Let Me Go

Someone posted a comment to one of my previous posts asking why I haven't weighed in with greater commentary on the latest tempest in a toilet bowl on what fans prefer or don't prefer in Barry's shows. No disrespect to that person, but I didn't publish it because it didn't go with the original post.


Gang, it's just not that big a deal.


I just came off of maternity leave. I'm back to my freelance business full-time. The local chamber of commerce is crawling up my ass for a big systems upgrade. TOLF (The Original Littlest Fanilow) started back to school today. The CO detector in our bedroom starts chirping for NO REASON at 4 AM, exactly 23 minutes and 8 seconds after the baby goes to sleep. And my husband wants us to have his mother visit us for a week this fall.


Plus I have three major Manilow posts in the hopper that I wish I had more time for.


When you have someone like Barry with a career that long and varied, with that big a music catalog, and that many fans, you're going to get some wide variation in likes and opinions.


So what???


It's a unique kind of "special" that motivates one-upmanship on the Network. "Well, *I* must be a better fan and a better person, because all of my opinions about Barry are positive." Folks, you got a molehill with icecaps on it, there.


There's room on the Network for everybody (or the Blogosphere, or the newsgroups, or whatever area you park your mouse in) if you approach it right.


So you want my take on it? I'm flattered, seriously. :-)


Any kind of artistic creation (music, visual, whatever) starts with the artist, but doesn't end there. The audience/viewer/listener/fan plays a part as well. When a serious fan pays attention to what's being presented they have to bring a part of themselves to it. Then the creation becomes something else that even the artist couldn't conceive. That's what those opinions are: the morphing of the original creation when it reaches the ears of the fan listening. Those opinions - even if it's negative or whatnot - when it comes from someone who takes the time to pull apart the creation and experience it internally, are part of the artistic process. However, stifling that comment, or trying to portray some fans as more equal than others, actually kills the creation by making it static. It can't morph if you're allowed to only look at it one way. IMHO, that's the worst form of censorship.


I don't remember a law being passed that says that to be a serious fan of Barry's that you have to lllluuuuuuvvvvvvv every move he makes or every note he plays. How about using those POVs for some more interesting discussions and make each other think about WHY we enjoy one thing more than another?


I gotta get back to work.......