WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.759 Today, we are undertaking a deep dive into an 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:05.679 artist whose career, well, it really defies easy 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:08.259 categorization. We're looking at Joseph Arthur. 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:10.460 He's an American singer -songwriter, a multi 00:00:10.460 --> 00:00:12.779 -instrumentalist, and also a visual artist, originally 00:00:12.779 --> 00:00:15.320 from Akron, Ohio, born back in September 1971. 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:17.899 Yeah, and what makes it so interesting, I think, 00:00:17.899 --> 00:00:20.679 is just the sheer volume, the relentless productivity. 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:24.300 We've got sources here covering almost... what, 00:00:24.339 --> 00:00:27.660 four decades, from 87 right up to now. And it's 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:29.260 not a straight line, is it? It's more like these 00:00:29.260 --> 00:00:32.340 bursts of intense creativity across music, poetry, 00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:35.460 painting. Exactly. And our sources really map 00:00:35.460 --> 00:00:37.899 out this unique path he took, you know, starting 00:00:37.899 --> 00:00:40.060 as this young musician in Ohio, then developing 00:00:40.060 --> 00:00:43.020 that signature solo looping style, collaborating 00:00:43.020 --> 00:00:44.880 in some really major supergroups, which we'll 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:47.240 get into, and then, well, navigating some very 00:00:47.240 --> 00:00:49.340 personal, very challenging professional turns 00:00:49.340 --> 00:00:52.100 more recently. Right. And our goal here today, 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:54.719 for you, the learner, is really to pull all that 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:57.000 together. We want to find that thread, you know, 00:00:57.020 --> 00:00:58.539 the thing that connects all these different musical 00:00:58.539 --> 00:01:00.439 styles he's worked in, alt -rock, folk rock, 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:03.119 indie folk, even touches of world music with 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:06.439 his really extensive visual art. It really boils 00:01:06.439 --> 00:01:08.799 down to a study of this deep artistic commitment 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:10.900 meeting this kind of radical independence and 00:01:10.900 --> 00:01:13.019 how those two things just shaped his whole professional 00:01:13.019 --> 00:01:15.400 life. Okay, so let's start right at the beginning. 00:01:15.620 --> 00:01:18.900 How did he even get into music? Well, the spark 00:01:18.900 --> 00:01:21.540 came pretty early in his teens. He inherited 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:24.659 an electronic keyboard. But the fascinating part, 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:27.280 looking at the sources, is where he thought he 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:29.439 was going initially. Right. It wasn't singer 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:31.400 -songwriter straight away. Not at all. He apparently 00:01:31.400 --> 00:01:34.519 dreamed of being a, quote, heroic bass player. 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:37.019 A heroic bass player, okay. Yeah. And he cited 00:01:37.019 --> 00:01:40.079 some heavy hitters, Jocko Pistorius, the jazz 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:43.120 fusion legend, and Miles Davis' Bitches Brew. 00:01:43.719 --> 00:01:46.519 He was even playing bass in a blues band, Frankie 00:01:46.519 --> 00:01:49.219 Stamer and the Chill Factor. Up until about 95. 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:52.719 Wow. Jocko Pistorius. That's aiming high, technically 00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:55.340 speaking. Absolutely. That tells you something, 00:01:55.379 --> 00:01:57.540 doesn't it? Aiming for Jocko means you're focused 00:01:57.540 --> 00:02:00.280 on like the absolute peak of technical skill. 00:02:00.459 --> 00:02:03.739 Yeah. Suggests he was initially drawn to complexity, 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:07.159 maybe structure, more than just raw emotion. 00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:11.259 So what changed? How did he pivot to acoustic 00:02:11.259 --> 00:02:13.860 guitar and songwriting? Well, the sources point 00:02:13.860 --> 00:02:16.360 to a really key moment in his early 20s. He got 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:19.580 hit by two things. Nirvana, which was all about 00:02:19.580 --> 00:02:22.180 that visceral, raw simplicity. Okay. And then, 00:02:22.219 --> 00:02:24.460 as he put it, he got into Bob Dylan. And that 00:02:24.460 --> 00:02:26.479 was kind of the turning point. He realized, you 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:28.259 know, maybe he could write songs if he wasn't 00:02:28.259 --> 00:02:30.539 constantly chasing these incredibly complex instrumental 00:02:30.539 --> 00:02:33.379 parts. Ah, so the focus shifted from technical 00:02:33.379 --> 00:02:36.060 wizardry to expression. Exactly. That switched 00:02:36.060 --> 00:02:38.300 from fusion complexity to folk rock vulnerability. 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:41.599 It really sets the stage for the kind of angsty, 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:43.560 emotional songwriting that became his trademark 00:02:43.560 --> 00:02:45.919 later on. So after high school Firestone High 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:48.680 in 1990, he moved, right, leaves Ohio. Yeah, 00:02:48.680 --> 00:02:50.620 big move down to Atlanta, Georgia. Yeah. And 00:02:50.620 --> 00:02:52.500 he did the classic musician grind down there, 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:54.379 worked selling guitars at Clark Music Store, 00:02:54.580 --> 00:02:57.000 recorded demos at home, played the local clubs, 00:02:57.199 --> 00:02:59.639 really putting in the hours. And that's where 00:02:59.639 --> 00:03:02.360 the big break happens. The Peter Gabriel connection. 00:03:02.580 --> 00:03:06.479 That's it. This is 1996. Crucial moment. Peter 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:09.060 Gabriel's A &R guy, Harvey Schwartz, gets hold 00:03:09.060 --> 00:03:11.180 of a demo Arthur made, the Cut and Blind EP. 00:03:11.539 --> 00:03:13.879 And connecting with Peter Gabriel, that's huge. 