Deaths this year – Prince, Bowie, George Martin (the Beatles, not RR), Garry Shandling, and even Chyna passed this year. There are millions of more people who have died in 2016. I don’t care.
When people die it’s like the world ended…for them. Let’s me go jump into Lake Minnetonka with my Walkman and really experience Prince’s music now that he’s no longer living. I probably haven’t dusted the tape off since 1986 but now that Prince is gone, it’s time I really start to show my support. When people die the flood gates open for all the phonies of the world to act like it’s the biggest event since sliced bread.
This isn’t saying that I have no emotion towards death, just not celebrity death. If I haven’t met them on more than one occasion or had a conversation lasting longer than “hello”, I’m not going to go apeshit once they pass away. I literally had the Billboards on for 1 minute last Sunday when the Weeknd came up and dedicated the award to Prince. I have no problem with someone saying that a dead person was influential, but I wouldn’t break down and cry over it. Weeknd said he didn’t even know the man. I also don’t think he broke down and cried but that would be my point if he did.
Obviously if my immediate family and friends passed, I would 180 this entire stance but I don’t grasp how people get choked up when people they have never met before die. The same way we look at the below quote as ridiculous, is how celebs dying makes me feel. Prince. Prince would be another hero. I never knew him or listened to the music, but the fact that he existed and made it, I respect that.
I wasn’t like every other kid, you know, who dreams about being an astronaut, I was always more interested in what bark was made out of on a tree. Richard Gere’s a real hero of mine. Sting. Sting would be another person who’s a hero. The music he’s created over the years, I don’t really listen to it, but the fact that he’s making it, I respect that. I care desperately about what I do. Do I know what product I’m selling? No. Do I know what I’m doing today? No. But I’m here, and I’m gonna give it my best shot.
I’ve never had a “connection” with a celebrity but some people would argue things like “Bowie’s music saved my life”, or “Jim Carrey’s performance in the Cable Guy is why I became an actor”, in which case it impacts them more.
Overall though, I agree. It seems people find some pride in showing that they love Prince’s music, like they appreciate it on a different level than other people, and they want to publicly display that whether it’s true or not. I don’t get it, and no celebrity death has effected me to any meaningful extent to this point in my life.
Love the Hansel quote.