Growing up, the music of 10,000 Maniacs never appealed to me all that much. I was aware of their songs, even liked several of them, but never enough to go out and buy their albums. Nonetheless, in and around 1995 I somehow heard, and became intrigued, with Natalie Merchant, by then an ex-member of 10,000 Maniacs, and her solo debut album Tigerlily. Specifically, I absolutely loved the song Carnival.
I’ve followed Ms. Merchant ever since, buying each solo album she’s released. Incredibly, she just released a new album, the self-titled Natalie Mercant, which features her first new songs in 14 years (how time flies!), and I’m looking forward to buying it. I then noted the following interview with her in Salon…
…and after reading it, was surprised by some of the vitriol found in the comments section afterwards.
A couple of examples: “Get over yourself” and “What a self involved, pretentious mommie-whiner”
An admission: More often than not I love reading comments to articles. Whether news, gossip, opinion, the comments sections can often be as entertaining, if not more so, than the articles that inspired them. And often the more vulgar the comments are, especially if the vulgarity is creative, the funnier I find them.
In this case, however, I found some of these negative posts rather…depressing.
I can completely understand someone not liking Natalie Merchant’s music. I’ve often noted how big a fan of David Bowie’s music I am yet my kids barely tolerate his works (they’re especially bewildered of my love for The Smashing Pumpkins. They feel Billy Corgan’s voice is the absolute worst voice in music ever!).
Still, my kids’ reaction is to the music, not the person behind it.
The interview with Ms. Merchant, I felt, was interesting and illuminating. She is asked questions and offers her opinions, which –surprise!– is what interviews do.
Why the personally directed vitriol?
To be fair, this wasn’t everyone’s reaction. Some people fell into fawning territory, which in some ways can be just as extreme.
Ah well, I suppose it is what it is. If you enjoy Natalie Merchant’s music, give the interview a read. It is, at least to me, interesting -and short!- enough to give it a whirl.