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:16.659 Gabriel wasn't just rock, he was exploring world 00:03:16.659 --> 00:03:19.439 music, setting up platforms for unique artists. 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:23.460 Precisely. And this demo leads to... This audition, 00:03:23.539 --> 00:03:25.879 a live audition at the Fez nightclub in New York 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:27.919 City, apparently a pretty high pressure gig. 00:03:28.219 --> 00:03:30.219 Oh, yeah. Yeah. The sources even mentioned Lou 00:03:30.219 --> 00:03:32.479 Reed was in the audience that night. Wow. Lou 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:35.419 Reed. OK. So he nails the audition. And pretty 00:03:35.419 --> 00:03:37.500 soon after, he's signed to Peter Gabriel's label 00:03:37.500 --> 00:03:40.199 Real World. And this was a big deal because he 00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:42.080 was the first North American artist they signed. 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:44.360 A first one. So Real World wasn't just any label. 00:03:44.419 --> 00:03:47.740 It was this curated global thing. Exactly. It 00:03:47.740 --> 00:03:49.520 put him on the international map almost immediately. 00:03:50.009 --> 00:03:52.449 Huge endorsement. And that led straight into 00:03:52.449 --> 00:03:55.430 recording his first album. Yep. Big City Secrets. 00:03:55.930 --> 00:03:58.210 Recorded at Gabriel's own Real World Studios 00:03:58.210 --> 00:04:01.490 over in England. And he worked with Marcus Dravs 00:04:01.490 --> 00:04:04.110 as producer. Marcus Dravs. Okay. He's worked 00:04:04.110 --> 00:04:07.729 with Bjork, Coldplay, Arcade Fire. Big names. 00:04:07.930 --> 00:04:09.889 Definitely a top tier producer. The album comes 00:04:09.889 --> 00:04:13.139 out in spring 97. Arthur himself described the 00:04:13.139 --> 00:04:16.839 sound as someone struggling to heal over experimental 00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:20.420 folk rock. Struggling to heal. Okay, so intense, 00:04:20.600 --> 00:04:23.800 emotional lyrics, diverse instruments. Very much 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:26.519 so. But here's the catch, according to the sources. 00:04:26.980 --> 00:04:30.360 Despite the pedigree, the album went virtually 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:33.720 unnoticed by the mainstream. Huh. So even with 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:36.199 Gabriel's backing and a great producer, it didn't 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:38.579 break through commercially. Not initially, no. 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:41.040 It's kind of an early sign of this tension we 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:43.160 see throughout his career between, you know, 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:46.720 critical respect and mainstream visibility. After 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:49.000 the album, he did get valuable experience touring 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:51.420 Europe on Gabriel's WOMAD circuit. And we already 00:04:51.420 --> 00:04:53.519 see the visual art side emerging here, too. Absolutely. 00:04:53.620 --> 00:04:56.879 That 1999 EP, Vacancy, he worked with Zachary 00:04:56.879 --> 00:04:59.040 Larner on the design for the sleeve. And that 00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:00.639 visual work actually got a Grammy nomination. 00:05:00.899 --> 00:05:03.680 The Grammy nod for the packaging. Yep. Best recording 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:06.920 package in 2000. It's the first big signal that 00:05:06.920 --> 00:05:09.199 for Arthur, the visual art isn't just a hobby, 00:05:09.339 --> 00:05:12.180 it's completely woven into who he is as an artist. 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:14.779 And it got recognized at the highest level very 00:05:14.779 --> 00:05:18.160 early on. Okay, so moving into the 2000s, it 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:20.819 seems like Arthur consciously tried to maybe 00:05:20.819 --> 00:05:23.560 broaden his appeal a bit, critically at least. 00:05:23.620 --> 00:05:26.139 His second album, Come to Where I'm From, came 00:05:26.139 --> 00:05:28.860 out in April 2000. And look who he brought in 00:05:28.860 --> 00:05:31.500 to co -produce. T -Bone Burnett. and Chad Blake. 00:05:31.860 --> 00:05:34.639 Kevon Burnett, okay, that's significant. He's 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:36.660 known for that polished root sound, like the 00:05:36.660 --> 00:05:38.980 Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack, taking 00:05:38.980 --> 00:05:41.759 folk, blues, making it accessible but still deep. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:44.399 Exactly. And working with Burnett and Blake definitely 00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:46.620 resulted in what the sources call a more polished 00:05:46.620 --> 00:05:49.199 and accessible sound compared to the debut. And 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:51.519 it worked, critically speaking. How so? Well, 00:05:51.620 --> 00:05:53.680 it got positive reviews from places like Pitchfork 00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:55.720 Entertainment Weekly, important case makers. 00:05:56.079 --> 00:05:58.240 And this helped him start playing to bigger crowds, 00:05:58.339 --> 00:06:00.019 you know, opening for acts like Ben Harper and 00:06:00.019 --> 00:06:02.560 Gomez. So, gaining some momentum. But then he 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:04.800 does something... Interesting with his output, 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:07.899 right? The Junkyard Hearts EPs. Yeah, this is 00:06:07.899 --> 00:06:11.279 classic Arthur, I think. Early 2002, he drops 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:14.379 this series of four EPs, Junkyard Hearts, Sir 00:06:14.379 --> 00:06:17.939 2, 3, and 4. But here's the twist. You could 00:06:17.939 --> 00:06:19.959 only buy them at his live shows. Only at the 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:23.680 gigs. Wow, so no record stores, no online sales 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:27.240 back then. Nope. Think about that strategy. This 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:30.480 is way before Bandcamp made that easy. He's making 