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You seem to have violated your own precept.... (Reply to this comment)
by NFP
...by challenging all of us to reconsider what we consider to be Art. In short, through this intriguing essay you've become the very Artist you claim not to want to see any more.
How's that for irony?
As to your query: "At what point did I lose my youthful idealism and wonder? When did I stop seeing the artists of this world as my surrogate eyes to the soul of mankind?"
The answer is easy...when you gave up the time to "indulge" yourself in what you now see as frivolous flights of fancy in favor of using up your time and energy in trying to pay the bills and stay ahead of the Reaper.
I suggest, Rich, that you're kidding yourself, and that you disabuse yourself of the entire notion you wrote about.
Your stuff is too funny, to right on, too well-though out to have me believe for a moment that you are content to dwell in middle management hell and middle-of-the-road (read lowbrow) artistic mediocrity.
Fact is, it's therapy for you, which is its own valid and deep artistic statement.
Nice try. I don't bite.
nick
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Sep 04 '01
4:41 pm PDT
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From the Heart (Reply to this comment)
by LEDOMAINE
An editorial to still the words from even the most oratorical personality. Therefore, I must be silent.
Magnificent!
Rouchelle
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Sep 04 '01
2:39 pm PDT
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Oh, I'm back again ... (Reply to this comment)
by AuntieEmma
(why can't we edit comments to add stuff that our slow-moving brains think of later?)
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I just wanted to see if I could try and articulate what I like about this ... not easy to do ... It seems to me that you're both inside and outside a character here. Outside, because someone who really completely believed what the "I" in your piece believes would never have written it, because he wouldn't have cared or wouldn't have wanted to care. Inside, because it's so utterly completely convincing. It feels as if you must have pulled this out of some aspect of yourself, although it could have come solely from good observation. And not being able to tell for sure which it is makes it more interesting.
I've seen a lot of pieces on Epinions where people have created characters, but often they shower the characters with so much contempt that, at best, they might provoke a few laughs. There's no impact beyond that, because the characters exist only to be objects of scorn. But this really hit home. Am I making any sense here?
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Sep 03 '01
1:45 am PDT
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. (Reply to this comment)
by AuntieEmma
Epinions has become quite "familiar to my overburdened mind and weary eyes." I think you just raised the bar here in terms of showing what it's possible for someone to do with this site. I guess that's art, huh.
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Sep 03 '01
12:56 am PDT
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Whoa . . . !!! (Reply to this comment)
by vandalz
Okay, okay. So someone thinks deep. Really DEEP! You are a great writer. I personally enjoyed reading this great review.
I would have never found you had you not rated my review of DMX, but boy am I glad that I did.
You are one excellent writer with some very personal thoughts. A great quality that most of the world has lost. Don't lose that quality, but rather embrace it, as it has made you a unique individual who well never die in other peoples' minds.
- James -
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Sep 01 '01
8:27 pm PDT
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I'm 40, 40 Years Old (Reply to this comment)
by BARNZ
I have not given up!! I refuse to give up! I will not dance the dance of youth, I will dance my dance and all who join me will have a damn good time.
Have you seen the movie American Beauty, You know I think I just saw a scene they left out laid before me in written word. My God man this is a cry for help.
This is where we cut to the sexy young thing, preferably a hot young Hollywood thang who loves older guys and writing on Epinions. She comes and sweeps you away to a hidden cove where there is no fountain of youth just the realization that you are not alone and you are not done, life has a little, or a lot more in store for you.
Okay, that won't happen, but you will see that what an artist is showing you is not what you are missing it is the times of your life being played back for you in a different and unique way that has every right to invade on your exisitence. Every right to wake you up and say man you are something, so am I, so let's both get down, boogie dance or whatever they say these days.
Forget about what you perceive reality to be and let it be what it truly is another reason to enjoy what you enjoy and ignore those things that don't apply to you. Now every once and awhile you will be able to relate, if you don't believe me, listen to the latest release from Michael Jackson.
He rocks my world, because with his latest release You Rock My World he is back to the Michael jackson of my youth and I like it.
Stay strong and enjoy you are not alone. That was my only response to your posting, DUDE, you are not alone and life is not through with you.
