Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, that's not a surprise. It was a flippant comment by non-plussed Joni Mitchell to frequent requests every concert she play "Big Yellow Taxi" (also known for it's chorus "Paved Paradise, Put a Parking Lot") over and over. She was not amused. The subtext of my orginal comment, by way of her and not voicing Van Gogh: you end up doing something different, and people only want repeats of your popular previous work, o…
> you end up doing something different, and people only want repeats of your popular previous work, or imitations of others, anyway. Well, perhaps the people know something that the creator doesn't. If you go to a Sushi place you don't expect or want them to suddenly give you a Carribean menu. I think it's similar with artists. They tend to think that people came to them for "them" intristically, and that they should…
Re: Haruki Murakami: The Moment I Became a Novelist
#51I think people want three things: 1) good; 2) different; 3) similar. If your work is good, all that matters is finding the right audience for it. People want things that are different from your past work and the cultural status quo, but they also want similarity, a connection. There are many artists who substantially change their output while remaining popular, but there are many who screw it up too.