The other day, I found myself in Huntsville on a Wednesday evening,
because Shauna’s beloved Blackberry Bold cell phone had finally given up the
ghost. I don’t know what it is about Blackberrys, but some people become very
attached to them. Personally, I don’t get it. We were scrambling to upgrade her
to a similar phone, which was soon to be discontinued, and doing so proved to
be a challenge. Her cell phone plan had to be changed, data transfer was complicated by upgraded
software conflicts, and it was, in short, a silly day of you-can’t get there from
here tech issues. After five or six hours of nonsense, and at least one
employee at Bell who did not do his job (preceeded by three hours Shauna
had spent on the phone with Bell), at 9PM, I left the store in Huntsville, new phone
in hand. I was fit to be tied. I’m rarely in Huntsville on Wednesday nights,
but when I am, I like to go to Sean Cotton’s open mic at one of the waterfront
bars. I arrived at the Pub on the Docks, hungry and stressed, and Sean
immediately waved me over to his table. He was sitting with some mutual songwriter
friends, and we began to jaw about music. What had begun as an aggravating day
turned into an enjoyable night. I even got up and played a few of my
originals with Sean’s expert accompaniment. While I don’t particularly like
hanging out in bars anymore, the music is my inebriation.
While at this open mic, I bumped into my friend Jacob Kriger, a young
man who recently joined the Hunters Bay Radio staff. Jacob has taken on many of
the responsibilities previously handled by the late James Carroll, and he’s
been doing a great job so far. Recently, I discovered that Jake is an aspiring
songwriter, and a few weeks ago, I made a rough recording of several of his original
songs. We began to talk about the difficulties in becoming a recognized songwriter,
which eventually led to a discussion about compromise. Do we sell out when we
play cover tunes, or when we draw from earlier influences to try to please the
audience? Jacob worries about finding that balance between what is original, or
what is simply derivative. I think this is a common concern among artists. I am
almost forty years Jacob’s senior, but I wrestled with the same questions when
I was in my twenties. My contention is that a true artist brings his or her own
unique take to any and all the music that came before him or her. I know my
songs are derivative of everything I have heard and all the music I appreciate.
There is nothing new under the sun, no matter how much we may think we have
re-invented the wheel. It has all been said, but we can add something to the
discussion.
Have you heard about the new Pokeman Go application people are loading
onto their cell phones? It involves some kind of interactive game wherein the
player uses the GPS on his or her phone to “capture” various targets based on
their location, and in so doing scores points. The problem is, this is becoming yet
another way people become distracted by their phones when they should be paying
attention to something else. Already there have been reports of car accidents,
robberies, and the clincher … two men in California who walked off a cliff and presumably fell to their deaths, because
they were so distracted by the game. No doubt those two geniuses will be new candidates
for the Darwin Awards. I believe the new Sodom has less to do with moral weakness
and more to do with stupidity. I am as guilty as the next bonehead of becoming
distracted by my phone, but don’t you think maybe things are getting out of
control!? Our brains are being re-programmed. Perhaps this is why Trump is a
front runner for President of the United States. Just sayin’.
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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