Not every blog post is going to involve my A-Z project. Although, right now I'm continuing on and may break in with an observation or two if the spirit moves me. But this Sunday morning, I've decided to take on an altogether different topic.
This morning I've been thinking a lot about kindness and compassion, or the lack thereof that exists in American culture today. Part of this has to do with a series of responses I've read concerning Alex Chilton's death, that have to do with his lack of health care. Many call out Chilton's "laziness" or "poor decisioin-making skills", saying that if he really wanted health care, he should have just bought it. Others point out that, as a man in his late fifities with pre-existing conditions, that health care costs would have been exorbenant, especially for a gigging musician. Chilton was by no means a filthy rich man.
Anyhow, I'm not going to get into the health care debate here. The part that was shocking was the lack of compassion or simple kindness when speaking about this great artist who recently passed away. Meanness. I'd call it that. It's appalling to read people writing things like, "Nobody owes me anything, so why should I care about anyone else?" What?! Is this the type of society we want to live in? Do we really just want to be a bunch of self-important, money-grubbing assholes who think of no one but ourselves? I sure hope not, but judging by the tone of things in our country these days, maybe that's exactly where we are.
From a personal standpoint, I was just let go of a job that was filled with management who had this exact personal "character", if you want to call it that. It was people who felt no need to say "hi" to their employees. I once even actually said hi to one of these guys, and was met with a brief stare, followed by the turning of a back. Who does this? Why is this ever acceptable? They knew nothing of my character, my family, my work ethic. Why? Because they never bothered to pay attention, to ask, to care. They let me go because I "wasn't a good fit". It's an extremely vague and unsatisfying answer, but they're right. I have no desire to fit in with supreme arrogance, heartlessness, ego, superiority, or any of the traits I saw on display every excrutiating day I spent there.
Why do I bring all of this up? How does it relate to anything musical? All of this is directly related to why I'm not afraid to admit, that I'm a fan of folk music. Let's face it, folk music is uncool. Hipsters are far too serious and ironic for it. It's often seen as music for graying hippies and old-time idealists. But let me tell you this: some of the most enjoyable live music experiences I've ever had have come from folk shows. Why? For exactly the reasons it's uncool. It's genuine. It's unpretentious. It's kinder and gentler than the world around us. I've been to folk music festivals on several occasions and it's like stepping into an alternate utopian universe. Are there egos in folk music? Oh I'm sure. But I can tell you of two examples of contemporary folk artists who I love for their profound lack of ego and so-uncool-it's-actually-cool genuineness. I came across these artists at just the right time in my life.
It was during another time of being in a job surrounded by horrible stress, meanness, arrogance, and a startling lack of humanity. A co-worker of mine, a kind guy in his mid-40s, who I got along with very well, invited me to folk shows all of the time. Being a lover of live music, I'd go, just for the experience, but never expected to really fall in love with the music. But the music of Sons of the Never Wrong and Carrie Newcomer stuck with the part of me that craved and still craves a world stripped of ego...A world with more kindness and community.
These were fun shows. And yeah, I usually ended up being surrounded by people who were a lot older than me, but after a minute or two, it really didn't matter. Whenever I went to one of these artist's shows, I just enjoyed myself. You laugh and smile more than at a serious indie rock show. There's a lot more cheesiness and sing-a-long opportunities. In fact, a full-on hipster might just spontaneously combust at one of these shows. But I don't care if anyone knows it: I treasure those experiences and feel a need now more than ever to reconnect with some good ol', fun, silly, heartfelt folk music. The audience members are so nice! The artists are so nice! What's wrong with niceness?
In fact, I fell in love with the vibe so much, that I decided that that was what I was going to do. I approached Carrie Newcomer and members of Sons of the Never Wrong with my enthusiasm, and not surprisingly, they were all nothing but supportive and kind toward me. I left my stable career and began writing songs and playing open mics. I plunged in without much direction and without as much dedication as I should have had to actually make it work, but despite the misgivings I may have toward the decisions I made, I can see why I made them. The kindness and joy was like a drug, after being surrounded by so much of the ugliness on the opposite end of the spectrum.
And here I am, back where I was those years ago. I'm a junkie for the basic, beautiful happiness and kindness inherent in the music of Carrie Newcomer and Sons of the Never Wrong. And maybe you don't understand or don't want to understand. Maybe it's a little too cornballish for your tastes, but I really wish we could all take a deep breath and allow a little cornballishness into our harsh society, if for the only reason, that maybe in doing so, we could actually be better people for it. What can I say? I guess I'm just an idealistic folkie deep down inside.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2lSYPAqF5k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVha3krnDG8
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