As a female, I would suppose, more women than not, would agree, that image matters.
Since I am one of those outlier females, the music is far more important, to me. If there is an attractive member in the band, that is just icing on the cake.
I know some may not believe me, but since my old neighborhood in Brooklyn, was one of the last, to get cable, I was a fan of John Sykes, sometime before, I even knew about his appearance. Then, when we finally got cable, and I saw the video for Slow N Easy on MTV, my mind was blow. I immediately wanted to acquire many posters/images of him, for my walls. 🙂
Regarding image in general, I think some of the 80s “fashion,” were quite tacky and cheesy. I always reference Cinderella‘s Night Song, and Dokken‘s Under Lock And Key, covers as reference. Many times less is more. Luckily, both albums are great, so the music, more than makes up for, the less than stellar “image.”
12 Responses
It’s all about the music, it’s always been about the music, it’s like food, who really cares what it looks like?? It’s all about the taste! As long as it tastes good, does anybody really care what it looks like? Just like music, if it sounds good to your ears, that’s all that really matters!
Doug R.,
While I completely understand the metaphor, addressing it on a literal level, people pay big money, for chefs who plate beautiful food, it’s all part of a high end dining experience.
You would be surprised, at how many food snobs, would turn their noses up to a meal that tastes great, but looks awful on a plate.
Yes, image is important. It is often the first hook that attracts the listener, but the music is what matters for longevity.
Gene $immon$ once said people listen to music with their eyes, or something similar to that. And I think he’s correct. MTV gave listeners a visual of the image while the music played. Iron Maiden put Eddie on their albums covers, and it sold albums on the covers alone. Without knowing anything about the band, I bought my first Judas Priest album, “Unleashed in the East”, based on the album cover alone cuz I thought it looked awesome.
But the music is what keeps the band alive, not the image. But what do I know….I think Poison’s music is awful and they are still going forty years strong! :o)
Going on that tangential premise, I have bought quite a few lemons, based on “cool” album covers. It’s like deceptive advertising-LOL!