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:33.000 this music exclusive to the people who show up, 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:35.939 prioritizing that direct fan connection, creating 00:06:35.939 --> 00:06:38.639 scarcity. It's like he's already bypassing the 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:40.519 traditional system that maybe struggled with 00:06:40.519 --> 00:06:42.740 his first album. That's a really early sign of 00:06:42.740 --> 00:06:44.819 that independent streak, wanting to control how 00:06:44.819 --> 00:06:47.259 his music gets out there. Totally. But even with 00:06:47.259 --> 00:06:50.100 this growing critical buzz, the major label issues 00:06:50.100 --> 00:06:53.199 didn't just disappear. His third album, Redemption's 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:56.040 Son from 2002. Yeah. What happened there? It 00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:58.279 continued those themes of like emotional searching. 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:00.980 It did, but it hit a major distribution problem. 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:03.540 It came out in the UK first because EMI actually 00:07:03.540 --> 00:07:05.360 dropped him in North America. Dropped him after 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:08.620 the positive reviews for the last one. Yep. He 00:07:08.620 --> 00:07:10.839 eventually got picked up by Enjoy Records, which 00:07:10.839 --> 00:07:13.160 was an imprint of Universal, but that ongoing 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:16.240 friction with labels. It suggests the industry 00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:18.379 just didn't quite know where to put him, genre 00:07:18.379 --> 00:07:20.540 -wise. So Redemption's son becomes a sleeper 00:07:20.540 --> 00:07:23.339 hit, but the real critical peak is next, right? 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:26.319 Our Shadows Will Remain in 2004. Oh, absolutely. 00:07:26.839 --> 00:07:29.579 This album was a massive undertaking, recorded 00:07:29.579 --> 00:07:32.600 all over New Orleans, New York, London, Prague. 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:36.360 And it featured these huge, lush string arrangements 00:07:36.360 --> 00:07:39.300 from the city of Prague Philharmonic. Prague 00:07:39.300 --> 00:07:41.699 Philharmonic. OK, so this sounds like a big budget, 00:07:41.779 --> 00:07:44.279 serious artistic statement. Absolutely was. And 00:07:44.279 --> 00:07:46.360 this is where, if you're tracking the music landscape, 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:49.779 you get this real aha moment. The critical praise 00:07:49.779 --> 00:07:51.800 for Our Shadows Will Remain was just overwhelming. 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:55.120 Like Rhett. All music gave it 4 .5 stars. Entertainment 00:07:55.120 --> 00:07:57.439 Weekly gave it an A grade. The Guardian called 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:00.220 him a genuine mad genius. A mad genius, okay. 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:03.060 But the absolute peak was Rolling Stone. Critic 00:08:03.060 --> 00:08:05.360 Chris Rubin named Our Shadows Will Remain the 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:07.740 number one album of 2004 in their year -end critics' 00:08:07.839 --> 00:08:10.600 picks. Number one? Number one album of the year, 00:08:10.620 --> 00:08:12.939 according to a major Rolling Stone critic. You'd 00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:15.899 assume that means huge sales, radio play. You 00:08:15.899 --> 00:08:19.660 would think. But here's the paradox. His UK label. 00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:22.600 14th Floor Records put out four singles from 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:25.500 the album Can't Exist, even though devil's broom. 00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:28.639 Yeah. None of them charted. Not a single one 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:31.560 hit the UK singles chart. Wait, number one album 00:08:31.560 --> 00:08:35.039 pick, huge production, string sections, and zero 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:37.480 chart singles. How does that even happen? It's 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:39.399 kind of the perfect summary of his career puzzle, 00:08:39.500 --> 00:08:42.220 isn't it? Critics absolutely adored the depth, 00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:44.840 the musical range, that raw emotion. But the 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:47.419 charts... especially back then, needed something 00:08:47.419 --> 00:08:49.539 predictable, something that fit neatly into a 00:08:49.539 --> 00:08:52.440 radio format. And Arthur's music was just too 00:08:52.440 --> 00:08:56.019 varied, too hard to pin down. Exactly. He could 00:08:56.019 --> 00:08:58.100 go from quiet folk to distorted rock in the same 00:08:58.100 --> 00:09:00.840 song sometimes. That brilliance, that unpredictability 00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:03.039 that critics loved actually made him difficult 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:05.340 for the mainstream machine to market effectively. 00:09:05.580 --> 00:09:07.799 He was a critic's darling, but tough to sell 00:09:07.799 --> 00:09:09.940 to the masses. Still, the output didn't slow 00:09:09.940 --> 00:09:13.200 down. He released a companion EP, too. Right. 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:15.940 And the thieves are gone. Just collecting more 00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:18.200 tracks from those shadow sessions shows you how 00:09:18.200 --> 00:09:20.159 much quality material he was generating. And 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:23.039 his peers clearly respected him. He toured with 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:25.139 some big names around then. Definitely. Toured 00:09:25.139 --> 00:09:27.539 with R .E .M. in Europe in 2004, Tracy Chapman 00:09:27.539 --> 00:09:30.120 in the U .S. in 2003. And that respect led to 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:33.399 some significant charity work in 2006. Ah, the 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:36.340 In the Sun cover. That's the one. Michael Stape 00:09:36.340 --> 00:09:38.399 from R .E .M. and Chris Martin from Coldplay 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:41.519 covered his