FWIW, I had never heard of Ariel Pink before reading this article.
The long and the short of it is that a performer at the Coachella festival, Ariel Pink (a freak-folk act, whatever that means), pissed off fans by sitting on stage with his back to the audience, chain-smoking and refusing to sing, before pouting off the stage after 15 minutes. What the article doesn’t say is what Mr. Pink was so put out about that he would antagonize his audience so.
Anyone have the scoop?
Huh. I’d heard about Cee Lo Green’s Coachella meltdown, but not this one. Never heard of this Ariel Pink person, but he sounds like a spoiled princess.
I remember a Mothers of Invention concert where they came out and proceeded to sit around the stage; drinking, chatting with each other, and playing cards, for forty minutes.
But then, after Frank Zappa walked up to the mike and said “Maddening, isn’t it?” they launched into two hours of music.
But I’m betting Monsieur A. Pink wasn’t doing performance art or a commentary on modern music. I’m thinking hallucinogens.
From his wikipedia page;
Pink’s solo tours have generally been met with much negativity, primarily because his music was never intended to be performed live for commercial audiences. As he explained to LA Weekly:
“ People boo me everywhere…They don’t even hide their contempt. I’m used to it now…Hey, I’m giving audiences the real thing…For better or worse, I’m out there, and those are the circumstances. People don’t like it when it seems like you don’t know what’s happening, or I’m getting bummed out with certain aspects and I can’t hide it. I think people feel that pain and just think it’s bad.
So, I vote “self-important pretentious DICK”
…so why does he tour then?
Funny, I seem to be one of the few people in this thread who is familiar with his music, and this is the exact impression I get from it 
He’s on my list of bands/artists I’m no longer going to subject myself to.
I think that stage was having tech issues most of the day, but other artists managed to handle it with a bit more grace.
Ariel Pink is a man’s name? Not that I’d ever heard of this person at all before, but seriously, that’s like a girl being named Hunk Manly.
Until Little Mermaid came out, Ariel was a boy’s name.
The only one I can think of is Ariel Sharon, and Sharon is a girl’s name:dubious:
Ariel is one of the archangels. That -iel ending is reasonably diagnostic, meaning “of God.” So “Lion of God” in this particular instance.
ETA: Though I suppose “The Pink Lion of God” is still not exceptionally manly :D.
Is he related to the Invisible Pink Unicorn?
Full fathom five, his career lies?
I think I read that temperatures at Coachella this year were very hot; maybe what’s remarkable is that AP’s meltdown was a relatively isolated event.
They’re musicians and performers, not chocolate bunnies and ice cream cones. :rolleyes:
If they can’t stand the heat they should stay out of the PAR lights. 
ETA: I tried to listen to some of his stuff and I gotta ask: is “freak-folk” a cover term for “shitty untalented compositions”? (Yes, I know that’s seriously judgmental. So what? I thought his music sounded like something from Charles Manson’s back catalogue.)
Robyn Hitchcock? Really? (Everything else I can understand and/or agree with.) Do you count his work with the Soft Boys in that?
Aye, that’s the only part of that list I don’t agree with.
Ariel, the sprite in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, is male; this is where the name comes from, in general use.
A friend of mine named his son Ariel, so I’ve seen lots of discussion on the topic! 
Boo, I love both She & Him and M. Ward.
I guess if people booed me everywhere and didn’t even try to hide their contempt I might consider another line of work. Or maybe he could try writing some music that appealed to people. Or would that be selling out?
OK, I went to Youtube and deliberately sought out Ariel Pink and had a listen… Oh jeebuz…
I actually like it
Well, some of it. Reminds me a bit of old school Magnetic Fields, which I like too. So here’s a guy - a relative unknown - trying to make a name for himself and putting out some decidedly odd-ball music. What better way to get noticed than to stage a “melt down” at a big show where there are sure to be plenty of music critics and industry insiders? Might be a smart move.