Yesterday morning I wrote about one of my heroes, Carl Gustaf Jung. What makes someone a hero to me? Heroes, for me, they are people who develop from within behavior that goes just further than that of the average average Earthling. As far as I can see now, all my heroes are concerned with the fate of humanity and the earth on which we all live. Maybe not all day or their whole life, but they're involved, and creative, creators, not destroyers, and that's their passion. Many of my heroes move in the artistic field. Among them are many pop musicians, or rather rockers, because they are without exception cool types. I have been listening to music for about sixty years now and still enjoy it a lot and regularly experience the support of my heroes. Since I'm changing, or at least my emotional habit, or lack thereof, to keep me in or looking at life, I'm getting more heroes and they're changing places all the time. Currently my top three consists of Alvin Lee, unfortunately far too early deceased due to complication due to a medical failure during an operation, Shirley Manson, who as a woman has occupied this place for years and since recently Thom York. The latter comes out of nowhere for me, I find his music really unique, but since I've been getting a bit out of place with my neighbors, late in the evening with the headphones on listen and some CDs from Radiohead, I've been able to get a lot more into his lyrics and for me a deep connection has arisen with the image I get of
Heroes like this are almost without exception said to be huge egos and that is usually not a compliment. I myself, quite rightly, get this criticism often, but I have always experienced worse. Apparently, the egos of the people in the concert halls are even bigger than those of the artists on stage who do their best to play the stars of heaven. It is downright rude what is happening today during a concert in a room.
As a child, my father sometimes took me to a classical concert in the Doelen in Rotterdam on Sunday afternoon. That was nice, but by now I had discovered the first signs of pop music on the middle wave of the old radio in the corner of the room behind my mother's stove and desk, where I liked to sit. And when I got my first single from the Beatles at the age of six, the gate was the dam. This was very contrary to the wishes of my parents, who said that pop music would not be a keeper. When I was about 11 I attended my first pop concert, downstairs in the all of the Doelen performed Kayak. It wasn't long before I sat around once a month, mostly in the Doelen, listening to the big names of the seventies.
What immediately struck me and was a bit scared for such a young fellow was the difference with the classical concerts in the Doelen. The large hall was always a neat, well maintained place full of luxurious chairs from a very different kind of blue green where the spectators or listeners, if you like, sat quietly listening and enjoying. A small cough during a soft bit bet already experienced as very disturbing and the sweat always broke out when I started to get a tickle in my throat. My first pop concert in the big room was that of Bachman Turner Overdrive, a Canadian rock group with men in lumberjack shirts. First of all, the previously smoke-free room saw blue of the pot fumes and was shouted loudly, whistled and clapped after each song. Also stood and jumped too enthusiastic concertgoers occasionally on the expensive chairs. However, there was a lot of respect and love for the artists on stage and you noticed that everyone listened well. The listeners and the band members had a great evening, although after leaving the room, when the concert was over, you always had a loud noise and whistle in your ears that lasted until sometime in the afternoon of the next day. That was all part of it.
Unfortunately, the good old days are over. Nowadays everyone stands or sits in loud voices talking, or is it screaming (?) and nobody really listens to the music anymore. Go after a café then I think with although retained, but quite a lot of irritation and anger. What are these giga egos who think their lame bullshit is more important than the concert, the musicians and the others present. Everyone knows the volume during a pop concert, but it is sometimes just not good to hear anymore. What are these disrespectful bastards? Sometimes the band members go to the audience with their backs, give no more encores or just walk away, off the stage to not come back. I don't know if this is a pure Becoming a Dutch tradition is, however, that it happens in all rooms, big or small, with or without chairs. It is a very sad tuning phenomenon that made me regretfully decided not to go to rock concerts a few years ago. Up to the concert hall for a classic concert, then? Or not? Last Christmas I sat there listening to Trade Messiah and it was unbelievable!!! Next to me was a man caressing his ego by explaining to his girlfriend what happened in this beautiful oratory. I think you should do that at home. Meanwhile I only listen to music at home.