song In the Sun. for a Hurricane 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:44.120 Katrina relief EP. That's pretty cool. Yeah, 00:09:44.139 --> 00:09:46.360 and it was a complex project. The EP had six 00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:48.399 different versions of the song. One featured 00:09:48.399 --> 00:09:51.120 Arthur singing along with Stipe. There was even 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:53.559 a remix by Justin Timberlake, weirdly enough, 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:56.700 only on iTunes. A Justin Timberlake remix. Okay, 00:09:56.779 --> 00:09:59.309 that's unexpected. Right. And beyond that, he 00:09:59.309 --> 00:10:02.190 also gave a song, A River Blue, to a project 00:10:02.190 --> 00:10:04.570 supporting youth in northern Uganda through arts 00:10:04.570 --> 00:10:07.289 festivals. So his influence was definitely spreading, 00:10:07.350 --> 00:10:09.049 even if it wasn't always topping the charts. 00:10:09.210 --> 00:10:11.769 OK, so given all those struggles getting dropped 00:10:11.769 --> 00:10:14.830 by EMI, having these critically lauded singles 00:10:14.830 --> 00:10:19.149 just not chart, kind of makes sense that he'd 00:10:19.149 --> 00:10:20.730 want more control, right? More independence. 00:10:21.289 --> 00:10:23.730 Absolutely. This feels like the next logical 00:10:23.730 --> 00:10:26.190 step in that story of radical independence we've 00:10:26.190 --> 00:10:30.759 been tracing. So in 2006, he does what? Starts 00:10:30.759 --> 00:10:33.620 his own label. Exactly. He launches Lonely Astronaut 00:10:33.620 --> 00:10:36.100 Records. He set it up with his professional partner, 00:10:36.259 --> 00:10:38.279 Lauren Pattenot. And this wasn't just, you know, 00:10:38.279 --> 00:10:39.860 putting his name on something. It seems like 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:42.639 it was a real move to build a structure that 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:45.059 could actually protect his unique creative flow 00:10:45.059 --> 00:10:47.600 from that industry interference he'd experienced. 00:10:47.899 --> 00:10:49.480 Right. Taking control of the means of production, 00:10:49.639 --> 00:10:52.269 basically. Pretty much. And it immediately marked 00:10:52.269 --> 00:10:55.269 a new phase. His fifth album, Nuclear Daydream, 00:10:55.389 --> 00:10:57.730 which he recorded in Berlin and L .A., was the 00:10:57.730 --> 00:10:59.990 very first release on Lonely Astronaut later 00:10:59.990 --> 00:11:02.789 that year, 2006. And this is also when he brings 00:11:02.789 --> 00:11:05.750 in a proper backing band. Yes, crucially. He 00:11:05.750 --> 00:11:08.269 introduces the Lonely Astronauts, the band. How 00:11:08.269 --> 00:11:10.269 did that change things? He'd been mostly solo 00:11:10.269 --> 00:11:12.450 or using session players before, right? Yeah. 00:11:12.470 --> 00:11:14.649 Yeah, a lot of his earlier stuff was more introspective, 00:11:14.649 --> 00:11:17.570 maybe sparser. Bringing in a dedicated band. 00:11:18.169 --> 00:11:20.610 Craig Jarrett Johnson, Jennifer Turner, Sybil 00:11:20.610 --> 00:11:23.850 Buck, Greg Weiserich, let him really lean into 00:11:23.850 --> 00:11:27.169 a bigger, more unified rock sound. He shifts 00:11:27.169 --> 00:11:29.350 from being the solo experimenter to more of a 00:11:29.350 --> 00:11:31.669 band leader. And with his own label and a band, 00:11:31.830 --> 00:11:35.389 the productivity just went nuts. Into hyperdrive 00:11:35.389 --> 00:11:38.450 is more like it. The sources say the Lonely Astronauts 00:11:38.450 --> 00:11:40.690 tracked an absolutely staggering number of songs 00:11:40.690 --> 00:11:44.210 in late 2006, possibly as many as 80 songs. 80 00:11:44.210 --> 00:11:47.590 songs! In one period? How is that even possible? 00:11:47.809 --> 00:11:50.049 Did quality suffer? Well, that's the question, 00:11:50.110 --> 00:11:53.009 isn't it? 16 of those 80 tracks ended up on the 00:11:53.009 --> 00:11:55.389 next album, Let's Just Be, which came out in 00:11:55.389 --> 00:11:58.009 2007. And the sources definitely suggest that 00:11:58.009 --> 00:11:59.870 maybe the pace did affect the quality control. 00:12:00.110 --> 00:12:02.370 What did the critics say? It got a pretty lukewarm 00:12:02.370 --> 00:12:04.889 reception. Pitchfork was quite critical, calling 00:12:04.889 --> 00:12:07.370 it unfocused and sloppy. They basically said 00:12:07.370 --> 00:12:09.129 it sounded like it was thrown together in jam 00:12:09.129 --> 00:12:12.460 sessions without a clear direction. Ouch. So 00:12:12.460 --> 00:12:14.379 that drive for independence and sheer volume 00:12:14.379 --> 00:12:17.320 maybe backfired a bit on that one? It seems like 00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:20.139 it in that specific instance. The artistic freedom 00:12:20.139 --> 00:12:23.200 might have overridden the need for perhaps a 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:25.840 bit more editing or focus. So how did he react 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:29.419 to that criticism? Did he slow down? Not even 00:12:29.419 --> 00:12:32.360 slightly. He basically doubled down on the output. 00:12:32.460 --> 00:12:35.820 In 2008, he just unleashed this flood of music. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:39.620 Four EPs in four months. Four EPs in four months. 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:42.960 Wow. Yeah. Could we survive crazy rain, vagabond 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:45.720 skies, foreign girls? And his quote about it 00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:48.120 is really telling. He said he had so much music 00:12:48.120 --> 00:12:50.440 piled up, like strange animals in a cosmic cage 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:52.600 begging for release, I had to let some of them 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:55.740 go. He saw his own creativity as this overwhelming 00:12:55.740 --> 00:12:58.480 force. Like he couldn't not release it. Seems 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:01.100 that way. Thankfully, his next full album with 00:13:01.100 --> 00:13:03.379 The Lonely Astronauts, Temporary People, also 00:13:03.379 --> 00:13:05.840 2008, seemed to get things back on track critically. 00:13:06.100 --> 00:13:08.879 Yeah. How was that received? More warmly. The 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:10.860 Times Online liked it, said it had that loose 00:13:10.860 --> 00:13:13.360 rocking swagger and country melancholy of early 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:16.360 1970s Stones. So maybe he found a better balance 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:18.460 there between that band energy and his own style. 