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[MBTI General] nf songwriters/musicians

B

brainheart

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Tim Kasher and Conor Oberst. Hmm, I know these kids a bit, so I think I can speculate somewhat...

Tim was a pretty extroverted kid in high school, kind of a 'cool' kid. He strikes me as an ENFP from the interactions I've had with him- nice, fun, but likes to think about things a bit. Kind of a dry/goofy N sort of sense of humor. But I wouldn't be surprised if he were an ESFP... he's a major performer, almost a stand-up comic. But he also has major hang ups about his Catholic upbringing, like he just can't let go of it. It's like it's constantly going through his head and he can't figure it out... wow, I don't know. Would that lean towards N?

Conor... he strikes me as more of an INFJ than a P. He has too much Fe. You are in his presence and he just puts out this love vibe- he is always trying to make connections with people,and he'll write lyrics like this: "...While the Mexican children kick rocks into the street and they laugh in a language that I don't understand. But I love them. Why do I love them?"

Also, I can't help but feel the Ni- every insight seems to come from within, not to mention Cassadaga was a giant mystic/psychic journey, Also, he's always been very prolific and determined, as if he is on a strict internal schedule and he is driven by this need to make sense of his thoughts/feelings. He seemed more like an INFJ kid than an INFP kid when I'd see him around as a preteen, as well, just something about his demeanor... But I may also be biased because I feel a serious INFJ connection with him. :wubbie: Not like I don't love INFPs as well, but I can just fully relate to him, like ridiculous amounts.

PS- his lyrics are often written about other fictional characters or people he's met, he just writes them from the first person perspective. People just assume he's talking about himself when he is actually soaking up other people's personalities and speaking from their point of view.

EDIT: please ignore, I was mistyping myself, anyway. I'm an INFP, I've discovered, hence the connection. Ignore, also, because I have been feeling guilty about this post, like I've betrayed these two people's privacy, and like I have a clue as to how they really are.... just because I know them on a superficial level.... blah for me. If I could erase it all I would...
 
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the state i am in

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i updated this thread in pop culture, and i too had switched oberst to infj. seems much more like a precocious inj child than an ifp. much more Fe and the, at times, resulting Fe implosion. i think his writing style is much more a product of Ni, a song like method acting is an idea, a sense of how things are connected, and as he keeps that idea in mind he winds thru multiple verses of differently angled feelings. and yes, "a song to pass the time" is a great song. seems very Fe aware to me. and when you approach him, he is very soft and receptive in the Fe way, paying very much attention to you and what you are saying, offering little in return but a general feeling of Fe friendliness/receptivity.

kasher as efp seems right on too. i dislike his music, and his lyrics have a cheeky quality that make me think he could be an enfp, but i have an unlabeled desire to put him in the esfp category. i really hate cursive. jenny lewis seems very enfp to me 7w8. she, on the other hand, i think, has written many great songs. take offs and landings and the execution of all things were really good records.

what do you think about the guys from the faint?

ps i think we all accept that this is just speculation. one of the problems with being a musical person, celebrity, or artist (who is not a folk artist) is that you act out your life on-stage to some degree. those people as they are exist, in part, to help others understand themselves, their own feelings, and how they relate to others and the world at large. connor feels very infj to me and i like that. i feel like i understand how i write better through the process of relating to what he has already done. and how he has been influenced by daniel johnston or other infj writers (altho also david dondero and simon joyner, who feels like a very obvious infp to me). i would just be a bit more careful in the future in adopting an "oh listen to me, i know these guys personally" tone bc that rhetorical technique is unnecessary. just write in a positive way and without trying to convince others, and let your thoughts be free (with that said, i too, lately, have been considering the ethics of typing others. in the end, it feels like a technology, and using it in a productive rather than a dangerous way is a question that only life can answer).

also, in response to a statement earlier in the thread: i had actually switched kevin barnes from infj to enfj. it seems to fit better, in my head. much more of a character in the jonathan richman, calvin johnson, jason scwartzman domain. plus the flamboyance! girl from nyc #64 and all of the bedside drama a petite tragedy will remain in my favorites for years and years and years. also, the past is a grotesque animal.
 

speculative

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Ok, so here's an off-the-wall question directly related to this thread. We often say that INFP's "put on their ESTJ suit" when they operate in the working world, especially a business setting. So, my question is: do you think musicians generally create music that is true to their type, or does the music they create end up being music that actually personifies another type? Can you create a certain kind of art without "becoming" that art? For example, if you only write rock ballads, regardless of what type you are, do you "put on the suit" of whatever type normally writes rock ballads, therefore obfuscating the typing process?
 
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Ok, so here's an off-the-wall question directly related to this thread. We often say that INFP's "put on their ESTJ suit" when they operate in the working world, especially a business setting. So, my question is: do you think musicians generally create music that is true to their type, or does the music they create end up being music that actually personifies another type? Can you create a certain kind of art without "becoming" that art? For example, if you only write rock ballads, regardless of what type you are, do you "put on the suit" of whatever type normally writes rock ballads, therefore obfuscating the typing process?

This is why god created youtube interviews.
 
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Graham Coxon a possible INFP?

Likely. Short answers to questions and softspoken.

