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Outsider music is music performed either by
social outsiders, who have no or few associates in the mainstream music
business, or by musicians who choose to live and work in seclusion,
often due to compromising behavioral or psychological conditions.
Outside music relects these conditions in various ways. Lyrics are often
bizarre or emotionally stark and songs show a great ignorance or
disregard for structural conventions or popular trends in mainstream
music. Also, outsider musicians frequently have no formal training
and/or significant music skills in the traditional sense. The end result
is music that is much stranger and more abrasive than more popular
musical styles. Outsider music is a form of
outsider art
Outsider Art has become a catch-all phrase for art done by people
outside the mainstream. It was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in
1972 as an English synonym for Art Brut. Art Brut literally means "Raw
Art". (The term Outsider was originally associated with Albert Camus's
novel The Outsider, which is the diary of a deeply alienated man.)
Outsider Art is defined by the
situation of the artist who makes it. The main characteristics of an
Outsider Artist are that they are typically self-taught; they have
little or no contact with the mainstream art world; they are frequently
on the margins of society. Often these outsiders are believed to suffer
from mental illness.
By definition, outsider music
has very outlets and most outsider musicians (save those such as
Syd Barrett and
Skip Spence who became popular
before becoming recluses) come to be semi-well known through word of
mouth, usually among communities of obsessive music collectors. Only a
few, including
Tiny Tim and
Wesley Willis have achieved
much renown outside of a small coterie of devotees. Outsider music is
frequently praised by musicians with experimental leanings, such as
avant-garde jazz
John
Zorn
and
Kurt Cobain
—a fan of outsider
Daniel Johnston
, Cobain famously wore a shirt designed by Johnston.
Some outsider musicians are famously
awful and most of their audience considers them to be a surreal comedy
act, something most of these performers realize and embrace. Examples
include
Florence Foster Jenkins , a
American
soprano
who sang ear-splitting renditions of
compositions far outsider her range and
Eilert Pilarm, a
Swedish
T Elvis
impersonator known for his
utter lack of resemblance to
Elvis Presley . However, a
majority of outsider artists are honestly appreciated for their unique
and uncompromising styles of music.
The definitive guide to outsider music
is Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music
(2000
by music journalist and radio personality Irwin Chusid. The book
profiles several relatively well known outsider musicians and gives a
definition to the term. The book inspired two companion compilation CDs,
sold separately.
Some examples of outsider musicians:
-
Jandek , a singer/songwriter
who gives no concerts or interviews and releases albums anonymously
and prolifically.
-
The Shaggs , a
1960s rock band of sisters
with no musical skills what so ever, whose awfulness became
semi-legend.
- Roky Erikson, the reclusive and
eccentric former leader of the Thirteenth Floor Elevators and onetime
mental patient.
-
Harry Partch
, a composer who built his own instruments according to his own
system of musical scales.
-
Wesley Willis , a 350 lb.
roaring,
schizophrenic from
Chicago who sang simplistic songs about fast food, public
transportation and his favorite bands, among other subjects.
-
Skip Spence , former
Jefferson Airplane
member who produced one cult classic album of stark, strange
folk music.
-
Daniel Johnston, a
Texas singer/songwriter known
for recording music on his radio boom box.
For a longer list of outsider
musicians, please see
list of outsider musicians
The following is a list of musicians classified as making outsider
music.
- Hasil Adkins
- Syd Barrett
- Klaus Beyer
- Y.Bhekhirst
- Billy Childish
- Alvin Dahn
- Roky Erickson
- Danielson Famile
- Larry "Wild Man" Fischer
- Bingo Gazingo
- Harry den Hartog
- Jandek
- Florence Foster Jenkins
- Daniel Johnston
- The Legendary Stardust Cowboy
- Buddy Max, the Flea Market Cowboy
- Joe Meek
- Sexton Ming
- Moondog
- Jack Mudurian
- Lucia Pamela
- Harry Partch
- Richard Peterson
- Eilert Pilarm
- The Shaggs
- B.J. Snowden
- Shooby Taylor, The Human Horn
- Jan Terri
- Gordon Thomas
- Tiny Tim
- Wesley Willis
- Wing
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