Meeting One's Idols
Recently I met someone who is currently very famous (I wont divulge details. Not that I want to be one of those secretive idiots, it's just that who it was is largely unimportant). The person in question is not someone I admire or am a fan of, but there are a lot of people who would have given their proverbials to meet them, and it got me thinking about the personal heroes that I have met.
By and large, meeting your idols is something that should be avoided. I have been (I'm not sure it's the correct word) fortunate enough to meet a good deal of the people that I truly admire. I can't think of a single one that was ever rude, arrogant or disrespectful, but after I meet someone that I idolise I can't help but feel a bit stupid and a little bereft.
Don't get me wrong, it makes for good dinner party conversation, but when you stand back and think about it, there is really nothing you can say that is of any merit or importance. Most of the celebrities I've met have been musicians, and some of them have produced work that has and still does profoundly influence, enrich and effect my day to day life. When you meet someone who's responsible for something so influencial, you get this inate desire to let them know that you get what they were trying to say on such a higher level than their regular fans, and you try so hard to genuinely thank them for providing you with said nourishment.
But generally, it goes like this;
ME : "Hello"
FAMOUS PERSON : "Hi"
ME : "It's so great to meet you. I really love what you do and just wanted to say thanks"
FAMOUS PERSON : "Thankyou. You're welcome"
ME : "No seriously. Thanks so much"
FAMOUS PERSON : "That's ok"
ME : *adoring stare*
FAMOUS PERSON : *awkard silence*
SECURITY : "Ok buddy, it's time to go"
OK. So that was a dramatisation, but you get the idea. In case you don't get the general idea, the following is an excerpt from a real conversation that occured in March this year when I met Colin Hay. A man who's musical genius knows no bounds and someone I am in total awe of;
ME : "Hi"
COLIN HAY : "Hello"
ME : "I just wanted to let you know that your music is amazing"
COLIN HAY : "Thanks very much"
ME : "I really liked you in Scrubs. What was that like to work on?"
COLIN HAY : "It was fun"
ME : "Ok, well thanks again"
COLIN HAY : "You're welcome"
It's weird because you were expecting somethine more, though you don't know what that was, and when you said thanks you wonder if they know how much you really meant it. Then eventually you realise that at the end of it all they're just a person, and when they said you're welcome, they probably really meant it, and you go home and listen to the piece of themselves that they recorded and you listened to and drew nourishment from, and you understand that they've already given you enough.
By and large, meeting your idols is something that should be avoided. I have been (I'm not sure it's the correct word) fortunate enough to meet a good deal of the people that I truly admire. I can't think of a single one that was ever rude, arrogant or disrespectful, but after I meet someone that I idolise I can't help but feel a bit stupid and a little bereft.
Don't get me wrong, it makes for good dinner party conversation, but when you stand back and think about it, there is really nothing you can say that is of any merit or importance. Most of the celebrities I've met have been musicians, and some of them have produced work that has and still does profoundly influence, enrich and effect my day to day life. When you meet someone who's responsible for something so influencial, you get this inate desire to let them know that you get what they were trying to say on such a higher level than their regular fans, and you try so hard to genuinely thank them for providing you with said nourishment.
But generally, it goes like this;
ME : "Hello"
FAMOUS PERSON : "Hi"
ME : "It's so great to meet you. I really love what you do and just wanted to say thanks"
FAMOUS PERSON : "Thankyou. You're welcome"
ME : "No seriously. Thanks so much"
FAMOUS PERSON : "That's ok"
ME : *adoring stare*
FAMOUS PERSON : *awkard silence*
SECURITY : "Ok buddy, it's time to go"
OK. So that was a dramatisation, but you get the idea. In case you don't get the general idea, the following is an excerpt from a real conversation that occured in March this year when I met Colin Hay. A man who's musical genius knows no bounds and someone I am in total awe of;
ME : "Hi"
COLIN HAY : "Hello"
ME : "I just wanted to let you know that your music is amazing"
COLIN HAY : "Thanks very much"
ME : "I really liked you in Scrubs. What was that like to work on?"
COLIN HAY : "It was fun"
ME : "Ok, well thanks again"
COLIN HAY : "You're welcome"
It's weird because you were expecting somethine more, though you don't know what that was, and when you said thanks you wonder if they know how much you really meant it. Then eventually you realise that at the end of it all they're just a person, and when they said you're welcome, they probably really meant it, and you go home and listen to the piece of themselves that they recorded and you listened to and drew nourishment from, and you understand that they've already given you enough.
posted by I Am Man I Am You. at 4:00 PM
11 Comments:
Interesting observations.
I have never been one to understand the seeking out of celebrities/idols as I have never seen the point. I have met quite a few famous/influential/idol status people in my time, but I have been extremely lucky in that most of these meetings were in the course of my work and not as a fan. (i.e. I had a legitimate reason to be there.)
Also having been on the recieving end of exuberant fan attention (albeit on a smaller scale) I found the whole experience humbling and ego inflating at the same time, which generally leaves one confused as to how to act. In the end you take on a role opposite the 'fan' and play out the script as necessary i.e. you give them what they want.
Most celebs do this I think, but it does feel like work and sometimes you don't feel like working.
PS I am aware that I might come off sounding like a wanker, but that's my life. I'm just telling it how it is...
Yep. You really, really, really want them to understand that YOU really, really got IT.
Oh dear. We have all been there.
Nice post.
i am thinking that No One Thing is really Elvis.
Since you won't divulge, we can only surmise... so, how was Shannon Noll? Nice bloke?
Ha! Bahum-pharc...you crack me up. As for no one thing...I seem to remember a special time in both our lives when you told John Travolta that we were from Berlin. Guess he couldn't pick the accent! :) So I think we understand how awkward it can be to meet someone you consider a 'star'...even if you are one.
Yeah he was the perfect gentleman Bahum-Pharc, and he promised to call too!
As for you Mert, I think you dropped something back there;I'll just reach down and grab that for you.
No One Thing - just as long as you're aware
For the record: Travolta asked where we were based and at the time we were working almost exclusively in Germany.
Before I could clarify my statement he left. He never really cared anyway - fucking scientologist wanker...
Shannon Noll - hilarious!
I met Peter Andre once. That was rather underwhelming.
Peter Andre?! Yikes.
I've been on stage with M****h C***y. Now that was underwhelming (censorship so I don't look like a pretentious wanker...what was that...too late???) Her only comment was, "Moreton bay bugs??? I can't believe you awssies eat bugs"...Dip stick.
I've got nothing here...
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