Taking a macro look at this journal, which I have been
keeping for well over a year now, a couple of broad themes seem to have emerged,
at least if one is judging anything by the number of comments various topics
have generated: for example, the more intellectual and argumentative I am, the
more people are bored and uninterested. Conversely, the more revealing the
anecdote (from a GBS perspective), and the more “in character” I write, the
more popular the entry. This is not really a surprise; attempts at taking
ourselves seriously have never been to our advantage. To quote my friend Ken,
then, “dance with the one who brung ya…”.
Therefore, here are some replies, to those entries that
caught my (at best) limited attention:
The Moody Blues - It
was interesting that a number of people saw this piece as an attack of hippy
values; on the contrary, I was trying to express something many Gen X’rs like
myself have commented on - the envy we feel for people who grew up in era of
limitless possibility. Seen from the depression that gripped the Newfoundland
of my youth, bands like the Blues seemed to have lived in a world as foreign as
Robin Hood’s. And I rather envied them for it.
Fly By Night - Fly By
Night…Fly At Night….yadda yadda yadda. The urge people have to correct a very
minor error never ceases to amaze me. When I ws a TV guide editor, I almost got
fired one Monday, after 11 of our faithful readers called, one after another,
to hurl abuse at me. Their complaint? Our listings had the People’s Choice
Awards ending a half hour earlier then they actually did. All 11 had set their
VCRs for the wrong time, and missed the last half hour. I was professionally
sympathetic to the first few, but after an hour of that foolishness, I told the
last caller to “*** off and get a life”. My boss was sympathetic, and in fact
laughed when the irate customer then called him, but felt obligated to suspend
me on principal. Quite frankly, I
would do the same now.
Max Webster/Simani -
My analysis of the odd career of Simani went over fairly poorly; perhaps it was
a bit toooo local? Too bad, I thought about that one a lot. Ah well. The Max
Webster piece was a bit more popular, though one thing is clear - no one else
has a clue what the song is about either.
All The Small Things
- I was delighted to see 41 responses to this rather rambling piece linking
Blink 182 to the Voice Squad - until I discovered that my ‘Comments’ had been
co-opted by some sort of Spambot. Not necessarily a bad thing - perhaps those
seeking cheap Viagra and whatnot will instead benefit from some sharp
self-satire and dazzling metaphors?
Steve Miller - The
reaction to this one felt a little like the sort of discussion that goes on in
Star Trek boards. I definitely touched a nerve with the vinyl fans. A couple
even went so far as to go into rather elaborate explanations of why digital
music pales in comparison to analog. I found that rather touching, actually. I
mean, I know the difference; I am old enough to have listened, and recorded, in
both worlds. I just thought it was too boring to go into in any detail. Not so
for the defenders of analog. Burn
those CD players, trash your I-Pod! Vinyl rules!
Frank Maher & Folk Festivals - See intro.
The Verve - OK, I get
it. More crazy road stories which include madcap incidents, clever capers and
harebrained japes involving the band. Well, actually, now that you mention it,
there was this time with Murray, a roadie, three lesbian nuns and a blender….
Jethro Tull - I think
we can all agree now that high school sucked, (or sucks). I have now firmly got
this out of my system, and I promise never to speak of it again. Oh, what’s
that? Facebook you say? *** me. Once more into the breech!