“His music is so angry and thrilling”: the 2000 song Maya Hawke called “the epic of our time”
Most people in the creative field know what it’s like to put out a piece of work and fear others’ opinions, especially when said work has come from a deeply intimate and personal place. For musicians, this anxiety increases tenfold, especially if you’re someone like Maya Hawke, who has been surrounded by higher creative standards since, well, since birth.
Hawke, the shining star of Netflix’s cult horror series Stranger Things and daughter of Hollywood stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, knows precisely what it’s like to be vulnerable in the spotlight and work hard on something without knowing how it’ll land on the other side. After all, music and film are two of the most expressive art forms in history, and to occupy the spotlight as heavily as Hawke has of late, you have to have some sort of confidence in your own craft.
However, Hawke, like many musicians across the years, often finds that the biggest challenge isn’t creating the art itself. Often, it’s releasing it into the ether and waiting for the thousands of internet trolls who will inevitably have something negative to say about that which they know very little about. Of course, this isn’t always the case, but the stress of releasing material often makes it feel like any other outcome is merely an unrealistic expectation.
As Hawke recently said herself, releasing music is “yucky” and “painful” and consequently something she “hates” doing. Now, this might seem a bit far-fetched, especially for something that is supposedly the actor-singer’s livelihood. But when you look closely at what she actually meant beyond the emotiveness of her words, it does sort of make sense.
“It’s always weird. If I’m being honest, I hate putting out music,” she told People, adding, “There is this pointing at the self, where it feels so great to write all these personal songs, and to record them and make them with your friends, but then you have to promote it, and it feels like promoting your diary.”
As soon as Hawke’s comments were out, people understandably had their own opinions about the singer’s seemingly bitter position, claiming that, no matter what, no matter how difficult or challenging the landscape becomes, artists should always enjoy making their art and find enjoyment in putting it out for others to love and cherish.
However, while there’s another side of the debate that proves that Hawke’s views are more than fair enough, there’s another glaring truth that seems to be ignored: that Hawke’s anxiety likely comes from a standard she always detected in others she loves, stemming from a different sort of imposter syndrome sparked by admiring the greats and wondering where you fit in amidst it all.
After all, one of Hawke’s favourite artists is Eminem. Specifically, she loves ‘The Real Slim Shady’ (a song she labelled as “the epic of our time”) and D12’s ‘My Band’, mainly because it’s “kind of the opposite” to the “being like everybody else, but still being an individual” message of ‘The Real Slim Shady’. However, beyond the obvious differences, the song also points to something Hawke often thinks about when it comes to music, standards, and gaining recognition for the teams that work hard to bring entire bodies of work to life.
“With ‘My Band’, it’s kind of the opposite, about the desire to be recognised through your community,” she said. “Like: ‘The thing that makes me special is the people I surround myself with. You say you love me, but you don’t even know the name of my band!”
She concluded, “My band is the most important thing about me!’ I love being a part of ensemble performances and collaborating on songs, and I love my family, so there’s something about that song and wanting recognition for your team that I just love.”