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Sep 01 '01
4:51 pm PDT
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Sorry Rich (Reply to this comment)
by nobody_knows
I don't buy it. You can't possibly be the burnt out hollow of a man your essay describes. You're still one of us Pollyanna types.
If "time changes our perspective," it is because we have let it. And obscenity is still the injustice that we inflict upon each other. Nothing changes just because we get older.
If you really believe what you've written, it's time for you to get out of New York and take a look at the "real world." Come on up the Brooklin, Maine, and visit - take time to see the wilderness before it's all gone. You'd be surprised how healing it can be!
Nice writing, but you're too good a writer to be so jaded.
((((Rich))))
Judy
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Sep 01 '01
1:46 pm PDT
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You have crafted . . . (Reply to this comment)
by gungian
. . . a beautiful yet haunting piece.
You still have the key to unlock the cage that imprisons your winged spirit.
Throw wide the door and go soaring.
Great posting.
Write On!
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Aug 31 '01
7:18 pm PDT
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sad (Reply to this comment)
by jankp
But hauntingly mesmerizing. If you can write like this from your soul, you're not so burned out or impotent after all!
Jan
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Aug 30 '01
3:05 pm PDT
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Another Odd Take from Moi... (Reply to this comment)
by pogomom
Your sad essay really hit home and made me hope to never totally lose what my Equal Half calls immaturity and I consider idealism.
While I consciously try to enjoy what is current; no effort is necessary to become immersed in the old familiar songs, art, poetry, movies and lifestyle. With age comes complacency but that doesn't have to mean being stuck in the past or only comfortable with what we grew to love during younger days.
What comes to mind is - oddly enough - Joanne Woodward. She evolves with the times and stays concerned with social and environmental issues. If we make the time and take things beyond our personal comfort zone, we can change things for the better.
Wonderfully thought provoking review, thank you so much! If I failed to get the gist of your message; I still thank you for getting these old wheels spinning.
xoxox Helen
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Aug 29 '01
4:05 pm PDT
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Powerful words... (Reply to this comment)
by arianej
There are many who try to make their points by blending satire or fiction with their reviews, attacking it from different angles meant to jolt the reader out of complacency..few succeed the way this review does. Thank you very much for writing it.
arianej
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Aug 29 '01
11:17 am PDT
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argh. (Reply to this comment)
by Roark_8
I battled throughout this piece to not allow myself to acknowledge that your words were ringing true within my own psyche.
As you say to the artists, damn you for forcing me to confront that this is where I am headed.
Defining the MH button.
Roark_8
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Aug 29 '01
9:26 am PDT
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Man.. (Reply to this comment)
by flamepillar
This is just incredible. I can see myself in your shoes in 10 or 20 years, and part of me looks forward to it while the other part of me is fighting not to lose that. It's only the times when I just accept the way things are that I become truly happy.
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Aug 29 '01
6:10 am PDT
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Rich, this was really an outstanding piece (Reply to this comment)
by diverpam
It makes me want to listen to some of the songs that really stir up my soul and make me cry for no apparent reason.
Pam
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Aug 29 '01
5:23 am PDT
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Every now and then... (Reply to this comment)
by murasaki
...when I seem to be stuck in the daily grind and wondering "is this it?", I feel as though I lost a part of myself. But then, one way or another, I seem to find myself again. Often, it's after reading a moving piece like this one.
Bravo!
--murasaki
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Aug 29 '01
5:13 am PDT
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Thank you Rich (Reply to this comment)
by cyndilouwhoo
As an "artist" (although somewhat of the more pedestrian, status quo-ish variety) I applaud your piece. Perhaps I was (hopefully) reading deeper into your essay than you intended but I absorbed an entirely different perspective than other "commenters" (hell is that a word?) from your piece. It heartened me somewhat to know that even though a certain level of stodgy conservatism colors "adult eyes", they still can reflect the beauty of the universal truths that the arts can express--even to fuddy duddy adults like you and me.
So even if the intent of your piece was *not* a call to continue to look at the arts with our youthful souls, that's how its meaning was expressed to me.
So there!
Nice job!
Cyndi
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Aug 29 '01
4:42 am PDT
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one more thing (a quote) (Reply to this comment)
by sumo_rhino
"The man who is a pessimist before forty-eight knows too much; if he is an optimist after it, he knows too little."
