One day I was driving back from upstate NY in an ugly, misty rain…. suddenly the sky broke open and revealed the most beautiful double rainbow — so beautiful that I actually pulled over and took some pics/video. A few others did the same, but for the most part, people were speeding down the highway business as usual. In contrast, we have all been on the highway and seen people damn near break their necks for the possibility of seeing someone maimed or worse… only to be let down by the sight of a stalled vehicle sans bloodbath.
Sooooooo…… it had me thinking….Do we live in a world where we value the wreck over the rainbow? Are we a society that celebrates the spectacle and not the spectacular?
When I am not in musician mode, I am hard at work on my side gig of contemplating the state of affairs. 🙂 I was online and somehow found my way to Antoine Dodson’s video (bedroom stalker). I know by mentioning it I am just adding to the phenomena but it serves my need for an example, so I will make the exception. For those who don’t know, he was brought to fame after giving a flamboyant interview on a local news channel, which was later turned into an autotuned song. Long story short, about 116 million views later (and growing), and Mr. Dodson, who never had an aspiration to be a musician (his words), had a number 1 hit on iTunes, a performance on the BET Hip Hop awards and an appearance on 106 & Park (Not to mention countless interviews etc).
I am all for everyone getting theirs. We live in the land of opportunity and he was able to move his family into a new home. I can appreciate all of that BUT……. I know AMAZING artists who remain anonymous despite the blood sweat and tears they put into their art, and their struggle for just a moment of light. It is a particularly sore subject for me because it is also pretty unique to the industry I am in.
Think about this…. Some guy puts together an outlandish video on youtube, cutting open a frog with some plastic scissors… would you trust him to perform a heart transplant on you?
A woman breaks up a fight on the street between a bird and a donkey….. would you hire her to be your lawyer when you are facing life for a crime you didn’t commit?
A child ties a rope around his tooth and the other end to a brick that he is going to drop from a rooftop…… your new dentist?
You get the point. We should celebrate hard work and excellence before we chase it away with our actions. I like fun/interesting videos –this one falls down, your cat farted etc– but while you are sending these videos to any and everyone you know, consider sending out the video of an independent artist you may know, or a link to a struggling writer or poet etc.. Just because it is viral doesn’t mean it has to be a virus.
Valuing wrecks over rainbows…I think it comes down to an undeveloped consciousness. When you really understand who are and what …resonates with your true self, you seek the things that feed and nurture that. When you haven’t stopped to think about it, or perhaps it’s to daunting to contemplate, you gravitate and promote that which distracts you. i.e. the cheap laugh, the train wreck, etc…
None of us is immune. It’s something we have to consciously work on and unfortunately many of us never will. So on that note, let me counter the negativity (or mediocrity) by finding a Darien video to pass on. 🙂
Emelia thanks for your response. I agree with you. Life can be rough and I know people use the fluff to escape, we just need to be careful about the excess. Drug addicts start the same way — the temptation to always escape and numb the mind over time dims the senses. Unfortunately this is the foundation of our current entertainment. Thanks for your support. 🙂
Great article Darien (as usual… GOSH I just think you’re so swell! LOLOL)
Anyway, I know what you mean. Yes, it is definitely funny to see some of the videos that are out there and share them (I do that from time-to-time), but when I first became a member on MySpace back in ’05, that was when I first learned that there are all these Indie Artists w/SO MUCH TALENT out there… and REALLY, REALLY good music! I was amazed at that and still am… and definitely wonder how some of these gifted people are not heard on the radio!
So because of MySpace, I “fell in love” with so many different artists (yes, I ain’t gonna lie, most are R+B/Soul people since that’s what I like the best) and since then, I have always tried to help promote and spread the love and word about them… and I do it because I LOVE their music! And if that particular artist and I get some nice friendship goin’ on, I get to “know them” as a person more… diggin’ what I’m getting to know… it fuels my passion to help them even more!
On that note, YOU KNOW I GOT YOUR BACK D! lol
LOVE REVOLUTION!!!! lol
The upside in all this is knowing that the Antione Dodson’s and other one hit wonders who stumble upon success are here today but gone tomorrow, ‘easy come…easy go’ …hardworking artists who have paid significant dues will stand the test of time, longevity is a priceless reward, whether fame accompanies your painstaking craft or not. Btw, this struggling writer thanks you for the link.
It troubles me how these random people become famous overnight over something that didn’t take “passion” to create. Our real artist are being buried under all this mess.