Notice me, dammit

Alexa Ray Joel, daughter of Billy Joel, has a new song out. Well, newish. New to me because I'm oblivious to pop culture. (Hat tip @Robyn S.)

My first reaction: Awww, cute. Not really my favorite genre of music, but she does a good job selling it.

My second reaction: Geez, I wish my dad were a famous musician guy so I could get instant exposure for my music. Must be nice.

Then I stumbled on Alexa Ray Joel's blog and read this:

I’ve decided to NEVER google myself again- EVER!! Those bloggers are just way too hostile and cruel on there- OUCH!!!! I can’t help but wonder: “why do they feel so much hatred towards me?”, “why do they want to believe I’m just some trust-fund baby with no voice or talent of my own?”, “why do they feel the need to call me ‘homely’” and constantly compare me to my mother’s looks, when I have a completely different look and vibe than her?. I hope one day they realize that I do NOT use my parent’s connections AT ALL, and that I got the ‘Prell-Gig’ completely on my own, and I’m making this record on my own terms without “Daddy’s Help”. And that I am a real and genuine girl who wouldn’t want to hurt a fly, I just want to spread kindness, authenticity, and good music…. hey, and I have feelings too!!

I have no problem believing that ARJ didn't ask either of her famous parents to make calls and open doors for her. On the other hand, having the name Alexa Ray Joel probably helped her get noticed. She might not have risen to the top of a pile containing thousands of submissions if she'd used the name Edith Hinkleman.

That's not a criticism, mind you. It doesn't mean she's less deserving than others trying to make it in her genre. She's obviously got talent. She's just not necessarily more deserving than others with talent. And as someone in a band that's fighting for recognition—any recognition—it's hard not to feel a little envious.

Which leads to an interesting question. Would you rather languish in obscurity with little hope of breaking out? Or would you rather everybody assume that you only achieved fame because you have famous parents?

Bank robbers and Facebook users

"Could you take off your hat, or turn it around?"

I looked up from my deposit slip. "Huh?"

"It's to prevent robberies," the teller said apologetically. "I know you've been coming in here for years, but it's the policy; we have to apply it to everyone. No hats, no dark glasses."

I pondered the implications as I stuffed my hat into my purse. Bank robbers concealed their identities with baseball caps and sunglasses? Really? I'd always assumed they wore a mask that covered their entire face. Granted, they'd probably attract a bit of attention while standing in line ...

According to the teller, a lot of people have recently robbed banks using the less stereotypical mode of disguise. "It's impossible to tell what a person looks like with a hat and dark glasses," she explained. "The cameras don't pick up anything. You can't see their eyes."

* * *

After declaring Myspace obsolete, People Who Think About Such Things are speculating that Facebook has become a victim of its own success. Now that everyone knows about it -- now that your grandmother can friend you, and probably will -- Facebook isn't cool anymore.

Under normal circumstances I'd find this bit of cultural news only mildly interesting. Unfortunately, it may be relevant to my life. I was finally getting around to constructing a band page for Facebook. (Actually started it a few weeks ago, but everything I did vanished, and the feature currently appears to be fried.) If our target audience stops using the site, we'll have to think of some other way to promote our gigs and sell our CD.

We're already on Twitter, but I don't use it very often. It's hard to engage in meaningful dialogue 140 characters at a time. While I don't feel all self-conscious about it like Norah Jones does, my tweets are nothing to write home about. They haven't resulted in any CD sales.

Neither, come to think of it, has this blog.

* * *

Because my brain is weird, the bank robbery thing got me thinking about the social media thing. I knew all along that getting the band noticed through social media would be difficult. How could it not? My friend DeppityBob describes it as being like "screaming 'I'M IMPORTANT!' in a sea of ADD people yelling the same thing."

Standing out from the crowd is nearly impossible. To achieve anonymity, all you need is a cap with a visor and a pair of cheap sunglasses.