Spirit of the River

Last night, I have been to a place called Stevenage to watch a Michael Jackson tribute artist called Ben . He was one of only two UK tribute artists I found interesting and promising enough to spend money on a ticket, transport, and accommodation (it's too difficult to travel back home with public transport at night). Now that I have seen three different Michael Jackson tribute artists in person, I would like to write about what they have in common, what made each of them stand out, and then answer the question: Is there really a number one? Did one of the two UK tributes manage to do something Kenny did not do? If you have read my old writings about Kenny, you know that he's very special (at least to me). I will have a look at their looks, their energy during the performance, the song selection, the costumes, the singing (or lack of it), the moves, the band & the dancers, the overall feel of the concert, and the meet & greet after the shows. In...

Today, I got a bit annoyed because I read a few comments on Facebook about how Boy George's voice changed and that he should call it quits. They said something along the lines of him just not being the same any longer. Oh, guess what? He's gotten older, and in my personal opinion, better. It's not 1982 any longer. I was born in 1983, 33 years ago. I am not the same person I was in 1983. Or in 1993. Neither were you. No matter what your age is now, you are NOT the same as when you were 10, 20, 30, etc. years old. One fact: PEOPLE CHANGE . Every single one of us changes. If you can't admit that, then you have a serious problem. It's not only our characters that change, but also our voices. People need to stop expecting that people like Boy George never change. Do you want him to only sing "Karma Chameleon" and "Do you really want to hurt me?" all the time? If yes, go, buy those records, put the videos on repeat on YouTube, and just keep you...

Oh yes, it's partially about Boy George. Accept it and read on, or leave. It is up to you. I'm mainly writing this for myself, because writing helps me. You have been warned. This post might at some stage just turn into "Oh my god, I just don't believe it" nonsense.  Less than one and a half months have passed since I wrote about Boy George, and how he randomly turned up in my life (and dreams) . I have listened to a lot of his music since then, and learned more about his life. I'm not finished yet - there's a lot to catch up on. On one hand, I feel sad that I missed his tours and shows - on the other hand, I'm glad that he turned up when he did. It was a rather dark time in my life - still partially is, because life is not easy at the moment, and not one person around me actually notices or cares. I was close to giving up on many of my dreams. I did not write anything, apart from one or the other freelance job to get some money in. And that k...

Most of us do have role models in our life. For some of us, they are members of our family. For some of us our biggest role model is one of our friends. For some of us, the biggest role models are famous people from various careers. Then there are people who claim to not have any role model - but that is a different story. To me, my role models were mainly people from the world of music and acting. I simply had nobody in my family who was suitable as a person to look up to. There were alcoholics and people who stood by, doing nothing. As a young kid, my escape was the world of music, books, and TV. In there, I found people who had courage, who were well-spoken, encouraging, creative, and in a way always there for me. The first two important role models who entered my life were Captain Jean-Luc Picard , portrayed by the fantastic Patrick Stewart, and Michael Jackson . Jean-Luc Picard was someone I wished to be my father - and you have to admit the man makes a rather good role-mo...

Some people might find it weird that I like a variety of different music styles and artists, and do not understand how I can listen to some artists and then to some who are so very different from them. It's not for them to understand. It's my interest, my enjoyment, my entertainment. One thing the artists I like have in common is that they went through some very hard times in their lives, and got through it. They also followed their passion for music and put their talent to good use. They show how important it is to not give up. And this kind of message spans genres. For me, an artist who has passion, motivation, and a will to fight means more than someone who is only in it for the fame, for the money, for the compliments. I only very rarely add to my list of artists I really admire/love/respect and thoroughly enjoy. Sometimes they are artists who have been around for a long time. Recently, I ended up watching a Culture Club video. Of course, I knew about them. Their music wa...