THE DAY AFTER MONDAY is a once a week missive in which ‘80s through 90s hold-over Tim Blevins misses the point in all this pointlessness.
Don those stripped stockings at half mast... Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer broke up.
I guess this means... a closed door on their open marriage? A rampant custody battle over the apothecary tables? A traditional divorce? Well, as a dual super fan with three Twitter handles, I’m doing my best to support.
Miss, my Paypal is here for you should you need the the catharsis of an mp3 fan club exclusive.
And, sir, I’ll respect your request for privacy and just wait for the ensuing short story about the Celtic fire god Caorthannach to subtly reflect this.
My in memoriam soundtrack today is an old Dresden Doll mix disc while the leather bound masterpiece editions of Sandman are … ahm ... really unwieldy to read... actually... so... they’re … staying on the book shelf. Still, meaningful memories. You are both such deep influences on my creative pursuits, my life-style, my fashion sense.... so now ... in hack painted finger nails and lingering eye liner I’ve just got to ask you both ...
WHAT ABOUT ME?!?!
You were my darkest fairy tale. And now I need to mourn it all with the matching emotion of a black umbrella.
See, I first found Neil Gaiman at Comicopia, a Kenmore Square stop near my freshman dorm. Already four long boxes into collecting, I knew my way around a comic shop. But that day, something drew me to his Dream County collection and ... after spending far too long reading without purchasing the story in which Death confronts Element Girl... I found myself digging into the back issue bin to catchup on what was about to be Sandman’s penultimate arc.
Here was my first real spin into Vertigo and not just the DC imprint of it. Neil Gaiman took my favorite medium .. super hero books .. and turned them into an elegant commentary on the nature of narrative. His hyperbolic word balloons lifted the same literary weight as a Shakespearean sonnet and, with a fusion of ancient myths and modern fashion ,he unveiled the double helix of a pop art caduceus. This emboldened my perception of tv, comics and movies, encouraging me to use them all as discourse. They now had value. And.. given my room decor, podcast topics, and this blog right now, their value stuck.
Ten years after that first reveal, my world was fire-bombed by the Dresden Dolls.
Here arrived Amanda Palmer, decked out in the fashion choice I would have chosen.... if I had known you could. Her sound was a gothic cabaret, apt as a description but too soon a short hand. The path she blazed to produce and perform this music glistened with a hue I knew I wanted to follow.
Sure, I was claiming to be the portrait of a Do It Yourself artist, working the small time coffee shop as a way of telling Hollywood to eff off. But, secretly, I longed for creative exposure. And her self-made ascension into crowd-funded theatrics demonstrated you COULD make art on your own terms. And without shelving integrity. Her online presence gave the assurance I needed to do it all my way. And.. while in NOOOOOOO comparative numbers to her own fan base .... I still AM. I’m doing the creative work I want to do for an appreciative and somewhat widening audience.
So .. imagine the euphoric acumen that true love COULD exist when these two.. or.. to aggressively change the pronoun direction of this piece ... YOU TWO met, hooked up and eventually wed. That martial union was my version of William and Kate (or Riker and Troi if that was an episode) empowering the previously disavowed thought that outsiders could find companionship. My DVD collection pegged me as a romantic but, never wanting to risk it , I could now lay the burden of “happily ever after” on your eerie shoulders.
Well.. following last night’s People Magazine news alert ... that all seems over.
So, now what do I do? If this romance of epic proportions can’t weather the infection of the modern age...if these two creatives, who detonated my dull impressions into beautiful shards of artistry and ego, can’t hold a relationship together.... won’t my civilian intimacy follow suit?
I mean .. no ... they’re not really connected in any way.. But .. its still worth asking … what does this mean for the fantasy of it.
These delusions we call illusions that get pegged on our heroes and inspirations… they still seem to serve a purpose. Its like reposting sad obituaries for dead actors. I get to say HEY, LOOK AT ME! I’M THIS TOO! without really needing to do the work or bare the scrutiny.
It must suck to be famous. Not because of the creative fulfillment... or the admiration of actual fans ... or the casual recognition in public... or complimentary entrees, first class seating, home ownership, award show gift bags, New Yorker profiles, over-sea vacations, chance to meet Anne Magnuson, pre-approval on a Capital One gold card application or having a specialty drink named after you at two of the coffee shops you frequent ...
ahm…
Wait... what was I blogging about here?
Marital strife?
A divorce?
Two people who aren’t even tangentially aware of my existence?
Yes ... that was it ... two celebrities whose past work had impacted me were in the news. And... as a total outsider... I was identifying how some of the their previous work had inspired me. And then... somehow it was a tragedy .. for me... that they were getting divorced ... because ... my fragile definition of true love ....is built on the precipice ...of well publicized unions ... failing in longevity.
Other people’s problems. Being used as a launching pad. For a self-promoting blog post ... that stops short .. of any real internal, emotional revelations.
Maybe someone wants to write the think piece on what that says about me?
-sigh-
Tim
Tm is Tim Blevins, co-host of 20TH CENTURY POP! and a few other upcoming podcasts. He’s still reeling from that Loni Anderson / Burt Reynolds split of 19… ahm.. 94?
This Thursday’s 20TH CENTURY POP! is officially a bonus episode in that it doesn’t get the normal numbering of an episode that features both Bob and myself. Instead.. its a bit for a real-time attempt at explaining where all those new podcasts are and what the medium of it all actually means to me. So.. you know .. more insightful than think piece on not really thinking about divorce.
With that still to be said, this Monday, May 11th, sees my second podcast MÉNAGE Á POP launching. Its a three day a week discussion, with a different guest ever week, with whom we discuss three key pieces of pop culture that linger within their personality quirks to this day. And to celebrate its debut, i’m having my most familiar co-host in the world as the very first guest. Join me as I talk to Bob about High School crooning, Freshman year snacking and the ever-outdated medium of a cassette. Check it out MONDAY right here at www.nahpods.com
You can stream this bonus episode of 20TH CENTURY POP Thursday at 20POPCAST.COM or, even better, subscribe to the show on APPLE PODCASTS, STITCHER and other ANDROID DEVICES.
You can also check out his upcoming 5 day a week deep dive into the discography of the Replacements with the official SHOW TRAILER FOR WHAT’S THAT SONG?.
Talk to TIM BLEVINS on TWITTER @subcultist
See what he’s seeing on INSTAGRAM @subcultist
Subscribe to his podcast 20TH CENTURY POP! (with co-host BOB CANNING) on APPLE PODCASTS, STITCHER and ANDROID.
Then follow them on TWITTER @20popcast and on INSTAGRAM @20popcast