The Laws of Illusion (New Album)

[WolfmanJack]

Hey Squirrel, how you doing today. I will say this, and for the matter of public record, I do respect your opinion on Sarah and on her music. It is true, you don't have to like the artist if you enjoy the music. You want the sound and that is cool. I in turn, enjoy seeing the artist as well as the sound. I mean, I don't know she just does it for me. I like her voice, singing or talking and the fact that she gives me what I need, a healing moment or moments when the time is at hand. I just wanted to sat that and hey, music is all good if you like the sounds no matter who is doing the delivery.

[TheSquirrel]

Yeah Wolfman, it's that voice and those songs. There is something healing about it. I have found this from the first time I heard her. She just goes to places others cannot. All the others are on planet earth she is in the stars. Okay, that sounds corny or crap but is how I feel about the music. I wont say the music saved me but it certainly made me feel better when times were bad.

[Quincy]

.Do we not have love for Sarah!

The answer in my case, is no. That's not to say that you should be like me, or me like any of you. I merely think you have to realise it's the music we love, not the artist, and that's a big difference.

I’m not sure I totally agree with you on that. It’s very rare for me to like/love a new album straight off. I have to “learn” to love it. Many new albums I buy are put onto a special “Not sure about that one, I’ll listen to it later” shelf. The very first album I bought was Afterglow, and yes that went onto the aforementioned shelf. Sometimes, I have to look behind the facade to see what’s behind the song, and see exactly what’s holding it up. Many songs are just good songs that you can listen to without thinking too much, (or not at all). However, much of what SMcL does falls into “what’s behind that one” category, because I think I know a little of what she, as an individual, is about. I know this teeters on the edge of voyeurism but that’s what fascinates me about SMcL’s music , (not the voyeurism part!!) If I didn’t like or understand the person or their motives, then it is for me, just another good song by a “good” artist.
This next bit melds into the “Sarah reaching out..” section of the forum but here goes. “Touch” was the very first album I was given by a dearly departed friend who died exactly 10 years ago this month. OK it was a little scratched and warped but it was listenable. She assured me that “listening to it a few times will make it compulsive listening.” I didn’t have the patience for that, so it was left to one side. It seemed to my ear as if some of the songs were slotted into the album just to fill the album out, I just didn’t have the patience with it that I should have. (I have to apologise to Uberbelly for that remark) A couple of years ago I read that Sarah did this “To show what she was capable of.” I don’t know why, but that helped me to slot that first album into a pigeon hole. I don’t know why I have to pigeon hole things like that, but for me it helps me understand the “whys and wherefores”.
I know it’s not mandatory to know the person, but it does help sometimes.

[TheSquirrel]

Excellent post Quincy. None of those wtf lol one liner posts that the internet generation is so fond of. I am going to do what I usually do, and that's to agree and disagree.

There was a songwriter who I really loved. He wrote some of the most beautiful songs and some of my favourite songs of all time. I heard rumours about him from a journalist along the lines of he had a habit of getting drunk then a bit violent with women, and stuck their heads down toilet bowls on occasions. Whoaa! Did that change the way I felt about the beautiful songs he wrote? Probably not, but not entirely sure. It does make you look at the songs and the artist in a different way.

Another female artist who was always one of my favourites had a reputation for being really awkward and unpleasant. A journalist told me he could count on the fingers of one hand people he knew who REALLY caused trouble in the music industry. That came as a surprise to me as I would have expected him to say around 4827. This particular woman wrote beautiful songs but no one seemed to like her. Even the managers of venues she played in America didn't seem to like her. She had a bad reputation. The journalist said she was one of the worst he knew, and that most of the trouble makers were road managers. On the other hand friends of mine really liked her. They met her and got to know her, so the truth is a mixture of things.

The problem as always is mixing up the image with the real person. Fans want to meet artists. It's probably a thrill for the fans to meet their heroes, but I realise that the artist has met thousands of fans who all say the same thing and the artist's eyes will glaze over as they wish this mildly irritating idiot will just disappear and let them get on with whatever it was they were doing before they were interrupted. You will never meet the real person, just an artist's impression or caricature. That's to protect the artist and is quite right. On the other hand given that the music industry seems to me, to be filled with total scumabgs, I think it is probably better to not find out what the real person behind the artist's image is like.

I would much rather not know what the artist is really like. McLachlan's songs can stand on their own. On the other hand I do take the point and agree that finding out the background story to a song, can sometimes give an extra dimension and increase the pleasure of listening. The song can stand on its own, is the view a lot of artists take, and do not want to give that background information concerning what a song is about.

You make some great points and I do agree with them. But given the type of people in the music industry I really prefer to know less than more. I have to say I find Mclachlan a mixture of reasonably endearing and irritating in about equal measure. Nowadays the needle has probably swung towards irritating. It shouldn't affect how I feel about the music, as that should stand on its own. It shouldn't, but if you find out your favourite artist is a complete and utter tosser it does tend to spoil the enjoyment of the music. It shouldn't but somehow it does. It breaks the spell.

