived perfectly normal lives. The phenomenon really began with Beethoven and the Heiligenstadt Testament, which he intentionally preserved to garner a certain image. It then continued throughout the Romantic Era as a glamorous thing, and artists since then have exaggerated their problems. I'm not saying none had a problem, but it had nothing to do with their art.

[@planetcorey]

Tortured or happy or pissed off or content...whatever... as long as you pour your heart and soul into it and be true to what your core beliefs and the message, i think the songs and the emotions that the artist is trying to communicate take care of themselves. My two cents!

[@LiberTBo]

We were the children of sunshine, crossing the rainbow bridge into the limitless skies The music inside the thunder and lightning, a poem of the coming storm and floods Where the oasis has spread across the desert, and the spaces of mountains are filled with tears And the common streets of our unyielding compromise have fallen like the ancient forests before the chainsaws and woodsman’s axe, to build offices in the towers of wealth and power

[@bancombe1]

if the artist is affected by torture and feels it, then the artist would not be known because the artist would'nt be arsed. tortured artist is a label, lets face it. a so called tortured artist is really an honest and open artist and his/her art is an expression of him/her self at any given moment.I think mr jeff is right on the money regarding the so called tortured artist and the advise which applies to all walks of life to push one's self in spite of condition.

[@humanze]

anyone have the live perf. he did on the show? it was one his best and i cant find it!

[@mattydigs]

@mattydigs nm its on strombos website in it's entirety :)

[@jedmarum]

good answer

[@hambone9444]

Art has never been created by well adjusted individuals. Isolation and dysfunction are elemental characteristics of the artistic personality. To call that 'tortured' is extreme. Someone who has trouble connecting with others is not necessarily tortured, just alienated or lonely. Which can then result in positive introversion and self-enlightenment, then bringing discovery and creativity to an otherwise emotionally destitute public.

[@thesocialpariah7330]

+Justin H. He specifically says that the "inspiration" comes from positive introversion and self-enlightenment. Those can only be achieved "despite" loneliness and alienation, not bc of it. Listen to the beginning again bc what Daryl is describing is exactly what Tweedy's talking about.

[@thesocialpariah7330]

+Justin H. I see what you're saying and I believe art can come from beautiful experiences too. It's been my experience though that the majority of talented creativity is born in dark places.

[@deathdoeslife9509]

It is torture.

[@DoctorRazzArea4]

i like that idea

[@johnnaheath]

that as truley inspiring thabk you i would like to see the song "Passederside"

[@ManhattanTina]

"In spite of" or "because of" is moot; its genesis is the same. I just read Tortured Artists by Christopher Zara who explains why this "syndrome," if you will, is legit -- and he gives something like 40 or so profiles to prove his point from Hitchcock (so sad) to Winehouse (natch) and my favorite artist, Egon Schiele. There's a book trailer for the book on here if you want to do the search that's really terrific. Creative people have to get the pain out. Get over the cover though --it sucks.

[@seanflaherty5482]

I think the term 'troubled artist' would be better suited.. While you do have people on the spectrum of Van Gogh the vast majority of artists are just troubled.. They have issues, they in some cases eat away at themselves from the inside out but art is more than likely the only think keeping them sane

[@gcragg11]

anyone that thinks drugs cant add to the creative process and that it just gets in the way should really have a reality check

[@reddiver7293]

Western males are taught to repress many of their feelings. Emotional turmoil open the gates to feelings not normally allowed to surface. As a visual artist, I have noticed this with myself and other males artists. It is completely different with women artists.

[@tigermilk808]

what channel is this show on? is it local?

[@oshmunnies]

@jugglyhead spooge?

[@TheSuhreeuhlTube]

he wants to cry but instead his tears transform into steam and fog his glasses....fuck, thats poetry :D

[@PlateauEast]

did someone spit on his glasses or what?

[@mannyb332211]

what the hell is that white stuff on his glasses, i wear glasses and the sight of the smalles smudge drives me nuts!

[@crazygothvixen]

LOL how does he not notice that...

[@youngsaudi1117]

From impractical jokers to this

[@alfrecorcheator]

@PlateauEast It seems to be a Make up spot, from his heyebroy, maybe

[@ManhattanTina]

They did but clearly he cleaned them off with Vaseline.

[@tigermilk808]

oh CBC, perhaps I should have watched the whole video before commenting...that's canadian right?

[@mattydigs]

Uggh ... scouring the interwebs for the whole show... not much luck :(

[@itsthearistocrat]

If i'm listening to a song thats about suicide and despair, i want the artist to have been in that emotional place atleast once in their life as it makes the music overwhelmingly authentic, it allows you to surrender to the song and let it truly resonate with you. People are still talking about Kurt Cobain and Ian Curtis because they put their soul in their songs. That's why 99% of music today is shit because people don't MEAN IT!

[@crazygothvixen]

but then its gone at 1:30

[@Majic88888]

But when Yankee Hotel and earlier albums came out, people liked them right away. People didn't wait years to let Jesus Etc. seep into their lives.

[@rotolo]

jeff needs a jay!

[@BradCarlMusic]

I love him but I don't think he believed a word he said here.

[@itsthearistocrat]

@GeorgeJohnPaulRingo I've been listening to alot of the new punkesque stuff that seems to be bubbling up like Best Coast, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Vivian Girls. But your right you have to really dig around for it.

[@titcdrum]

or sweat

[@jugglyhead]

What the fuck was on his glasses? He wiped it off at 1:26

[@jamesdoctor8079]

I disagree with what Jeff said about time being a factor in a record being legitimized over music that is more recent. When Yankee Hotel Foxtrot came out it was almost immediately recognized universally as a fucking masterpiece. I feel like what he's saying is his personal way to rationalize not being capable, at the moment, what Wilco achieved in the past critically.

[@patriciagrandjean8205]

No, I agree with him. When I first heard YHF, despite all the usual critics yammering how I was supposed to love it to be “hip,” I didn’t. It had to grow on me. Same with “Being There” and “Summerteeth.” I also dispute that that was necessarily Tweedy’s best work. I have a feeling this is more Jay Bennett b.s. Yes, Jay was talented, but not the Son of God. Tweedy’s always been better than 90% of his contemporary peers, and he may yet come up with a record that blows everything else away. That’s the way it happens sometimes with musicians.

[@blakeallyn4152]

his music has genuinely got worse since he got sober. Coincidence? Maybe.