I'm not so convinced about Damon Albarn. So many of his lyrics are observation/Fe-based like infj Ray Davies' who, likewise, focused primarily on social issues.
 

soleil

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Wayne Cohen: ENFP
Deerhunter: ENTP
Jay Reatard: INFP
John Damielle: ENFP
Beck: INTP (originally thought INFP)
Elvis Costello: ENFJ
James Mercer: INFP

Any Dinosaur Jr. fans? Any idea what J Mascis type is?
 
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Wayne Cohen: ENTP, the guy is too nuts not to be.
Deerhunter: the Bradford guy himself makes me think of Todd Rundgren, an INFJ.
Jay Reatard: INFP - I don't listen to him, so I haven't any idea
John Damielle: ENFP - who is this?
Beck: INTP (originally thought INFP) - I agree!
Elvis Costello: INTJ, socionics ethical subtype
James Mercer: INFP - the Shins guy? Likely.

Any Dinosaur Jr. fans? Any idea what J Mascis type is?
I think the man's an infp. The band itself has always been interested in turning messy fuzzthoughts into a more structured enclosure, whereas other bands who spilled noise in the pop bucket like Sonic Youth remained avant in their general approach.
 

the state i am in

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wayne coyne not an infp? and i'm not sure about elvis costello, from intp to enfj? i watched some youtube videos and i could see enfj, he's kinda a ham and i think Ni makes more sense than Ne.
 
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I meant intuitive subtype for Costello, yeah. The guy's made a living from being word engineer. Ni all the way, btw; have you noticed how both enfj and intjs release a good, good chunk of supersappy rhymes? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalison, you blerdi blahdi wah wah blah.

As for Coyne, I think of him as entp because in interviews he doesn't seem to be emotionally phased by questions, and seems like the type who gets constantly zapped by ideas through that Ne-Ti rod. Think Q. Tarentino.
 

Thursday

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I meant intuitive subtype for Costello, yeah. The guy's made a living from being word engineer. Ni all the way, btw; have you noticed how both enfj and intjs release a good, good chunk of supersappy rhymes? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalison, you blerdi blahdi wah wah blah.

As for Coyne, I think of him as entp because in interviews he doesn't seem to be emotionally phased by questions, and seems like the type who gets constantly zapped by ideas through that Ne-Ti rod. Think Q. Tarentino.

True - Marilyn Manson = ENFJ
Ani DiFranco - ENFJ
Josh Homme(Queens of the Stone Age) - xNFP
 

Wonkavision

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Regarding the O.P. --

Actually, I think Perry Farrell is an ENFP.

Check out this interview: YouTube - Perry Farrell -- Jane's Addiction and Satellite Party

Or consider these quotes from the interview:
"I dug them beause they're real radicals, you know......I just thought, 'That's kind of a punk-rock way to be a humanitarian...."

"We have a 10-year mission....We're gonna be putting together events around the world....putting together these beautiful, big parties and small parties...basically to create awareness....using music as a catalyst to create awareness...."

"....pretty much....", "and so, in way, what we're gonna do...."

"we bring in music, and we bring in art, and we bring in a good time, and...a forum......and then we leave the city beautified and enhanced....."

"I seem to think that, after all--word of mouth is still the best way to communicate with people.....and human connectiveness.....and the wonderful thing about putting together events is, you can have 200,000 people....and... you get to see what they look like, and what their vibe is....and how they're behaving, and what they're listening to....and you know...just that human connectiveness.....I don't think it's ever going to be replaced...."

" I speak with my Spirit Guide through my dreams...."

"If nothing else, you know....if you're a positive person, you attract positive people and positive spirit..."

"Oh, man--I was a tough drunk in those days....because I was unhappy a lot of the times--on stage.....but, sometimes you drink more to, kind of, hide the pain, when people are not getting along or being mean to you on the road, and things like that...."

"...but...I like it....right at the point where I'm giddy, and friendly, and boisterous, and charming....that's the kind of drinking I like to do."


"So, yeah, man. I love to bop around..."
(LOL!)



Ha ha.......Hey.....That was kind of fun analyzing him to death.;)

He seems like a slightly reserved ENFP to me.
 

Kalach

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I meant intuitive subtype for Costello, yeah. The guy's made a living from being word engineer. Ni all the way, btw; have you noticed how both enfj and intjs release a good, good chunk of supersappy rhymes? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalison, you blerdi blahdi wah wah blah.

He wrote "I want you", right?

Very definitely NJ. Seems like there might be a thin, thin line between F and T when it comes to nutcase obsession reveries of the NJ variety, but the flavour seems like EF, a stronger sense of grasping the immediate physical world and having it be proof of emotion. Which actually isn't an argument either way but Alison is an awful song, so ENFJ.
 

mr.awesome

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hot dang i got conor oberst and neil young!? shiiiii' mang!
 

BlueScreen

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I wanted to bring up Billy Joel again. I think he is an ESFP as listed, but was wondering if anyone's opinion differs because I'm not certain. I've seen him listed as intuitive before and he has elements of it in his songwriting. Like I want to rule out that he is ISFP, ENFP or ExFP maybe so I'm more certain.
 

the state i am in

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jay reatard
infp 4w5 sx/so?
Pitchfork: TV

i get a kind of sx/so energy, don't really see the wariness of an sx/sp, more inner tumultuousness. i'm still trying to get a sense of sx/so vs sx/sp in nps.
 

the state i am in

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cut copy:
guy on left: isfp
guy in middle: estp
guy on right: ???
 
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