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Popularity, Schmopularity
February 17, 2005 8:03 a.m., MT  Let's get it out of the way at the very beginning: like many pro-freedom individualists, I was not in the popular crowd in my high school. However, by the time I reached high school, I'd realized that this was a good thing. Well, I knew that most of the time.Okay, okay, sometimes I wished it could be different, but not all that often, because deep down, I never could ignore that becoming popular would require stomping on some part of my soul that I most cherished. I couldn't do that, not for the fleeting attention of a vacuous few. (I did try it for love, and ultimately failed, not surprisingly. But this isn't a sob story.) And so it remains today. Even after I became a regular reader of a few blogs, I strongly resisted starting one of my own. Who would care what I have to say? just didn't get a sufficiently good answer, even when queries as to when I would start a blog began to trickle in. Then I resigned from Free-Market.Net. I heard from many people after that (and if you're one of them, and never heard back from me, I'm sorry; I was flooded with email and eventually gave up on trying to reply to everyone who wrote). And it turned out that lots of people did care what I have to say. That isn't what ultimately caused me to start blogging, although it was a large contributing factor. I did it because I saw it as a way to contribute to the advancement of the freedom philosophy, in a more regular and informal way than essays and books tend to be. As such, popularity has never been a consideration in my choice of topics, or my style. Sure, I like getting traffic, but what matters more is the quality of visitors, not the quantity of them. My friend the Salty Pig touches on this issue, in a broader context, in his new idioticle, This will be Such a Popular Article. He addresses the high-school "look-at-me!" element that touches many blogs and bloggers, but ultimately pursues a more interesting line: the glomming on of some writers to a trendy concept, primarily for self-promotion purposes. Although I take slight issue with his slap threat for simply using the word "meme" (I've been known to use it myself, although I'll grant it's highly overused), his points are well worth noting. And it's a good reminder that in this age, when 'most anyone has access to this ersatz printing press, substance has become an even more fleeting quality. (And if you don't like Charley's article, you may find value in the beautiful pictures he's chosen to accompany it.) If you see my attempts to provide substance in the realm of pro-freedom ideas faltering, you're welcome to give me a hard slap, metaphorically speaking. Speaking of substance and popularity, a peek in at Endervidualism revealed a new movie review: Oklahoma!. At risk of providing more evidence that I'm creeping closer to curmudgeondom, I'll reveal that I like musicals, although the genre seems to have suffered a serious decline in quality over the past 15-20 years. It's hard to watch them, though, because the children generally have a harder time staying focused on the story when the songs interrupt. Maybe I'll try to sneak in a viewing this weekend. Chris Sciabarra also provides interesting information relating to a band I've long admired, in a recent post touching on Randian themes in Rush's music. I'm no longer the Rushhead I used to be, but do still find their music among the best for rock-loving individualists. (And let's not get into the Geddy's voice issue today, okay? Thanks.  )
Replies: 8 individuals have opined On Friday, February 18th, Sunni said:
Paul, you're right -- how could I have forgotten My Fair Lady?! A wonderful musical with excellent casting. It's been far too long since I've seen it. On Friday, February 18th, Paul said:
No one's mentioned "My Fair Lady." I don't think it can be topped in the melody-and-lyrics department. I'm especially fond of Prof. Higgins's mysogynistic rants (which are countered by heavy doses of irony). On Thursday, February 17th, Moni said:
Ayayay, how could I have forgotten "Fiddler On The Roof"?! On Thursday, February 17th, charley said:
musical movies i love: On Thursday, February 17th, Sunni said:
Okay, back on musicals now ... The only one I've seen live is Phantom of the Opera, which I didn't expect much from, but it made me cry. Others I like include Fiddler on the Roof, Hairspray, Paint Your Wagon (isn't this the one that has Clint Eastwood singing?), Hair ... uh, does Saturday Night Fever count? I was a big Bee Gees fan (about the only pure pop group I've liked, and that started when I was a preteen, okay?), and liked it even though I did not like disco. On Thursday, February 17th, Sunni said:
Salty, you and I have different styles (in case anyone hadn't noticed On Thursday, February 17th, charley said:
thank you, sunni and moni. you fell right into my passive-aggressive trap, just as i planned! On Thursday, February 17th, Moni said:
Salty Pig's right, but because his article is such a clear voice of reason (of which we can never get enough) it is precisely why I did forward his article to others. |
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). Your meme comment is consistent with with your style; and overall, I agree with the sentiment behind your statement. It's an overused word. But it does have its place ... and hell, if I'm going to plump for you I oughta at least disguise it with a nitpick or two. 
