Sunday, May 04, 2008

• Xanga Forever

  Currently Listening The Best Damn Thing By Avril Lavigne see related

  One of my favorite singers right now is Avril Lavigne.  I have all of her albums and B-side singles.  I know the lyrics to upwards of 80% of her songs.  I have tickets to see her in concert this coming May.  There is no doubt in my mind that I am her biggest 30-year old Filipino optometrist fan.  But, despite my admiration for her, I will admit that she might not be the brightest bulb in the chandelier.  When Let Go first hit the charts in 2002, she was a 17-year old tomboy in a tie and a wife-beater who sang about sk8ers and bois.   When her second album, Under My Skin, was released two years later, she was a bit more mature (and Gothic), and she sang about more serious topics, such as sex, depression, and suicide.   Her third album, The Best Damn Thing, was released in 2007, and this revealed a completely different Avril.  She colored her hair strikingly blonde, wore a skirt, and started dancing in her videos.  Her music became blatantly pop, and many of her fans felt betrayed by her new sound.  When asked in numerous interviews about it, she said that she’s not seventeen anymore, and her new sound is just a reflection of her growing up.  And therein lies the paradox.  She is six years older from when her first album debuted, but if you’ve ever heard the boneheaded lyrics to Girlfriend, you would think that it was written by a 12-year old on the verge of puberty.  Her entire third album is the epitome of girly bubblegum-pop, and she’s kind of delusional if she thinks her music is more grown-up.  Based on her music, Avril is not getting older; in fact, she may be the only person in the world who is actually going backwards in time and getting younger.  (Barry Bonds is getting younger, too, but he uses drugs.)  I love Avril Lavigne, but she’s kind of a dumbass.

  This is not to say that I don’t like The Best Damn Thing.  In fact, I think it’s her best damn album.  But, I can certainly understand why some of her older fans were turned off by it.  It’s a far departure from what her older songs sounded like.  This phenomenon is nothing new to music.  At some point in an artist’s career (this is usually their third album), they try new things and explore their creativity, which often leaves their fans confused and befuddled.  This happened to the rap group BDP.  Their first two albums are widely considered to be the pioneering gangsta rap albums, but KRS-One flipped the switch on their third album Ghetto Music in 1989 and started rapping about Moses and Jesus Christ.  This happened to Liz Phair in 1998 when she released whitechocolatespaceegg.  The album had a happier tone than her first two albums, which sounded much more rugged and raw.  By the time Liz released her fifth album, it seemed as if she had completely abandoned her rock grrl persona and was completely immersed in making adult-contemporary music.  I distinctly remember buying this CD at Tower Records two years ago.  The girl at the counter said that she used to be a big Liz Phair fan, but she swore that she would never listen to her again because she was so put off by her fourth album, which was panned by critics who said that it cemented Liz Phair’s crossover into pop music.  The Tower Records girl said that Liz has been letting her down since 2003, and she just didn’t want to support her anymore.

  That seemed fair.  No one should have to listen to music they don’t like, and no one is ever obligated to buy anyone’s album.  However, what struck me as unreasonable was the remark about not listening to Liz Phair ever again because Liz "let her down."  I can understand not liking a product that’s put out, but I can’t understand being “let down” by the artist.  Being “let down” implies that you expect something from the artist, but the reality is that the artist doesn’t owe you anything at all.  Being a fan doesn’t give you the right to dictate what type of music an artist puts out.  Avril Lavigne and Liz Phair are free-thinking human beings who can make any type of music they want, and they’re under no obligation to make the type of music you feel you’re entitled to. 

  Unfortunately, this sense of entitlement is permeating throughout society.  When The Sopranos abruptly ended its run (literally), many of their fans cried that the last episode was a great injustice to a great show.  When George Lucas released The Phantom Menace in 1999, many Star Wars fans claimed that it wasn’t worth the 16-year wait and that they deserved a better movie.  And quite recently, I’ve noticed the entitlement plague in something that affects my everyday life.  Recently I came across a few blogs where people have been griping about all the new changes that have been occurring on Xanga.  Apparently there are people who do not like things like ratings, stars, Themes, Minis, the new personal page, the LIFE logo, and the TRUE campaign.   Some bloggers have gone so far as to totally quit Xanga for websites like LiveJournal and Blogger.  It seems that the prevailing theme from these blogs has been “I’ve been on Xanga for years and years and they keep changing things and I don’t like it.”   Basically, they feel that Xanga has done something wrong to them.

  I really can’t comprehend why these people feel the way that they feel.  I can understand having an opinion (either positive or negative) about the new features, but it baffles me that people feel betrayed by Xanga.  As far as I know, Xanga is a private company that can do whatever the hell that they want to do.  If you don’t like the service that they provide anymore, then you have every right to leave and go to another site, but it’s pretty ridiculous to say that Xanga has betrayed you simply because they added new features that you don’t like.  In Star Wars, a lot of fans hated The Phantom Menace for falling short of their expectations, and they ridiculed George Lucas for ruining his own franchise.  But even if you’re a hardcore Star Wars fan who’s purchased every action figure ever made my Kenner, George Lucas still doesn’t owe you jack shit.  If you hated The Phantom Menace, then that’s your problem, not his, and that doesn’t give you any right to slander his name.  It’s his story and he could tell it however he wants to.  It’s the same thing with Xanga.  You might think the TRUE campaign is lame or the stars system is pretentious, and those are perfectly valid sentiments to have.  But don’t get pissed off because you think you deserve something better.  You don’t deserve anything.  Xanga might listen to your complaints, but just keep in mind that they don’t have to.  Even if you’ve been blogging on Xanga for 100 years, Xanga still doesn’t owe you anything for allowing you to blog on their site for free.  It might be nice to think that you are owed something because you’ve been a loyal user for years and years, but the only reason you feel that way is because it makes your life feel relevant.   

  I'm not saying that I like or hate Xanga, but do you feel Xanga has dissed you?  If so, then you’re no different from that broad at Tower Records who hates Liz Phair.  She’s just mad because Liz doesn’t make the kind of music that she used to like when she was drunk in college.   Do you feel Xanga has done you wrong?  If so, then you’re no different from the dork dressed up as Obi-Wan Kenobi at the back of the theater watching Attack of the Clones and grumbling, “Worst. Prequel. Ever.”   He’s just mad because he realized Star Wars was really meant for children and now he’s a 34-year old virgin with a lot of toys.  If you’re any of these people, you’re just mad because the world has changed from a time when you were happy and you haven’t changed along with it.  There is nothing right or wrong about Xanga’s new features, so stop acting like someone has challenged your morality.  No one is ever entitled to anything.  If you feel entitled to things then you will always be unhappy because you will never be satisfied.  The world will be a much better place if you don’t set yourself up to be let down.  And if reading this is pissing you off, then you’re getting exactly what you deserve.

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