I've said (read: complained) before about people who film during concerts. Really, when I look at old footage of concerts, I love that there's no fucking smartphone in the air and everyone's just dancing or watching the stage. Shocking in today's society, I know.
Last night, I went to see a Romanian band I like and it was great fun. Happily, my view wasn't blocked by a fucking camera, otherwise that might've resulted in damaged property. But I did notice, particularly at the end, when the band played one of their most famous songs, everyone had their cameras up. And I couldn't help but wander...why? What's the sense?
You're not seriously going to watch that again. I mean, videos are great for recording the time when your kid was three and talked funny. You're gonna watch that in ten years and it's going to be heartwarming. But this, there are dozens of recordings of that song on the Internet already. There was nothing special or out of the ordinary with their rendition of the song. So then, what's the point? It's not once in a lifetime, since they play fairly regularly and the tickets are usually pretty cheap. So then, why?
Because it does stop you enjoying the moment. You keep looking at the recording instead of at the people on stage. And you're not going to watch that. Ever. If you want to listen to said song, you'll Google it and listen to the official recording or to a more professional live recording. You won't dig through your files and listen to that. Then, why are you doing it?
It's something I just don't get.
I have exactly one show where we got a couple of songs recorded, which I've watched again over the years. One. And that was different. It was the sort of once in a lifetime thing.
Then, there's the people who livestream the thing on Facebook or Instagram or wherever just to show what cool lives they lead. Going to a rock show in the middle of the week - sooo bad. The way I see it, if the people watching (yeah, the whole one or two of 'em) really wanted to be in the audience, they would be there, not sitting on their ass at home watching on their little screens.
But you don't need experiences when you have little screens.
Think about it, why should one bother to put on nice clothes and make-up and brush their teeth and pay the ticket, if they can enjoy it at home for free? Besides, in today's day and age, it's perfectly acceptable to experience most of your life through a screen. Most of your life is virtual anyway and with that in mind, I wonder...
...when will real live experiences become obsolete?
It's only a matter of time, surely. Soon enough, you'll be able to sit on your ass at home all day and get in the office hours, some gym time, a show in the evening and who knows, even some passionate lovemaking with the wife. And all that through a screen.
No, it won't be the same. But you won't care. Because screens are slowly replacing all that made live experiences interesting. Not for me and I hope not for you, but for an increasing number of people.
Speaking of recorded memories, am I the only one who hates taking photos? I don't mean a bit of amateur photography, you know, or even professional photography and taking beautiful artistic shots. No, I mean taking a snap (fuck, I hate that word) of literally everything you see. I bet you know those people, the sort who flood your phone of images whenever they go somewhere, in the idiotic idea that if they send enough, it will feel like you're there also.
News flash: it won't.
Because you're not there, for whatever reason. And no amount of pics can change that. I mean, I don't mind a couple of pictures of beautiful monuments or sights when you're on a trip, but there are people out there who photograph everything from the hotel toilet to the bus station, to the museum, to the exit of the museum to their lunch. And, in the words of my beloved George Carlin, you just want to slap the bastard, you know?
Again, a pointless exercise. Used to be that people used to take some pictures with their camera or whatever whenever they went to Paris or such places to show the folks back home. Because otherwise, the folks back home had no real way of seeing Paris, unless they went there themselves. Now all it takes is a two-second search. I can look at Paris. Hell, I'm looking at it right now and I'll bet it's better than your tourist "snaps" so why bother? Why not just enjoy your time there?
It's too bad I'm not there with you, but it happened. That's life. How long are we going to dwell on it?