Sunny's Notebook

Power to the audience.

I really like whenever artists deliberately refuse to explain the intention or meaning behind their work.


This applies to lyrics especially; I can't find it now, but I read somewhere that Xiu Xiu want their listeners to actively form their own opinions about and connections with their music. Another example would be Don't Hug Me I'm Scared, whose creators once said:

We have read a lot of theories online about what it all means and they are all correct.

I don't think I could do this. I'd create Genius annotations for my own music like there's no tomorrow. After all, it is kind of a loss of control: You no longer control why your art exists in the first place. But perhaps people who do keep quiet do so because they know that by letting the audience choose their own meaning, they make their work more accessible and, as such, also more enjoyable for them. I suppose doing so means putting your audience above yourself, in a way.

I, for one, certainly have my fair share of works I've kind of molded and adapted to fit me as a person. Hell, who doesn't? Genius is full of people who do the same.

All that is not to say that, if you are an artist, you should definitely do this. You should, of course, only do so if you feel like it's the right thing (whatever that means). But if you do decide to go for it, you, at the very least, have earned my respect.