00:13:18.580 --> 00:13:20.399 And this period is also when he really starts 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:21.980 getting involved in those big collaborations, 00:13:22.259 --> 00:13:25.659 the supergroups. Exactly. This really cements 00:13:25.659 --> 00:13:28.320 his reputation as a musician other respected 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:31.419 artists wanted to work with. In 2010, you get 00:13:31.419 --> 00:13:33.620 Fistful of Mercy. Right. That's the trio with 00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:36.929 Ben Harper and... Donnie Harrison. George Harrison's 00:13:36.929 --> 00:13:39.129 son. That's the one. Ben Harper and Donnie Harrison. 00:13:39.330 --> 00:13:42.149 Incredible talents. Their album, As I Call You 00:13:42.149 --> 00:13:44.509 Down, was really focused on harmonies, more of 00:13:44.509 --> 00:13:46.450 a folk rock thing. Showed he could work well 00:13:46.450 --> 00:13:48.929 in that kind of shared acoustic space. And he 00:13:48.929 --> 00:13:50.529 didn't stop there, did he? There was another 00:13:50.529 --> 00:13:54.149 big one soon after. Nope. Two years later, 2012, 00:13:54.409 --> 00:13:57.769 comes R &DM. That was his project with Jeff Amana 00:13:57.769 --> 00:14:01.200 from Pearl Jam. Okay, so musically quite different 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:03.519 from Fistful of Mercy, more rock. Definitely. 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:05.960 R &DM was much more in that raw kind of Pearl 00:14:05.960 --> 00:14:08.500 Jam influenced indie rock vein. It shows his 00:14:08.500 --> 00:14:11.019 versatility again. But even while doing these 00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:13.340 huge collabs, he's still putting out solo stuff. 00:14:13.379 --> 00:14:15.860 The graduation ceremony in 2011 and then the 00:14:15.860 --> 00:14:18.200 massive double album Redemption City in 2012. 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:20.639 Just relentless. And then he tries a new funding 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:22.720 model too. Yeah, another sign of adapting and 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:25.879 seeking independence. In 2013, for the album 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:28.179 The Ballad of Boogie Christ, he turned to pledge 00:14:28.179 --> 00:14:30.960 music, crowdfunding. What was his thinking there? 00:14:31.100 --> 00:14:33.860 Just needing the funds? Partly, but he framed 00:14:33.860 --> 00:14:35.940 it more philosophically. He talked about how 00:14:35.940 --> 00:14:38.919 tough it is to fund... artistic work unless you 00:14:38.919 --> 00:14:41.740 either get huge or get lots of sync licenses. 00:14:41.940 --> 00:14:45.399 He saw crowdfunding, direct fan funding as an 00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:48.039 optimistic way forward. How so? He said it allowed 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:50.620 fans to become a more vital part in the process 00:14:50.620 --> 00:14:53.519 of artists creating their diamonds. So again, 00:14:53.620 --> 00:14:56.019 it's about cutting out the middleman, that traditional 00:14:56.019 --> 00:14:58.480 industry structure, and going straight to the 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:01.480 audience for support. Building his own ecosystem. 00:15:01.580 --> 00:15:04.120 Okay, we absolutely have to spend some serious 00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:06.720 time on his visual art. Because for Arthur, it's 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:09.259 not a side project. It's completely central to 00:15:09.259 --> 00:15:11.480 who he is as an artist. Right, we mentioned the 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:14.299 Grammy nomination for the Vacancy EP cover early 00:15:14.299 --> 00:15:16.539 on, but it goes much deeper than that. Oh, way 00:15:16.539 --> 00:15:18.960 deeper. He's an acclaimed painter and designer. 00:15:19.419 --> 00:15:22.320 His art is on the cover of basically his entire 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:24.940 discography. It sets the visual tone for the 00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:27.440 music inside. And he really invested in the physical 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:30.409 product too, didn't he? Like with... Our shadows 00:15:30.409 --> 00:15:33.049 will remain. Absolutely. That package was incredible. 00:15:33.289 --> 00:15:36.409 It had the special die cut outer sleeve and inside 00:15:36.409 --> 00:15:40.590 a 36 page booklet filled entirely with his original 00:15:40.590 --> 00:15:43.250 artwork. He was making the physical object a 00:15:43.250 --> 00:15:46.090 piece of art in itself, something tangible for 00:15:46.090 --> 00:15:48.289 the listener to connect with beyond just the 00:15:48.289 --> 00:15:50.429 music. And didn't he take it even further, like 00:15:50.429 --> 00:15:53.539 opening an actual gallery? He did. This is pretty 00:15:53.539 --> 00:15:56.620 extraordinary. In 2007, he opened a physical 00:15:56.620 --> 00:15:58.919 brick -and -mortar gallery space in Brooklyn 00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:01.840 in the DMBO neighborhood, and he called it the 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:05.279 Museum of Modern Arthur Momar. Momar. Wow, that's 00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:07.879 ambitious. A whole museum dedicated to his own 00:16:07.879 --> 00:16:10.360 work. It really is. Think about the commitment 00:16:10.360 --> 00:16:13.240 that takes financially, administratively, especially 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:16.519 in DMBO back then. It was a rapidly gentrifying, 00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:19.240 expensive area. So how long did it last? Sadly, 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:21.029 the physical space didn't last that long. The 00:16:21.029 --> 00:16:23.289 sources say it closed in 2008 due to an eviction, 00:16:23.350 --> 00:16:25.470 but just the act of trying to create a physical 00:16:25.470 --> 00:16:27.809 gallery solely for his own multidisciplinary 00:16:27.809 --> 00:16:30.870 art. It says so much about his artistic vision 00:16:30.870 --> 00:16:33.250 and how integrated he saw his different created 00:16:33.250 --> 00:16:35.669 outlets. Did the art stop when the gallery closed? 