Recently I was out at a bar watching a series of performers get up and do their thing. A few of them were stuck in that middle ground between good and bad known as boring. Sure the songs were crafted fine enough. Their voices didn’t crack and their instruments were in tune. But what was missing was some sorta hook to grab the crowd and make them want to listen. As they played, the crowd would grow louder and louder. As if the music was an annoyance.
Then something happened and I wasn’t sure if I should be annoyed or angry or amused. After one unfortunate guy slinked off of the stage, a pretty young girl then got up and the place fell silent. She shyly introduced herself and started to deliver her own lackluster brand filler. As I looked around I saw this remarkably focused attention. The men would glaze over with various sexual fantasies and the women would nod in some diluted moment of solidarity.
The chauvinism was loud even to me as I thought about it. That is until another night. To my surprise I learned that this is not a gender specific trend. The crowd on this night was mainly women and the featured act was a fresh faced, boy band potential, young man. Just as the case above, the songs were boring and all sounded the same but the feminine ears and eyes were fixated. The guys in the room were quiet too I guess as a way to impress their dates.
Well, I say God bless the pretty people because if someone can get by on his or her looks, I say go for it. In any business, job security is a thing of the past. Talent can only get you so far. Take Beyonce for example. She ain’t breakin’ any musical or thespian ground. In sports Anna Kournikova is one of the best known players in the history of tennis yet she has never won a championship. Oh and let’s not forget Benji. That mut was such a ham, yet we all loved him. I know I cried when he got kicked.
