Last weekend, I got to see Ethel Cain (Hayden Anhedönia) live at the Salt Shed on her Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour. I was introduced to her a couple years ago and immediately became obsessed. I really respected the fact that she writes, records, and produces almost everything herself - which is extremely rare in the modern music industry. I also appreciate when a music artist's fame is not all about their image - Hayden had no large screens at her concert with close ups of her face and didn’t talk much about herself. The concert was solely about the music. I absolutely love her voice, her melodies, and her aesthetic, but most of all the stories that she tells through her music. She wasn’t just singing songs but telling stories that transformed personal struggles into communal experiences. Her music often weaves complex narratives about identity, family, religion, and American culture. She has created this character (Ethel Cain) and given her an entire life and storyline.
In Creative Spark, Augustín Fuentes argues that storytelling is one of the most fundamental forms of human creativity. From ancient myths, to novels, to songs, telling stories allows us to make sense of our world and come together and share ideas. Ethel Cain’s concert was a perfect example of this.
This connection has made me realize that creativity isn’t just about making art but about creating meaning and connection. Ethel Cain’s performance embodied exactly what Fuentes describes as the “spark” that makes humans so unique. Which is the ability to take a lived experience and transform it into a story to move others.
Especially after watching the presentation, I was really intrigued and impressed by Ethel Cain, specifically in respect to her storytelling. I find it really neat when artists create fictional worlds in their music. I feel like, when they build a new world, it's in its own kind of universe: it doesn't exist in our reality, but it's also not "fake." Even though what they are singing about didn't really happen, doesn't mean it's not a true story. Especially with "Preacher's Daughter," like obviously Hayden Anhedönia didn't fall in love, then get murdered and eaten, but that is what happened to Ethel Cain. It is very real for Ethel; thus all of the emotions and feelings Hayden sings about are very real and based in truth. When we listened to the songs in class, they really affected me, and in that moment it didn't matter whether or not is was "real" because I was really being affected.
ReplyDeleteI have heard many people critique Ethel Cain because the stories that she tells through her songs are fictional and she did not actually experience them. After learning about her more in class however, I appreciate her choice to use music as a form of creative story telling. I have been to around 11 concerts but every one of them heavily focused on visuals, lights, and physical performances. I find it appealing that Ethel Cain's concert was focused on her music rather than visual images. I think it leads the audience to think deeper about her lyricism and the story she is telling. I like your connection with your focus book and the part that says, "telling stories allows us to make sense of our world". This means that even though some of her songs are about fictional events or characters, we can still conclude morals from them and find connections that apply to our real lives.
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