00:16:36.070 --> 00:16:38.350 No, not at all. It just shifted online. Momar 00:16:38.350 --> 00:16:40.309 became an online gallery, so the visual work 00:16:40.309 --> 00:16:43.250 continued to be showcased. And even before Momar, 00:16:43.250 --> 00:16:46.870 in 2006, he put out this big 110 -page book of 00:16:46.870 --> 00:16:49.309 his art called We Almost Made It. A book, too? 00:16:49.590 --> 00:16:51.720 Yeah. came with an instrumental CD called The 00:16:51.720 --> 00:16:54.460 Invisible Parade. So he's explicitly linking 00:16:54.460 --> 00:16:57.200 the visual and the auditory, creating music to 00:16:57.200 --> 00:16:58.899 go with the art and art to go with the music. 00:16:59.059 --> 00:17:01.580 It's all one big creative project for him. Okay, 00:17:01.639 --> 00:17:03.940 let's switch gears a bit to his live performances, 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:07.440 that famous one -man band setup. How does he 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:10.660 achieve that huge sound all by himself? This 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:12.980 is where that early ambition, maybe that Jaco 00:17:12.980 --> 00:17:15.890 Pastore's influence, comes back. but through 00:17:15.890 --> 00:17:18.690 technology. His solo shows are not just a guy 00:17:18.690 --> 00:17:20.529 with an acoustic guitar. They're these really 00:17:20.529 --> 00:17:23.710 dense, layered soundscapes he builds live. Using 00:17:23.710 --> 00:17:26.289 looping, right? Yes, but not just any looping. 00:17:26.289 --> 00:17:28.789 He uses multiple distortion effects and crucially 00:17:28.789 --> 00:17:31.309 sophisticated looping techniques. It's how one 00:17:31.309 --> 00:17:33.730 person can sound like a whole band or even an 00:17:33.730 --> 00:17:36.009 orchestra sometimes. So what's the tech behind 00:17:36.009 --> 00:17:38.390 it? Is it just foot pedals? It's more complex 00:17:38.390 --> 00:17:40.849 than that, according to the sources. He relies 00:17:40.849 --> 00:17:43.410 heavily on rack -mounted units of the Lexicon 00:17:43.410 --> 00:17:46.430 Jam -M. The Lexicon Jamman. Okay, what's special 00:17:46.430 --> 00:17:48.609 about that? Well, the Jamman was one of the original 00:17:48.609 --> 00:17:51.089 high -fidelity professional digital looping systems. 00:17:51.430 --> 00:17:54.089 Using multiple rack units lets him record much 00:17:54.089 --> 00:17:57.109 longer loops, maintain audio quality, and have 00:17:57.109 --> 00:17:59.349 loops running independently, asynchronously. 00:17:59.769 --> 00:18:02.069 Ah, so it's not just simple repeating phrases. 00:18:02.230 --> 00:18:05.309 He can build complex textures. Exactly. He can 00:18:05.309 --> 00:18:08.089 stack multiple layers, vocals, guitar parts, 00:18:08.309 --> 00:18:10.410 percussive sounds he makes on the guitar and 00:18:10.410 --> 00:18:12.849 have them weave in and out. It avoids that rigid 00:18:12.849 --> 00:18:15.089 sound you sometimes get with simpler loop pedals. 00:18:15.470 --> 00:18:18.130 It allows for that experimental, sometimes chaotic, 00:18:18.349 --> 00:18:20.750 but always dense and emotional sound he's known 00:18:20.750 --> 00:18:23.069 for live. And he runs some nice guitars through 00:18:23.069 --> 00:18:25.509 that setup, too. Oh, yeah. High -end stuff. His 00:18:25.509 --> 00:18:28.589 main acoustic is apparently an Irish Loudon 012C. 00:18:29.069 --> 00:18:32.170 He also uses a Garrison, a custom Godin Kingpin, 00:18:32.390 --> 00:18:37.970 a Gibson ES -335, a vintage Fender Strat. Lots 00:18:37.970 --> 00:18:40.029 of different voices going into those loops and 00:18:40.029 --> 00:18:41.750 effects. And there's another unique thing about 00:18:41.750 --> 00:18:43.109 his live shows, isn't there? Something about 00:18:43.109 --> 00:18:46.349 recordings. Yes. This ties back to that direct 00:18:46.349 --> 00:18:49.170 fan connection idea. He records his shows live. 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:51.839 Straight from the soundboard. And then? And then, 00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:54.420 immediately after the show, you can buy a copy 00:18:54.420 --> 00:18:56.839 of that night's performance, usually burned onto 00:18:56.839 --> 00:18:58.819 CD -Rs, right there at the merch table. Wow, 00:18:58.859 --> 00:19:01.299 instant live album. Pretty much. It makes every 00:19:01.299 --> 00:19:03.640 single show a unique artifact that the audience 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:05.910 can take home straight away. It's brilliant, 00:19:05.990 --> 00:19:08.170 really. Immediate gratification for the fans. 00:19:08.410 --> 00:19:10.730 Okay, moving towards his later albums, there 00:19:10.730 --> 00:19:13.890 seems to be a focus on themes, tributes, and 00:19:13.890 --> 00:19:16.789 personal history. Definitely. After Lou Reed 00:19:16.789 --> 00:19:19.109 passed away, and remember, Reed was at that crucial 00:19:19.109 --> 00:19:22.109 early audition Arthur released Lou, the songs 00:19:22.109 --> 00:19:24.829 of Lou Reed in 2014 felt like a very personal 00:19:24.829 --> 00:19:27.359 tribute. And then Days of Surrender in 2015. 00:19:27.660 --> 00:19:30.440 That sounds like a return to solo work. It was. 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:33.039 Very much a solo effort again. Recorded mostly 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:35.640 by himself in his Brooklyn studio. Played almost 00:19:35.640 --> 00:19:38.099 everything, except for drums by Merritt Jacob. 00:19:38.460 --> 00:19:40.500 It's like these cycles he goes through intense 00:19:40.500 --> 00:19:43.619 collaboration, then intense solitary creation. 00:19:44.190 --> 00:19:46.589 And the story behind the family album in 2016 00:19:46.589 --> 00:19:49.250 is pretty wild, isn't it? Involving a piano and 00:19:49.250 --> 00:19:51.730 a hurricane. It really is remarkable. He wrote 00:19:51.730 --> 00:19:53.970 that entire album on one specific instrument. 00:19:54.130 --> 00:19:56.970 An old Steinway vertigram piano from the early 00:19:56.970 --> 00:19:59.349 1900s. Okay. She had this piano in his studio 00:19:59.349 --> 00:20:01.470 in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Hurricane Sandy hits, 00:20:01.609 --> 00:20:04.569 floods the place. And he manages to save the 00:20:04.569 --> 00:20:07.069 piano by getting it up onto cinder blocks. Wow. 00:20:07.690 --> 00:20:10.210 So this century -old piano survives the flood. 