TinaLou Sings!

Artistic Criticism:
Can you take the heat?

October 22, 2012

After a one week hiatus the MidDay Muse w/TinaLou kicked off this week’s first broadcast by tackling the issue of handling artistic criticism.

Today’s Playlist Title:
USE it or KICK it to the CURB!

All of the show’s topics and music selections are chosen specifically each day to illustrate a point I like to call:

The CRUX of the BIZkit

If you release the magnificence within you – it will save you – if you bury the splendor within you – it will destroy you. 

(Today’s point paraphrases wisdom originally from the gnostic gospels.)

How do you believe and trust in yourself as an artist despite what other people think, despite your own self-criticism? How does the fear of disapproval deter you from putting yourself out there? Not expressing yourself is ultimately more painful than caring too much about what others think. Which fear is greater? The fear of what others MIGHT THINK or the fear of living with the pain of never expressing or developing your talent?

• KICK it to the CURB
  If the feedback you’re receiving isn’t useful – it doesn’t give you insight into improving, or it doesn’t support you in feeling good about yourself – don’t take it personally. Consider the source, perhaps the feedback says more about “who” is criticizing, than about you. Don’t automatically assume it means anything about you or your talent. Don’t let it keep you from pursuing your dreams, during today’s show we played some Colbie Caillat – she didn’t let two American Idol rejections hold her back.It’s easier to not take negative feedback personally if you don’t take positive feedback personally. That doesn’t mean it’s not great to receive compliments. There’s a difference between appreciating compliments and needing compliments.
• USE IT to get better
  Sometimes what you want to hear the least – is what you need to hear the most. It may be uncomfortable or perhaps painful because you might have a blind spot. When you ignore an important message your body wants to make sure you don’t miss it! Instead of interpreting the discomfort as something negative about you, interpret it as help or assistance in getting to where you want to go. During today’s show we played Sarah Bareilles’ hit “Love Song.”  She was inspired to write the song after receiving some negative feedback from her label. Instead of allowing it to discourage her, she used the criticism and turned it into a hit.
• USE the pain and lament beautifully
  Sometimes you just can’t kick it or use it and you may feel overwhelmed by the pain of taking something personally. You can still channel your pain, anger, or sadness into your art. Write a lament that embodies all of your pain. We played some great examples today like Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” and “Gives You Hell” by the All American Rejects. Not only does your lament become cathartic for you, it helps all of your listeners get rid of some of that pent of resentment every time we listen!
• Ignoring the uncomfortable only makes it worse
  Ignoring the negative comments and feedback may seem like a good strategy at first. After all you know your own worth who cares? This is when it’s important to development the ability to discern what’s useful or not. If it’s useful feedback and you keep ignoring it – this may come back to bite you. Remember if you can interpret the feedback in a way that helps you get better than it’s probably a favor in disguise. If it’s not useful by all means kick it to the curb! But beware of ignoring a blind spot – it could be building momentum!
• You don’t always have to be your own worst critic
  It can be hard to kick your own self criticism to the curb – really, how can you not take that personally? Being self critical is actually a great characteristic, but being overly self critical means your self analysis is getting out of hand and you need to stop dwelling on all of the things you’d like to be better. At the very least try to spend just as much time (hopefully more) appreciating yourself and celebrating all of the victories no matter how small to help you stay motivated and focused.

Artist Spotlight

Today we featured Amber Riley, best known for playing the sassy and soulful Mercedes Jones on TV’s hit series Glee. Amber was also rejected by American Idol; but in retrospect, she was able to see the pain of the rejection as the reason why her talent developed and led to her current success.

Parting Words of Wisdom

“Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.” – Joseph Campbell, American author

Be kind to yourself – your unique perspective is valuable and powerful when you choose to focus on what you want.

Tune in tomorrow to hear my Poetry in Motion playlist as we discuss great song lyrics!

Your MidDay Muse,

TinaLou

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