One of the other writers on Outsideleft recently asked me if we were planning to publish anything in tribute to a well-known musician who had just passed away? We had no plans to do that, but that started me thinking about the real purpose of our running tributes and obituaries for recently deceased artists and celebrities. Death is an inevitable, and painful part of life. We all know that. We have all, or will all, experience bereavement. Artists and celebrities are not immortal, so there will always be some artist or celebrity that reaches the end of their life. That is just as sad as any bereavement, but to run an obituary or tribute in these pages, unless it is one of our own, feels intrusive. We may feel that we know them, because we have listened to their music, watched their acting, appreciated their art, or read their writings, but we don’t. We know their work, we are familiar with their public image, but we don’t know them as people. The only ones that do are their friends and family, and they have their own private arrangements to grieve and celebrate the lives of those individuals.
So, you won’t see many obituaries taking up space in Outsideleft. We have run a few in the past, true, but that shouldn’t be our focus. Other sites have larger staff, have obituaries already written and waiting, and, frankly, will do a much better job of that for those who want to read them. That made me wonder why people do want to read those, and why other publications and websites feel the need to run those pieces, which simply tell everyone things they already know about those artists? In some cases, it is an excuse to generate space or air time filling content and feature artists that they may have largely ignored for years, yet now they are dead, and they see a temporary spike in interest, they capitalize on that. In other instances, it is an opportunity for writers to showboat their knowledge of the artist, or boast about meeting them, interviewing them, or publicly claim them as ‘a friend’. That may help the writer’s reputation, but it has little to do with the person behind the public façade and their family. Of course, we all have a voyeuristic side, which is why we read these things, but they add nothing of value. An artist’s music or achievements do not improve simply because they are deceased. A great artist, an original creative force, or innovator, is still that after they pass away. What their death means is that there will not be any more new art created. For those who are already fans, or are familiar with their work, these retrospectives will add nothing, aside from generating extra sales for their back catalogue.
I’m sure some reading this will think I am being unkind, curmudgeonly, or dismissive of the cultural impact certain artists have on genres, and even on society. I am not. I get that, but their cultural impact was there before, and will remain after. We don’t need to wait for an artist to pass away to truly appreciate their importance. In fact, better to do that whilst they are alive. There is, of course, a personal aspect to this. Many of us have seen these artists perform, been inspired by them, or regard their work as the soundtrack to key points in our lives, reminding us of happy times and experiences. I have my anecdotes and stories about musicians who later became more famous, same as anyone else. I see no need to share those in public though. I have friends and family I can reflect on those with if I wish.
So yes, we miss Terry Hall, Benjamin Zephaniah, Steve Albini, and many, many others, but we don’t know them as people. So, lets leave the tributes and reflections for their friends and families at their private funerals and wakes, and let the mainstream media fill their pages with clickbait obituaries, rather than Outsideleft.