00:20:10.670 --> 00:20:13.500 And it becomes the heart of the next album. The 00:20:13.500 --> 00:20:15.339 album The Family, which came out back on Real 00:20:15.339 --> 00:20:17.839 World Records, is described as mostly fiction, 00:20:17.940 --> 00:20:20.299 but it's clearly a meditation on family, resilience, 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:23.700 survival. Themes deeply tied to that piano story. 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:26.259 Incredible. Tying life events directly into the 00:20:26.259 --> 00:20:28.420 art again. Always. And then rounding out that 00:20:28.420 --> 00:20:30.859 period, another big collaboration, Arthur Buck 00:20:30.859 --> 00:20:33.460 in 2018, teaming up with Peter Bucks from R .E 00:20:33.460 --> 00:20:35.980 .M. Peter Buck. OK. Another major name. Yep. 00:20:36.119 --> 00:20:38.579 And following that, he put out another solo album, 00:20:38.700 --> 00:20:41.819 Comeback World, in 2019, releasing it on his 00:20:41.819 --> 00:20:44.740 own Moon Age Rebel label, still using that independent 00:20:44.740 --> 00:20:47.740 framework he built. So this brings us into the 00:20:47.740 --> 00:20:50.819 most recent and arguably the most complex and 00:20:50.819 --> 00:20:53.359 challenging phase of his career that our sources 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:56.480 cover. This is where that fierce artistic independence 00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:59.599 really seems to collide with the wider cultural 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:02.380 landscape. And a key part of this was his podcast, 00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:04.319 right? Come to Where I'm From. Yes. Launched 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:06.940 in 2019. Named after his 2000 album. It was produced 00:21:06.940 --> 00:21:09.380 by Ihu Lazen. And it wasn't just about music. 00:21:09.420 --> 00:21:12.559 It was this really expansive, long -form interview 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:14.660 and conversation show. What kind of topics did 00:21:14.660 --> 00:21:16.339 they cover? Everything, really. The creative 00:21:16.339 --> 00:21:18.680 process, sure. But also health, fitness, psychology, 00:21:19.019 --> 00:21:22.319 diet, spirituality, poetry. current events. Very 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:24.240 wide ranging. But the striking thing was his 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:26.759 level of personal honesty on it. Extraordinary 00:21:26.759 --> 00:21:28.539 level of self -disclosure. He was incredibly 00:21:28.539 --> 00:21:30.880 candid on the podcast. It became this platform 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:33.940 for really raw personal exploration. He talked 00:21:33.940 --> 00:21:36.680 openly about his struggles with drugs, alcohol 00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:39.339 addiction. And even specific mental health diagnoses. 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:42.759 Yes. The sources mention him discussing his experiences 00:21:42.759 --> 00:21:45.480 with NPD, narcissistic personality disorder, 00:21:45.740 --> 00:21:48.680 and also PTSD, post -traumatic stress disorder. 00:21:48.940 --> 00:21:52.380 Wow. For an artist already known for emotional 00:21:52.380 --> 00:21:54.819 lyrics, that's taking vulnerability to a whole 00:21:54.819 --> 00:21:57.579 new level using that podcast medium. Absolutely. 00:21:57.640 --> 00:22:00.619 It was like a direct, unfiltered look into some 00:22:00.619 --> 00:22:03.549 really deep parts of his personal journey. The 00:22:03.549 --> 00:22:06.650 last episode, number 130, went up in July 2021. 00:22:07.009 --> 00:22:08.869 That kind of marked the end of that specific 00:22:08.869 --> 00:22:11.490 public phase of intense self -examination. And 00:22:11.490 --> 00:22:13.849 around this time, he was also focusing on other 00:22:13.849 --> 00:22:16.849 aspects of his life. Wellness, family. Yeah, 00:22:16.849 --> 00:22:18.390 the sources note he was championing fitness, 00:22:18.529 --> 00:22:21.170 wellness, homeopathic approaches. He identifies 00:22:21.170 --> 00:22:23.450 as Christian. And personally, he and his girlfriend, 00:22:23.569 --> 00:22:25.910 Anna Sophia, welcomed a daughter, Alessia, in 00:22:25.910 --> 00:22:29.380 July 2021 as well. Okay. Now, we need to address 00:22:29.380 --> 00:22:31.259 the more contentious material that the sources 00:22:31.259 --> 00:22:33.480 cover from this period. And just to be clear 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:35.359 for everyone listening, our role here is just 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:37.900 to report impartially on what the sources say 00:22:37.900 --> 00:22:40.180 happened regarding his stated beliefs and the 00:22:40.180 --> 00:22:42.740 professional repercussions. We're not endorsing 00:22:42.740 --> 00:22:44.779 any viewpoint, just relaying the information. 00:22:45.259 --> 00:22:48.950 Absolutely. Strict impartiality. So the sources 00:22:48.950 --> 00:22:51.630 state that Arthur began publicly commenting on 00:22:51.630 --> 00:22:54.549 his views regarding COVID -19 around April 2020, 00:22:54.849 --> 00:22:57.809 specifically expressing strong opposition to 00:22:57.809 --> 00:23:00.269 the COVID -19 vaccine. And this public stance 00:23:00.269 --> 00:23:03.349 had consequences for his career. Very significant 00:23:03.349 --> 00:23:05.769 consequences, yes. According to the sources, 00:23:05.910 --> 00:23:08.910 in 2021, there was this... almost complete breakdown 00:23:08.910 --> 00:23:11.609 of his professional support system. His manager, 00:23:11.809 --> 00:23:14.470 his booking agent, and his record label all cut 00:23:14.470 --> 00:23:17.730 ties with him. All three. Manager, agent, label. 00:23:17.950 --> 00:23:21.029 That's huge. It's profound. It's a really stark 00:23:21.029 --> 00:23:23.130 example of an artist's publicly stated personal 00:23:23.130 --> 00:23:25.829 views leading to a near total collapse of their 00:23:25.829 --> 00:23:28.009 established career infrastructure. And it affected 00:23:28.009 --> 00:23:29.730 his collaborations too. Didn't something happen 00:23:29.730 --> 00:23:31.990 with the Peter Buck project? Yes, that's a key 00:23:31.990 --> 00:23:34.599 detail. The sources specifically mentioned that 00:23:34.599 --> 00:23:36.680 New West Records decided not to release an album 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:38.960 he had already recorded with Peter Buck. This 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:41.000 was after their previous successful Arthur Buck 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:43.900 album. Wow. So Finnish work got shelved because 00:23:43.900 --> 00:23:46.039 of the controversy around his views? That seems 00:23:46.039 --> 00:23:48.380 to be the implication, yes. It really shows the 00:23:48.380 --> 00:23:50.519 scale of the professional fallout. Did Arthur 00:23:50.519 --> 00:23:53.180 change his stance or back down after this happened? 