Fans always want to meet the artist and tell them how great they are and get personal contact. They think they love them but they don't. The artist is almost certainly totally different to how the fan will imagine them. Everything a fan sees an artist do in the public eye can be coordinated to promote the required image of that particular artist. Probably the best characteristic an artist can have is to be totally boring. Better that, than be a complete scumbag. Okay, not all will be really awful people. I am sure there are some genuine nice ones out there, but the point is it doesn't matter what they are like. IMO it's best not to know, and just enjoy the music.

[Kaleysuncle]

WTF.

[TheSquirrel]

LOL errr I mean, I'm sure the upcoming album will be great! I guess everyone including Caleb, knows I'm off the wall anyway, or if not, probably on the ceiling. The fans here are great. I'm not going to be too ageist, because even the really young ones have put me on to some great artists and educated me about music. It's just some posts need a few more moments of thought, and a little more elaboration. Okay, yes I do sound like an English teacher. Caleb! Sit up straight!

I feel guilty too, because the moment someone tries to bring poetry, art, and beauty to the site I usually add something like "and then a mutated crocodile leaps out of the river and strangles them all with his 12 hands." Okay sorry Caleb, Miguel, Ellie, and all. I am a miserable git. Completely beyond salvation.

It's just please don't expect too much from an artist other than a great album. That's all you can do, and all they can do. They are their own worst enemies at times, the way they try to manipulate the media. Love the music not the artist. Anything other than that leads to disappointment from the fans and also can lead to bad stuff and bad situations for the artist.

Are we expecting too much, and is the artist expecting too much from the upcoming album? We all know the way she was supposed to have walked out of the recording of Afterglow and nearly gave up. Not sure that is the truth but that is what we heard. Delivering another cracking album has to be hard work. But it is her work after all, that's what she does as a living. As a professional she delivers. So I suppose we are all expecting something breathtaking as usual.

Hope she moves away from the Afterglow sound. But in the end it's the songs which will make or break the album. How many songs does an artist truly have inside that head, before they start repeating themselves? Have I lost faith in her as an artist? The answer is probably yes, a little. I still think she will produce a cracker, but after six months to a year how good will that new album be when held against the rest of her library? Only questions because I don't have any answers.

[Kaleysuncle]

Squirrel, as your know I was only teasing you. haha I really enjoy your insightful posts. I wish I could type as much as you do, but I don't think I have that in me.

I don't think any of us on here are expecting too much from Sarah. We're just simply expressing dreams and opinions. I don't think there's anyway in this world that any of us would be disappointed in her work. If they are, hopefully the album will grow on them much like Afterglow did for me.

There's my rant for the day.

[Jessel]

Love the music not the artist.

I agree. I listen to some artists who are unpleasant in real life and I confess that my love for their music remains largely undiminished despite that fact. Hope Sandoval, Kurt Cobain, & Amy Winehouse are perfect examples. Do I love/like them as human beings? Hell no. I care a lot about their music but I don't give a sh*t about what they do with their lives. Loving the art doesn't mean you have to love the artist too. Like you said, there's plenty of scumbags in the music industry anyway and most of them can't even write decent acceptable crap (well, isn't that an oxymoron? lol) so I'd rather give props to those who create exceptional stuff.

I just have to say that I sincerely believe Sarah is one of those few wonderful human beings ever to grace the music industry; and no, I'm not a fan of her personal life either. I don't even know the name of her second daughter by Ash lol. I can't say I love/like her as a person since I don't know her personally but I love her music and philosophy which has inspired me to be a better person. And we both share the same passion: care and respect for the environment and animals.

[Miguel]

This will be the first Sarah album that I'm anticipating before its release even though I got into Sarah a couple of months after the Afterglow release, that didn't/doesn't count much. I've missed her and new music from her far too much, so I think I might end up loving it anyhow, however the results turn out (I hope I don't end up eating my words when I actually get to hear it). I don't have any musical expectations to be honest but we'll just wait and see. It's only a little over 10 weeks until the actual release. Anyone else counting down?

And another thing, may I ask why we're bringing up about knowing/not knowing Sarah's personal life, what does that have to do with the album?? I mean, besides some songs possibly being personal AND relating to her personal life?
Sarah pretty much opened the door with UWM2 and DGUOU and explained directly what those songs were about. She used to say her songs were up for one's own interpretation, except those aforementioned.
.

[Jessel]

And another thing, may I ask why we're bringing up about knowing/not knowing Sarah's personal life, what does that have to do with the album??.

Sorry, it has nothing to do with the album at all. I just responded to a post by Squirrel which I find interesting. I guess it's only natural to stray off topic once in a while as long as we have humans posting on this thread.

So to get back on track, I also can't wait for the Sarah's new album to come out but counting down is not my thing since time has an unfortunate habit of slowing down every time I think about it.