Joshua Tillman is a man the music world loves to hate and hates to love. But after three albums and a fourth on the way, it’s obvious that he isn’t going away anytime soon. Both consumers and fellow musicians find him obnoxious in both his lyrics and personality. His overly-cynical new album Pure Comedy uses an apocalyptic theme to convey his dissatisfaction with the world at large.
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I agree that some of the songs are pretentious, and many listeners’ opinions are valid. He is attempting to be outside of the realm of general political views by commenting on the wrongdoings of both sides on “Two Wildly Different Perspectives” and frankly, it doesn’t work. It comes across as the bare-minimum analysis of the American political system.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The more I listen to Father John Misty, the more I realize he's kind of an asshole.</p>— Brian (@badrian86) <a href="https://twitter.com/badrian86/status/901805767052988420">August 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">If a wild Father John Misty approaches you in Portland use any means necessary to avoid engaging in obnoxious & pompous conversation <a href="https://t.co/67KJugjBGT">pic.twitter.com/67KJugjBGT</a></p>— Chris Davis (@disscravis) <a href="https://twitter.com/disscravis/status/901585499885682688">August 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Father John Misty was raised in an extremely conservative, Christian family. He had to convince his parents that Bob Dylan was a secular artist to be able to listen to him. He later turned against religion, describing both his religious education and upbringing as “culturally oppressive,” in an interview.
Although his ideas on religion could seem tedious, his opinions are based off firsthand experiences. The music media seems to switch up the rhetoric of his music, with The Atlantic calling Pure Comedy a “tedious brochure for nihilism, rescued only by a few flirtations with grace.”
Father John Misty seems to disregard the modern notion that pretentiousness is a sign of being unrelatable. Producer and musician Ryan Adams, in a since deleted tweet, called Tillman “the most self-important asshole on earth,” followed by a public apology.
Adams is not necessarily wrong by saying this, Father John Misty does not need a reminder that he is “self-important.” Tillman’s pretentiousness is what makes him interesting. Pretentiousness on people who are not pretentious on purpose gives them a sense of being unrelatable. Father John Misty understands his audience is not only those who want music, but those who like the personality of the artist as well. If his persona didn’t work, he wouldn’t do it. He is embracing the culture of loud personalities to create a bigger version of himself that grabs attention. Half of his success is his pretentious personality. No one stopped listening to him when he cut a festival appearance short, citing the stupidity of people as the reason.
When he went by the name J. Tillman, he had eight under-the-radar albums released by a wide variety of labels. None of his albums received critical acclamation until he reportedly woke up in a tree, naked, with the name “Father John Misty” floating around his brain.
People hate Father John Misty because he is so loud, but when he was not so loud, he wasn’t successful. Tillman has created the version of himself that works in the public. Father John Misty represents the version of Joshua Tillman that works in the indie realm.
Father John Misty’s personality somewhat clouds the fact that his music is excellent. Consumers often forget that even someone with a terrible personality can make fantastic music. Although I wouldn’t disagree that he is a flamboyant personality, it works for him. If the music is good, the personality behind it should be arbitrary.
Shelby Campbell is a freshman studying journalism and political science at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you listen to Father John Misty? Let Shelby know by tweeting her @bloodbuzzohioan.
