What artists do you think disprove the "musicians are stupid" stereotype?

Question

I've heard this said on and off of Answers, but quite a few people assume that some musicians got into music because it's the only job they are capable of doing.

Can you think of any musicians who discredit this theory?

For the record, hearing people say this makes my blood boil. I think that the entire scope of a profession in performance - from song composition and the performance, to dealing with finances and marketing - takes a great deal of intelligence. And before acts become huge and hire people to do certain aspects of this for them, they are doing it themselves.

Jakex - thanks! :)

lovnrckets - Greg just rocks. Pure and simple. :)

jmike - I agree...that man could teach a business class.

Given2Fly - oh, Ozzy... *giggle*

:)

Fonzie - Neil is the man!

Prof - hmmm...I never thought about that...

rukrym - Josh is now on the recommendation list...thanks! :)

huevo - mmmm...Page Hamilton. And you bring up a good point - you don't necessarily need to be highly educated to be intelligent.

Answer 1

Historically, All of the classical music maestros were probably geniuses or savants...How can Beethoven create symphonies when he's deaf??
more recently, the musicians who are more lyrical or poetic seem to show a high level of intelligence. Lennon, Dylan, Morrison, Brian Wilson are moved this way.
80's to present - how do you look globally? Awareness is perceived as intelligence..Bono, Bob Geldof, and others are looked at a lights
I think it is much easier to look like an idiot. Britney, Courtney Love, AMy Winehouse, etc.

Answer 2

What you are talking about is just like anything else; there are two kinds of musicians.
There are the ones that like music enough to get into it to make money. They have to find a way to pay their expenses to live. And, many are pretty good at what they do.
Then, there is the other kind of musician; the kind who can't live without writing and performing. My brother is one of them. Music is in his soul. He has taught at several colleges over the years. And, been in right many symphonies. Right now he is still teaching at a college. He teaches composition and theory. He has taught other classes connected to music. He plays the violin and Viola. He can play other instruments but these are primary ones. His father was a musician also.
My brother is approaching retirement age but has no intentions of retiring in the near future. He has a tenure where he is; they love him and he will stay as long as he wants to do it. He says, music is in your soul; retiring doesn't shut it off. It's part of your life and breath. He's been playing violin since the third grade. He wrote his first song back then. He has written and had performed several Opera's. One is a standard at a certain theater every year for at least a month.
One of his Opera's is so big that I heard there wasn't a stage large enough to do it. Maybe they could make a movie of it.

Most musicians are far from being stupid. My brother was classed as a genious when he went to the University of Michigan. They said he had the greatest mind and was the greatest performer Michigan State has had in over 20 years.

Answer 3

Lovnrckets got my first thought, Milo Auckerman who has a PhD in botany and does research studies while not playing with The Descendents.

If I remember correctly, Page Hamilton of Helmet has a masters degree but I can't remember what in.

Robert Pollard taught fourth grade before forming Guided by Voices. His songwriting abilities tell me he's a mighty sharp cat as well.

There's a lot of others who don't necessarily have the academia background but could do well in whatever field they pursue, such as Thurston Moore, Stephen Malkamus, Peter Buck, or David Bowie.

Answer 4

A lot of my favourite musicians are lyrical / musical geniuses, and I have *great* admiration for their talents.

But to step away from the 'music' aspect :~

Sting ~ was a Primary School teacher.
Mark Knopfler ~ has an English degree and worked as a college lecturer.
John McVie ~ was a Tax Inspector.
Brian May ~ has a degree in Astro Physics.
Roger Daltrey ~ actor, film producer, charity fundraiser.

Answer 5

That depends on what stereotype you're trying to disprove. There's definitely a song for all of them but I don't think there's anyone song that will do it all and recommending a single artist might disprove one stereotype but confirm another, for instance you could use some of Hopsins stuff to demonstrate not all hip-hop/rap is materialistic but you'd probably confirm another one about it being derogatory towards women if they listened to some of his other songs. That's not to say the stereotype is correct but that it might confirm it in people's minds if that's all you gave them to go on.

Answer 6

I'd actually say most do. It's a shame you've got all sorts of douche-bags who, smart or not, push forward a bad image. Most of the musicians I've known have been very smart people. Then you've got people like Rob Zombie, Ian Mackaye, Stephen Malkmus, and Mos Def, among many others (to show a wide cross section) who are very well spoken, intelligent, and incredibly creative thinkers.

I think one of the things is that a lot of musicians are very eccentric and image oriented and people mistake aloofness for a lack of inteligence. I know a lot of people who would assume Rob Zombie in particular is less intelligent because he looks kind of "out there."

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James M made a great point too. It's just so much easier to look like a train wreck, and really people are kind of even rooting for it once you receive a certain level of fame. It overshadows all the people who do it right.

Answer 7

Suprisingly enough, Ozzy Osbourn doesn't come to mind...haha.

Bono - He's done great work with 1st world governments to benefit 3rd world countries. He's very smart and knows how to sell ideas to people.

Peter Gabriel - Most people think of his pop hits from the 80's but he's a mastermind producer and has spent many years working with world artists and getting unconventianal music more exposure. He's also a great humanitarian.

Rob Zombie - While White Zombie got exposure on Beavis and Butthead, he capitalized on that to build a movie directing career which he is pretty damn talented at.

Adam Jones (Tool) - He's an amazing guitarist and a very talented stop-motion animator and video director.

Answer 8

Peter Garrett, the lead singer for the Australian rock band Midnight Oil, is an extremely intelligent person. He left the band to help make political and ecological changes in Australia, and went on to be voted by Australians to the seat of Minister for Climate Change, Environment, Heritage and the Arts in 2004, and President of the Australian Conservation Foundation, which he still holds today. He is a humanitarian award winner, and speaks out vociferously about the rights and treatment of Aboriginal people in Australia.

Answer 9

Ronnie James Dio
David Bowie
Bruce Dickinson
Dani Filth

The reality is that a lot of musicians are also very business wise people and extremely intelligent. If they weren't they would not have survived in the business.

Answer 10

i disprove that stereotype. i'm a musician and i graduted college with honors. if someone says that musicians are musicians because that's all they have going for them, then they've obviously never attempted to write or compose music or learn to play an instrument. it's a lot harder than most people think. they current popular music you hear on the radio and on tv would essentially prove that those types of musicians are dumb, but i wouldn't call any of that real music or musicianship anyways.

most people i know are legitimate musicians and all of them are extremely intelligent. they all also have other jobs as artists, businessowners, working actors, parents, nurses, writers, etc...