Saturday, May 24, 2008

Respect

A reader e-mailed me yesterday to comment on my losing the Little Miss Christmas pageant mumbledy-ought years ago. He told me:

You cannot live an authentic life while worrying about what others think. The people who win contests for approval are generally so eager to please that integrity escapes them.

Since most of my non-working mind is occupied by thoughts of Clay Aiken (whose voice brings me great joy and solace), I filtered my reader's comment to help understand what is going on with his new album, which sold well the first week, thanks to loyal and attentive fans, but hasn't yet caught on with the general public.

So far, Clay Aiken hasn't received much in the way of respect from music critics or radio programmers, but his recently released studio album, On My Way Here, was supported by some very well respected musicians. This Yahoo! video shows some of them in action:



An exceptionally well-researched blog, The ConCLAYve, profiles the musicians and their credentials:

"Clay Aiken's 'On My Way Here' - Measuring the Gap between the Critics and the Truth."

What I hear in the music supporting Clay's voice is respect: genuine appreciation for a voice that has the power to touch other people's lives. His voice is the instrument of a master musician, and the artists who recognize and support that gift also deserve respect.

love, hosaa
listening

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