You may or may not know this about me, but I really only like to worry about weird things. I'm not saying I never worry about normal stuff-- money, my family, where the country is headed-- yes, I worry about all that. But it's absolutely no fun at all. I'd much rather worry about things that I have no ability to change and that probably don't matter anyway.
Like Elvis.
I've been worrying about him a lot recently.
Is it just me, or has Elvis been placed in some sort of weird cult status where you can only like him if you ABSOLUTELY LOVE him? You know what I mean? It's as though the general populations' idea of a true Elvis fan tends to be someone who is certifiably crazy! Maybe this is just what they show in the movies, but it seems like the people who really love Elvis want to impersonate him or believe he's still alive. They wear the crazy flashy outfits he wore in the 70s (when no one looked good), after he was overweight and puffy, riddled with drugs, and looked tired with life. (Part of this has to be because it's much harder to impersonate the young, classy, full-of-life Elvis; you'd need more energy and you'd have to start off pretty good looking. That's nothing you could fake with big sunglasses and sideburns.) I don't think other rock icons from the 50s and 60s are quite at that level, and I think it's much healthier that way. Your average person (like me) can really like the Beatles and it won't by the defining thing about them.
I'm not sure this is the case with Elvis. I worry that the because this love of Elvis is more of a cult than anything, no one really takes Elvis seriously any more. And that's such a shame because, like his music or not, the guy had talent. And, in his early days, he was definitely easy on the eyes.
I'm certainly not the world's biggest Elvis fan. I don't even know all that many songs by him. But the ones I know, I really like. Recently I've found myself listening to him more and more. His rendition of "How Great Thou Art" is more spiritual than anything the MoTab could do. I like the jazzy fun of "Burning Love." Nothing says Christmas better than "Blue Christmas." And his slow songs can still melt your heart.
So I propose that we all take some time to get in touch with Elvis Presley. Not as a joke. Not in a "let's wear crazy clothes and shake our hips" sort of way. Let's just kick back, listen to his music, and appreciate his mellow voice. He deserves that much.
So I do have to ask-- because I am genuinely curious-- what completely weird thing do you like to worry about?
3 comments:
One of my all time favorite songs is "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis.
My computer's being lame and isn't showing me the video (picture?) at the end of the post. What's it of?
It's sad because I like a lot of Elvis songs, but you're right that people have made him into an excuse for crazies to get together. My favorite Elvis joke, though, is in MIB - "Elvis isn't dead, he's just gone home!" Ha! :0)
I almost forgot to answer your question. I worry about hurting the "feelings" of inanimate objects, like leaving a spoon by itself in the utensils holder in the dishwasher, or apologizing to my phone for dropping it, things like that. But don't tell anyone else, they might think I'm certifiably crazy. ;0)
I worry that Michael Jackson is going to take on the same status...Does that worry anyone else?
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