From anarchy to MTV: How punk gave rise to Madonna
Music producer Rick Rubin is a huge advocate for punk music and is a creative who has an extremely punk mindset. He has always advocated that the heart of creativity lies in the process, not the product. In his book The Creative Act, he talks at length about the secret to being a successful creative and attests that it has nothing to do with commercial success.
“Living life as an artist is a practice. You are either engaging in the practice or you’re not. It makes no sense to say you’re not good at it,” he said, “It’s like saying, ‘I’m not good at being a monk’. You are either living as a monk or you’re not. We tend to think of the artist’s work as the output. The real work of the artist is a way of being in the world.”
This is certainly one way of thinking, but it’s not the only way of looking at art. The truth is that a lot of art doesn’t resonate or take on a deeper meaning until it has connected with many people. In that sense, while the creative process is important, the artist’s work hasn’t been completed until it has reached a great deal of people. This tends to be the case with pop music, as while artists enjoy the writing process, pop music aims to reach a large audience and resonate with many people.
Some artists approach their art specifically with their internal instincts in mind. They write from a purely personal point of view and shut out any external factors, not considering what might appeal broadly or resonate with others. These artists might sell less, but their work is often more experimental and sometimes can be groundbreaking.
Other artists approach work with one eye on themselves and one on the consumer. In turn, they write love songs that lack detail but still resonate or tracks that focus on going out, drinking and partying. These artists often don’t reinvent the wheel but do enjoy having commercial success.
Madonna, who it wouldn’t be unfair to call one of the world’s biggest pop artists, explored both of these artistic approaches when she first moved to New York to pursue music. When she initially touched down in the Big Apple, she met Dan Gilroy at a party and ended up joining his band, The Breakfast Club. The timing was perfect, as the band’s drummer had just quit, and Madonna was keen on exploring her music a lot more.
Dan and his brother Ed had a lot of fun performing in The Breakfast Club as it allowed them to engage with their artistic side a lot more. The band was punk at its heart, making experimental music and not worrying too much about how commercially successful what they were doing was. Madonna enjoyed her time in the band but realised she wanted to make music that reached more people. She had embraced the punk side of things and the individualistic approach to creativity, but in doing so, realised she wanted to connect with a wider audience.
“I was just a lot more goal-oriented and commercial-minded than they were,” she said in an interview, explaining why she left the band and pursued a solo career, “I took advantage of the situation. I wanted to know everything they knew because I knew I could make it work to my benefit.”
She certainly started making more commercially successful music as the artist has had number ones in multiple decades and is one of the best-known artists in the world. She is a testament to the broader approach to making music and shows that you can have commercial success in mind while still creating something innovative.
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