Townes Van Zandt

[Gotapoint]

Any ideas on this song writer?

 

[anticlimatic]

He's the only artist I listen to these days. Just bought the album "Our Mother The Mountain" on cassette for 30 bucks, because apparently there are all of 2 copies in existence available for sale online, and my truck can only play cassettes. Initially I had some buyers remorse, but after playing it about a hundred times on repeat I can say that it was worth every cent.

Bob Dylan was marginally more talented (and way more had his shit together), but I prefer Townes any day. It's at once haunting and earthy and earnest and brilliant. Incredible life story, incredible talent.

He was also Steve Earle's hero and mentor. This little story he tells always cracks me up:

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

I quite like him.

 

[D'Ascoyne]

I'm thinking he was an INFP.

 

[anticlimatic]

I'm thinking he was an INFP.

I could see that. Definitely Fi, and strong enough that he doesn't really need to externally question or pursue it like an aux or tert. Plus he writes his songs really fast when he gets inspired, which speaks to strong Ne, drawing on Si imagery.

Only reason I'd hesitate is his tertiary isn't that pronounced. Dylan you can tell is a Ni-tert by his style of writing, but Townes doesn't seem as Si heavy as say, Lana Del Ray. But maybe that's a product of his electro shock therapy...

 

[D'Ascoyne]

I could see that. Definitely Fi, and strong enough that he doesn't really need to externally question or pursue it like an aux or tert. Plus he writes his songs really fast when he gets inspired, which speaks to strong Ne, drawing on Si imagery.

Only reason I'd hesitate is his tertiary isn't that pronounced. Dylan you can tell is a Ni-tert by his style of writing, but Townes doesn't seem as Si heavy as say, Lana Del Ray. But maybe that's a product of his electro shock therapy...

Re bolded - good points.

I'll have to check out some very long-form interviews of TVZ when I've got some time and go from there. But I have a strong feeling for INFP.

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

He strikes me as ISTP. Possibly, INFJ with a strong tertiary Ti.

I don't see Ne in him.

His writing style isn't esoteric at all. He uses precise words and symbolism rather than metaphor in his writing. In fact, in his interviews he stresses boiling down words to their essence that each one is necessary. He valued succinctness.

At least, if we are judging his personality by his craft...that is how I see it. His personality may be much different outside of that. He was bipolar and very much an introvert.

There is a documentary on him called "Be Here To Love Me" that any fan should watch. He was very much a free spirit but also quite a drifter. Never staying in one place or with one person for very long.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

I just assumed ISTJ but I am not too familiar with the person behind the songs and I didn't bother to watch any of the videos in this thread.

It's really quite a shame he never received the same level of recognition that was awarded to many of his contemporaries. He's what I call a musician's musician, meaning, while he has a following in popular culture, his biggest impact seems to have been made on other musicians. Like the Velvet Underground, before they became retroactively popular with the mainstream (Brian Eno is alleged to have said that although only 30000 people initially bought their first LP, every single one probably started a band after hearing it).

 

[D'Ascoyne]

He strikes me as ISTP. Possibly, INFJ with a strong tertiary Ti.

I don't see Ne in him.

His writing style isn't esoteric at all. He uses precise words and symbolism rather than metaphor in his writing. In fact, in his interviews he stresses boiling down words to their essence that each one is necessary. He valued succinctness.

At least, if we are judging his personality by his craft...that is how I see it. His personality may be much different outside of that. He was bipolar and very much an introvert.

There is a documentary on him called "Be Here To Love Me" that any fan should watch. He was very much a free spirit but also quite a drifter. Never staying in one place or with one person for very long.

On second thought, I agree with ISTP. I tend to mistake IP musicians-artists for F a lot of the time, which is dumb. I considered ISFP for a minute to see if I could shoehorn the Fi, but ISTP is the better fit.

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

On second thought, I agree with ISTP. I tend to mistake IP musicians-artists for F a lot of the time, which is dumb. I considered ISFP for a minute to see if I could shoehorn the Fi, but ISTP is the better fit.

I could see ISFP, also but I came back to Ti for some reason.

 

[D'Ascoyne]

I could see ISFP, also but I came back to Ti for some reason.

Me too. I mean, ISFP is still a possibility, but I saw how I was mistaking Ti for Fi, not because it was Fi but because I was working under the assumption of musicians falling under the F banner.