Glenn on Glenn

The Slobbering Karaoke Undead

In this day and age of the computer and ultimately the Internet, life has changed forevermore. No doubt, many changes are amazing and quite welcome.

Unfortunately, one of the most prolific drawbacks is the syndrome to which I have described in the title. In its fundamental properties, there’s nothing new of course; this sort of thing (at some level) has been happening since the dawn of creative art.

It’s just that in current times everything is so much more pronounced and saturated, for obvious reasons. Regardless, I still thought the subject deserved the obligatory extrapolation, before coming to any conclusions.

The horrid music, (if one can call it music) the repulsive so-called reality shows, the incredibly bad mind-numbing motion pictures, all kneel at the same alter. To put it bluntly, as a society we’ve simply run out of ways to entertain ourselves. Hence the seemingly unending conveyor belt of debris; packaged in shiny wrappers and worshipped by so-called fans and pundits alike.

How can this be? What fundamental thing triggered this onslaught of non-stop shallow garbage? Simple…the art of storytelling has been lost. You see, it’s no longer about the story…it’s now about the storytellers themselves. We have entered the age of mega-narcissism.

None of the new zombies ever consider paying dues to hone and hopefully perfect their crafts, by hitting the bricks and spending years doing what all before them have done. Why should they, when everything is now a revolting competition, be it music, comedy, dance, and on and on? What a pathetic shame to see hopeful zombies giving it their best shot in front of a panel of so-called judges, who themselves have absolutely no true understanding of the arts. Seriously, most if not all of them are idiots.

And when the least offensive zombie wins, it’s only a short time before they are moved along the conveyer belt and quickly forgotten. How could they not? Virtually no depth to their talent, no dues paid, and no artistic development whatsoever; none.

Suffering for ones art is not biting ones lip, hoping they make it to the next round. I believe The Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek once said something along the lines of, “Every generation gets the music that they deserve.” I couldn’t agree more! The downside is we have to be inundated with this crap on a daily basis. We are flooded constantly until having to endure an ocean of mediocrity. It gets old and I’m not the only one who thinks this…believe me.

My only solace (for now) is taken from this quote, penned many, many years ago.

"There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries".

William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

If you are a young, aspiring artist and are turning a blind eye to the Slobbering Karaoke Undead, I salute you, and promise that it will all be worth it. A body of work that you can be proud of will be your reward…not a scrapbook of shame. The age of mega-narcissism will burn itself out in a few more years, all the while the true artists coming down the pike will have been doing exactly what those that came before them have done for centuries: becoming great at something they feel that they must do, regardless of the outcome, because after all…they are telling their story.

-Dann Glenn
June 2008