00:23:53.339 --> 00:23:55.420 Quite the opposite, it seems. He doubled down. 00:23:56.119 --> 00:23:59.480 In August 2021, he released a song called Stop 00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:02.410 the Shot. And the lyrics were quite direct. Very 00:24:02.410 --> 00:24:05.369 direct. The sources quote lines like, So take 00:24:05.369 --> 00:24:07.670 me uptown, baby. I don't want to make a fuss. 00:24:07.849 --> 00:24:10.509 And keep your graphene oxide out of me, baby. 00:24:10.609 --> 00:24:13.230 I don't want to rust. And the song apparently 00:24:13.230 --> 00:24:16.130 repeats the line, We will overcome what those 00:24:16.130 --> 00:24:19.880 fools have done. Okay. So very clear statements 00:24:19.880 --> 00:24:22.700 in the music itself. Unmistakable. And this alignment 00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:25.500 extended into the political realm as well. The 00:24:25.500 --> 00:24:27.799 sources note he performed at campaign rally for 00:24:27.799 --> 00:24:29.799 the independent presidential candidate Robert 00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:33.680 F. Kennedy Jr. in December 2023. RFK Jr. OK. 00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:35.759 So it confirms this continued public commitment 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:38.180 to expressing these specific viewpoints, regardless 00:24:38.180 --> 00:24:40.400 of the professional cost, regardless of losing 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:43.440 that traditional support system system. It's 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:45.519 worth remembering he'd often tried to work outside 00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:47.880 of anyway with his own labels and crowd. Well, 00:24:49.220 --> 00:24:51.500 that was certainly a journey, a really complex, 00:24:51.660 --> 00:24:53.920 sometimes dizzying path we've traced today for 00:24:53.920 --> 00:24:56.299 Joseph Arthur. We started with him as this aspiring 00:24:56.299 --> 00:24:59.240 bass player in Ohio, dreaming of Jaco Pistorius. 00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:02.000 We saw that pivotal discovery by Peter Gabriel, 00:25:02.180 --> 00:25:04.799 watched him become this critically celebrated 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:07.599 Grammy -nominated artist working across music 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:09.960 and visual art. Yeah, and we saw his knack for 00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:12.559 attracting these incredible collaborators, Ben 00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:15.599 Harper, Donnie Harrison, Jeff Ammitt, Peter Buck. 00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:18.509 And alongside that... This unwavering commitment 00:25:18.509 --> 00:25:21.109 to doing things his own way, launching Lonely 00:25:21.109 --> 00:25:23.690 Astronaut records, those floods of EPs, the amazing 00:25:23.690 --> 00:25:26.849 live looping with the Lexicon Jammin, that radical 00:25:26.849 --> 00:25:28.970 independence. And that independence really feels 00:25:28.970 --> 00:25:31.150 like the core tension, doesn't it? The sources 00:25:31.150 --> 00:25:34.230 show this constant push -pull. On one side, you 00:25:34.230 --> 00:25:37.009 have this almost unbelievable artistic output, 00:25:37.069 --> 00:25:39.170 technical innovation like the Instant Live CDs. 00:25:39.509 --> 00:25:41.809 And on the other side, this deep willingness 00:25:41.809 --> 00:25:44.529 to expose himself, talking about addiction, MPD, 00:25:44.589 --> 00:25:46.910 PTSD on his podcast, and ultimately... to take 00:25:46.910 --> 00:25:49.789 very public, very high -stakes stances on controversial 00:25:49.789 --> 00:25:52.210 social and political issues, no matter what it 00:25:52.210 --> 00:25:54.170 cost him professionally. Yeah, it's like his 00:25:54.170 --> 00:25:57.269 entire career became this experiment in pursuing 00:25:57.269 --> 00:26:00.069 creative honesty above all else. He built his 00:26:00.069 --> 00:26:02.890 own platforms, like the label, partly to escape 00:26:02.890 --> 00:26:06.029 industry constraints. And ironically, maybe... 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:08.579 That very independence ultimately gave him the 00:26:08.579 --> 00:26:11.660 freedom to voice opinions that led to the collapse 00:26:11.660 --> 00:26:14.099 of whatever external support he still had. It's 00:26:14.099 --> 00:26:16.380 quite the paradox. So wrapping this up, what's 00:26:16.380 --> 00:26:19.019 the big takeaway? What should you, the listener, 00:26:19.220 --> 00:26:21.440 be thinking about after hearing all this? Well, 00:26:21.460 --> 00:26:24.180 here's a final thought to chew on, maybe. We 00:26:24.180 --> 00:26:26.339 live in this age of intense digital connection, 00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:29.599 constant information, where artists are maybe 00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:31.559 more countable or at least more vettable than 00:26:31.559 --> 00:26:34.539 ever. What happens when an artist's deep -seated 00:26:34.539 --> 00:26:36.619 commitment to their personal truth or their political 00:26:36.619 --> 00:26:39.259 viewpoint clashes directly with the industry, 00:26:39.380 --> 00:26:41.539 the money, the infrastructure that allows them 00:26:41.539 --> 00:26:43.799 to make a living? Especially for someone like 00:26:43.799 --> 00:26:46.519 Arthur, who actively sought independence to gain 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:50.400 creative freedom. Where do the limits of that 00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:52.839 freedom lie when your views become really controversial 00:26:52.839 --> 00:26:55.559 really politically charged. What's the ultimate 00:26:55.559 --> 00:26:58.480 price you pay for that kind of absolute artistic 00:26:58.480 --> 00:27:01.240 and personal autonomy. A lot to think about there. 00:27:01.299 --> 00:27:03.220 It's a tension that Joseph Arthur's career really 00:27:03.220 --> 00:27:04.380 forces us all to confront.