I recently stumbled upon a blog by way of a very respected celebrity. Unlike so many celebrities these days who are have marginal talent or no talent whatsoever (excuse me, I have to cough…Kardashians! ), this is someone whose work and media presence exudes wit, intelligence, integrity and discernment. So when a celebrity of this caliber – one of uncompromising legitimacy – chooses to follow a blogger, I assume that the blogger is worth following.
Thinking I’d discovered some great new blog, I immediately and excitedly shared one of its posts with someone far more knowledgeable on the subject than I am (let’s just say it was of a philosophical and academic nature). It was quickly and eloquently pointed out to me that this blogger was not the great writer I’d thought I’d discovered. Rather, he appeared to be lifting the works of others and passing them off as his own. Further research confirmed that he was indeed simply regurgitating existing ideas in an attempt to sound authentic when in truth, he was anything but.
This got me thinking: it sure is odd that someone would intentionally and knowingly present him or herself to the world in such a manner as to develop a reputation based entirely on false pretenses. Or is it?
Fast forward to last week…I’m glancing at the newspaper and find out that the CEO of one of the most important tech companies – you’ve heard of it, Its called Yahoo! – flat out lied on his resume, saying he had a computer science degree when in reality, he did not. Then it turns out that one of Yahoo’s directors had lied on her resume as well. In both cases, these people completely sold themselves short, as well as the entire company which, as of this writing, is in turmoil. And as I’m about to publish this post, the following story just appeared: Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson Is Out).
Flashback to a few years ago: everyone was raving about this heartwrenching memoir by James Frey “A Million Little Pieces.” He was praised by Oprah, received rave reviews and the book became a bestseller. That is, until his ‘true story’ was proven to be largely fictionalized by an on-line article entitled
“A Million Little Lies”. He was brought on Oprah again, publicly castigated, and seen as someone who’d brought shame upon the entire writing industry. Frey’s career eventually survived the scandal (he is a good writer, just not a truthful one), but remains tattered.
Flashback to a few years before that, when a young reporter made headlines of his own by duping the New York Times; his name was Jayson Blair. He wrote about things that never happened, fictionalized things that did and claimed to be writing from locations around the world when he’d never left his Brooklyn apartment. Blair went from grace to disgrace and now toils in shame and obscurity.
The more I think about it, the more I realize how inundated we are with fibbers and fabricators. And nowhere is this more true than the world of music.
When I first arrived in New York, I was quite impressed with the flyers of certain students from the jazz department at the university I was attending (The New School) and others (Manhattan School Of Music, William Patterson etc…). These young musicians would associate themselves with recognizable names, aimed to impress (“Has performed with so and so” “Has recorded with so and so” ) Excitedly, I’d attend gig after gig, where I’d hear these students play, only to find that they sounded mediocre at best, never living up to the hype of their advertising.
As it turned out, most had never worked in a professional context with any of the established artists whose names they were dropping. Some had shared the stage with them as part of some school ensemble or public jam session. Others had paid top dollar to have these well known professionals play on their demos (unfortunately, it’s never been hard to find respected jazz musicians in need of cash and willing to exploit themselves). And it wasn’t just students who were professional bullshit artists.
There was one faculty member with little or no knowledge about the subject being taught, instrumental skills that were minimal at best and who would drop names as though closely associated with great artists (in the interest of liability, I will never reveal this person’s name, gender or instrument). This person was a good enough self-promoter to ‘pad’ a resume, come up with a curriculum that sounded impressive on paper and even publish books that, when examined closely, were just like the blog mentioned earlier: full of regurgitation.
This behavior is far from limited to music schools – it is just as bad or worse in the ‘real world.’ Even within professional musical situations, I’ve been amazed at the lengths certain musicians will go in order to tout their abilities in conversation, often exaggerated or completely not true. Some claim to be important members of well known bands when in actuality, they’re the equivalent of extras. Others claim to be songwriters but wouldn’t know a good song if it bit them. Some are decent enough ensemble players but try to pass themselves off as great soloists (they’re not). I’m not just talking about guitarists although they are among the worst offenders.
Comedian Chris Rock has a great routine about guys who boast about being responsible parents, saying things like “I take CARE of my kids!” His response? “You’re SUPPPOSED to, you dumb motherfucker!”
I feel the same way about being good at your profession, whether you’re a guitarist, gardener or geologist: if you’re really doing something well, there is no need to tout it, just do it and shut the fuck up. And if you’re not good yet, don’t pretend you are – be honest with yourself and others and just keep working on it. There’s no reason to brag about doing something well – you’re supposed to!
Attempting to create a false impression in social situations is annoying and juvenile. Building an entire career and persona out of fibs, fabrications and embellishments is unconscionable. Putting something down in a ‘bio,’ blurb, blog or conversation that is an exaggeration or non-truth has never once crossed my mind. Yet its become such a common practice among others that I’m beginning to wonder if something might be wrong with me!
What kind of sick, fucked up society do we live in where so many feel they have to make up complete bullshit, anything to get ahead, even all out lies? I imagine there must be professional bullshitters outside of the United States, but the examples described here are all US citizens. Could this be a casualty of America and all that’s gone wrong here? Is this the beginning of our Roman Empire-like fall?
We are surrounded by those who do nothing more than talk the talk. Many are found out relatively quickly but some manage to continue fooling everyone for years. The perks of being phony can be instantaneous – attention, opportunities and more – but the truth will catch up to you, it always does.
In the short term, being genuine requires a lot more work – years of struggle, endless setbacks and maintaining of humility. But in the long term, it takes a lot of effort to build and maintain a facade, so why not just put in a few more years of hard work towards truly developing a skill and achieving legitimacy?
Beware of the Fake Brigade. They are everywhere: on-line, at clubs, in offices, at stores, in classrooms, on the streets, on stage, at parties and maybe even in your own home. Keep an eye out for them. And please don’t ever become one of them.