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Rock stars avoid lines at restaurants. Rock stars get tickets to sold-out events. They get free upgrades at hotels and on airlines. Their moms are proud. They get laid where they might otherwise not.
Being a rock star is a dream job. It's a life that many people fantasize about and aspire to. But do rock stars have a happy life? Some do, and those are the ones who have it right. But many don't, and for them the reality is nothing like the dream.
The psychology is complicated.
In many rock stars, the lines get blurred until they can't get a handle on who they are, who people think they are, and who they want people to think they are.
True rock stars shouldn't like to call themselves a rock star. People like Mick Jagger and David Bowie know no other way to be. They don't plan their way of carrying themselves. It's in their bones.
True rock stars are born to it. They don't act out what they feel is expected from rock star behavior. What they are is obvious.
Perhaps the first and greatest rock star was Elvis Presley. He didn't know what a rock star was supposed to be. He just was one. And there's a case to be made that some rock stars don't play rock and roll. Was Frank Sinatra a rock star? Bill Clinton? But no over-educated computer nerd who helped to create a hit song, only to go out and buy clothes and accessories to fit the image of who he dreamed of being, is a rock star in my eyes.
I also have no patience for those who complain about the burden of celebrity. A true rock star wears his or her status like a badge of honor, with no insecurity. So don't complain! We all work hard to have our success, and although there are special demands that go with celebrity, the benefits vastly outweigh them. For example, you have a pulpit from which you can do great things for society, or you can simply use your money and celebrity to enjoy your life.
Finally, a pop star is not a rock star, although the press and the media rarely seem to be able to differentiate between the two. This is not to say that I don't recognize that creating pop hits requires a great deal of talent and skill. It is also, however, true that many pop stars do not create their own musical ideas. They perform music conceived and promoted by the record business star machine.
But that is not what sets pop music apart from ROCK AND ROLL.
True rock and roll has a spirit born of angst; of love of freedom; and of free love. And, in the end, trying to analyze what makes a person a true rock star and not a pop star is so not rock and roll.
There is no formula for someone to follow. You cannot distill it down to parts to be analyzed and duplicated. If you need it to be explained, you probably can't understand it anyway.
I fear the true rock star is a dying breed. The poseurs have taken over. And I say: I know who you are, and I am not impressed.
And, as for me, I'm going to go listen to a Fugazi song and calm down.
Very sincerely yours,
Joan Jett
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