-Mark Twain, author (1835-1910)
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Aug 28 '01
9:37 pm PDT
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Honest and Articulate (Reply to this comment)
by DAnneC
Based on your content, I suspect that we are contemporaries--though my viewpoint is female rather than male, which may account for some of the differences I am about to note.
I found your review compelling and a bit sad. In many regards, we are very alike. I hope, however, that I never quite lose my idealism. Having come of age in the 60s, civil rights and feminism and protest against injustice are embedded into my psyche. Despite the middle-age, middle-class, and middle-management aspects of my ongoing reality, I cherish those old ideals. They make me care about the environment, the future my grandchildren will inherit, and the condition of mankind in general. The fact that realizing these ideals any time soon is unlikely does not make them any less important or attractive. It just means that the next generation will have to build on what this one has achieved, much as we did with our forebears began.
With regard to the topic under discussion--the social responsibility of artists--yes, I believe that they owe their audiences honesty and a decent regard for the influence they have on the community as a whole. The artists that shaped my youth attempted to use their talents to support their ideals--not simply to make money based on the shock value of their lyrics. In the world of popular music, whether you preferred the commentary of Joan Baez or Sgt. Barry Stadler, art was often used to promote a higher cause--not simply to line the pockets of overpaid, over-pampered rock stars. Even Elvis Presley managed to write and perform songs with serious messages (The Ghetto comes to mind).
I am disturbed, even dismayed, by lyrics that depend on profanity and that are (to use an old phrase) totally lacking in any socially redeeming value. I may not want to use censorship to silence these "artists," but I certainly would never support their lifestyles and their contempt for the public by purchasing their work. My grandchildren deserve better than that.
Regards,
DAnneC
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Aug 28 '01
9:13 pm PDT
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wow (Reply to this comment)
by Daniel_Rf
I know few who would admit to what you just did, let alone do so in such an eloquent matter! Of course, I am pretty much what you described in the first paragraph, and terrified of becoming what you describe in the rest of your essay, but that figures...I'm young, after all.
However, do you realise that, by writing this essay, you are defeating your own goals? You say you've become "satisfied", and do not want to hear about how the world really is or should be...but if you are truly satisfied, why would some artistic statement motivate you enough to write an essay as eloquent as this one? You describe a state of apathy (sp? Sorry, wasn't born in an English speaking country), but by acting and comunicating this apathy, you have denied it.
Or maybe I've just drank too much coca-cola and am getting way too pseudo-intelectual for my own good :)
Off to check more of your work...
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Aug 28 '01
8:28 pm PDT
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Heavy (Reply to this comment)
by sumo_rhino
Duuude. You're bumming me out.
But, I totally understand from whence you come. (Maybe that's the key to the depth of my bumliness.)
However, I've decided to believe in the ever-evolving form of life. What I envision as success and "my ultimate goal" has transformed over time as I have grown and my interests and priorities have evolved.
What constitutes a "great year" in my life is comprised of fruition of different aspirations than my teenage (and much slimmer) self dreamt of.
Sheesh. Now we've both heavy in thought...
- sumo_rhino
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Aug 28 '01
8:21 pm PDT
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Extraordinary honesty ... (Reply to this comment)
by theeye
This piece was not just beautifully written -- it struck me to my very soul with personal relevance. You've struck a note of truth here. I will be sending a lot of people here to read it.
Quite possibly your best work yet. And that's quite a remarkable statement.
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Aug 28 '01
5:50 pm PDT
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Very well done (Reply to this comment)
by jo.com
I applaud you. You have managed to actually write on this site about something meaningful in a really literate way. Something we are only supposed to see at "other sites." I applaud you..you pulled it off. Great job. jo
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Aug 28 '01
5:43 pm PDT
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Wow! (Reply to this comment)
by Suzer
A look at Rich's soul. A deviation from your norm, but since your norm isn't really normal. . .
Seriously, this is beautiful, Rich. Thank you.
Suzi
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Aug 28 '01
5:39 pm PDT
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This (Reply to this comment)
by roxymarie
was superb. Moving, eloquent, and thought provoking. What a pleasure you are.
Roxanne
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Aug 28 '01
5:38 pm PDT
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