Rock and roll is dead

Or why you should never meet your idols, and by you I mean me

Hello neighborinos! I’m back! Sort of... This update is loooong overdue and, well, things have been pretty effin’ busy lately to say the least. I have not had much “free” time to dedicate to the blog and or other pursuits because, like you, I am a slave to the system and bills have to get paid somehow.

Life happens and priorities take precedence - I’m sure most of you can relate to this but even still, it weighs on me at times when I think about a “pause” here. Hopefully you understand.

In any event, I wanted to briefly rant about something that happened recently which caused me to laugh but also to acquiesce that rock and roll is indeed finally dead, at least for me.

Over the past several years I’ve had numerous encounters with famous and not-so famous musicians, singers, rappers, entertainers etc. where, because of the ability of social media to reach out and touch these folks, I touched a nerve and had the illusion shattered.

Most, if not all of these folks, fancy themselves as bona fide “rebels” and individuals who break the rules, and who live free, man! That is, after all, the essence of rock n’ roll, is it not? So, it always strikes me as funny, if not a little sad, when the façade is exposed and these same people, usually in anger, reveal that they are, in fact, full of shit. Who knew?

To be honest, this is more a reveal of myself than anything else, as over the course of many decades, I willingly allowed the wool to be pulled over my eyes, shelled out thousands of dollars on records, films and books and made the grave error of taking these people serious to begin with.

I saw the movie, listened to the soundtrack and bought the t-shirt! So, who do I have to blame but myself?

Time and again, I bought into many of these people’s acts hook, line and sinker. And that’s exactly it: it’s an act. Can you say: ka-ching? And what did I get for all my trouble, hard earned money spent and time wasted listening/watching? Disappointment.

Most of these folks use these rebellious attitudes as roleplaying characters online now and their songs/albums/t-shirts as a way to market themselves and cash in on the ‘damn the man’ market; I fully confess that I am/was a sucker for the ‘damn the man’ market. Alas, no mas.

Never mind the fact that a grand total of NONE of these folks actually mean what they say or say what they mean or believe in anything that they push/sell! Oh, sure, they’ll tell you that they are the real thing but don’t you dare ever question it! Because if you do, and if you get the opportunity to pull the curtain back, I can guarantee you’re not going to like what you find there.

There’s a reason they say to never meet your idols. Read on to discover my brief encounters with disappointment and the shattering of illusion where so-called ‘rock and roll’ is concerned.