When it comes to music, I’m a dilettante, a dabbler, a passionate lover. But music has been an important part of my upbringing ever since I became obsessed with so-called “neoclassical” music when I was about 10 years old (more on that in a later article).
I am a listener first and my shy, introspective personality initially led to a lot of alone time. I don’t mean “lonely”. On the contrary, I absolutely loved it. After school, I spent many happy evenings with books, records, and tapes. My radio was tuned to one (at the time three) classical radio stations in my hometown of Chicago.
WEFM, WNIB and WFMT were my gateways into the world of classical music, old and new. For whatever reason, the fact that I didn’t like pop/top 40 music (although I’ve since expanded my listening range) severely narrowed my circle of peers and led me in my struggle with passionate but necessary Develop your own world.
Luckily, these radio stations have a lot of really talented presenters and producers. These people are my teachers and my friends. Their admiration for classical music validated my views and inspired me to emulate them in some way, which in turn motivated me to read a lot. I feel cool (i.e. validated). Therefore, my awareness of the importance of music like rock, blues, etc. had to wait until my college years, but at the time, when interacting with my peers, I tolerated pop music because none of them liked classical music.
As my interests developed, classical music became a cherished aspect of my personality. It’s still a passion that brings me great joy (even though it eats up my budget). As a non-musician, a “fan,” I started attending more concerts, buying more records, participating in fan discussions and debates, and even collecting autographs when I met people in college classes who shared my views. As a person, my peer group expanded.
At this point, I’d like to tell you that I’m beginning to suspect that, in the best case scenario, fans are essentially secular worshipers who develop something like The stuff of religious ecstasy. This is musical performance at its best (and the same goes for other arts, but that’s another article), and the ecstatic experience is addictive.
All of this, I think, suggests that stardom is a phenomenon of encountering musical artists in a deeply felt way that diminishes one’s ability to experience our favorite stars as human beings. Hopefully this will come up later. But the experience of actually meeting a star is very similar to children meeting a star at Disneyland or meeting Santa Claus at the local shopping mall, and one can see their surprised expressions and disbelieving stares as they drink.
Sometimes, experiencing humanity in one’s “god” is off-putting, at least at first. But getting to know a favorite artist as a person can give one a perspective and see them more for who they are, not just their latest work, or even their oeuvre. There is value in getting to know the person, including their shortcomings and even failures. Whether you experience this through personal encounters or through autobiographical and biographical works, this is an important perspective for enhancing your audience’s appreciation.
Blogging is my way of acknowledging the joy that my favorite artists bring me. It’s also a way to share a personal perspective with a similarly inclined audience who might share some of my feelings.
Time to fire up my CD player. Another worship service is about to take place.
Comments welcome.
