Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand
I think it’s a good thing to have so many idols, because i don’t make them unreal. Garrison Starr is still very much a person to me, and not some sort of god. When i met Shirley Manson she talked to me about writing personal songs and i talked about going to college. But, i feel like having so many people i honestly admire as artists and as people somehow is helping me triangulate to who i want to be and why. One of the people who has just as much influence as any rock star he’s ever written about is Glenn McDonald, and Rabi just pointed out a rare look at him outside of the context of his page where he talks about criticism as an art and profession. Also, there’s apparently a MetaFilter thread somehow related to all of this, but i haven’t quite found my way over to MeFi yet today. But, anyway, it’s all worth a read, to be sure.
The acoustic “Superhero” from 24/7 just came on… Garrison telling me: we are ten years old, and we are holding our breath under water. ear drums bursting from the pressure; we can touch the bottom. won’t you come away with me? we are flying high, and we are airplanes today; we can do anything. and i don’t ever want to leave the stage, i am a superhero these days. i don’t ever want to leave my age. i am a superhero these days.
I hope she still feels that, because she really is. Meanwhile, in the “Peter wants to be a superhero” category, can i please be this boy? Granted, i’m not pissy and depressed enough to be nearly as captivating as he is, and although i’ve got much better hair than he does i’m not nearly as otherworldly and elfish. Of course, good hair is as good a place to start as any…
I don’t really even need to be a rock star, and, you have to understand that a rock star in my book is much nearer to Ani DiFranco or Tori Amos than it is to Aerosmith or even Dave Matthews. Last night i saw Garrison Starr play to less than 200 people, and despite the fact that the majority of the audience seemed to be there more to drink and chatter than to listen to her play she made a point of being worthy of attention. That… standing up there under randomly shifting spotlights sweating to death and pounding away at her guitar… that is something i want to do. Hilary seems to think performance is all about being an applause junky, but you get something better than applause when you perform something the way it was meant to be heard.
Wow, i seem to be two for two on mentions of “porn” and “ass” today. Well, now i’m three for three. How productive. Can i leave now?
