Meet the 2nd Cousins? I hope not.
Wikipedia. Facebook. Google. Chances are, if you want to find something or someone, you can. But is the known always better than the unknown? It’s time for me to testify. I had a Facebook page, but the experience was so discouraging, I pulled the plug after two weeks. Can I get a witness? Probably not under the age of 30. But I don’t think the issue is really generational. I have friends of all ages who revel in knowing everything about anything or anyone at anytime. I’m just not one of them. And it’s not that I’m incurious. It’s quite the opposite. For me, growing up in an era of incomplete access to knowledge gave me permission to believe in things that I had no business in believing. And more importantly, to imagine things that never actually existed.
Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and Crop Circles. If someone told me about it, I figured it must be true. Or at least it might be true. And not knowing was the best part. The fact that they were possible meant that ANYTHING was possible. Now, thanks to Wikipedia, I know that these were, in order, a hoax, a lark, and a prank. But for each mystery solved, a part of me was lost. The years I spent considering the possibilities were now rendered obsolete. Which brings me to my experience on Facebook. Suddenly, every obscure, enigmatic character from my past was knocking on my door. Plying me with the mundane and ordinary details of their lives, and revealing that they’re just as average as I am. Do I want to know that the freaky-deaky guitar player, who damaged my left eardrum at the entry in 1994, is now the Director of Operations, V.P. at a (very) local interactive agency? I certainly do not. BOOOOhhh! Keep it to yourself mysterious guitar player. I’m impressed that he’s translated one successful career into another, but somehow I imagined so much more and so much less. And the myth that I created was as much about me as it was about him. The truth is out there, but for me the myth holds more power.
So who are the 2nd Cousins, and why should you want to meet them? I have no idea. Isn’t that exciting? I found this 45 at a Salvation Army in Apollo, PA (it’s a palindrome, give it a try). A three song EP in a two color picture sleeve, released on a private label circa 1974. Intriguing. I couldn’t wait to drop the needle. And Mark, Frank and Sharon didn’t disappoint. But the more I listened, the more I realized something else was happening between the grooves. With each song, young cousin Sharon’s voice is little more horse, a little more haggard, and a lot more desperate. What gives? I searched far and wide, but fortunately Google had no answers. So, I’m free to add my own context. I imagine a repressed, childless uncle with deep pockets. He’s purchased one hour of studio time to shape his niece and two nephews into something their condescending parents never could. He wants the next DeFranco Family, but Sharon just wants to go home. Now every time I play the record, I hear the sweet familiar sound of family dysfunction. By adding my own pathos, I’m able to connect on a far more personal level. The truth may be out there, but I don’t want it. And if you should ever find it, PLEASE don’t tell me.
posted by Jay Miller on April 28th, 2009 at 9:05 am Permanent link to this post
2 Responses to “Meet the 2nd Cousins? I hope not.”
Thanks for showing me a new side of Sanders! Got me to go back and listen to some of the bands I was in when I was younger. Good times…
id love to give them a listen! But, more to your point, id love to add my own subtext…
while the idea of constant access to information makes certain things much easier, it does tend to disuade one of believing in mysteries. I hope that there is still a way to pull it off though, as I would hate to think that my kids are no longer capable of “believing”.
And, while I am not under 30, I will definitely give you an “Amen!”