The breaking of the instruments

Sacrilege! I don’t get it? I know bands like Nirvana got away with it but to be honest as much as I loved the Cobain it pained me to see all those instruments go to waste. I didn’t like it back then and I don’t like it now! It’s so wrong I tell ya!

I was at a show (outside of the city) a while back and the band lifted their guitars up to the heavens and then smashed them to the ground breaking them into pieces. While I watched all the little Gretsch bits fall to the pits of hell I realized...I WAS UPSET! My heart stopped and if it could cry it would have used up an entire box of Kleenex. Why do bad things happen to good instruments? With one hand on my chest holding my ticker and the other hand covering my jaw drop/horrified mouth I stood in shock. My heart sunk and fell into deep depression. Not even the comfort of an entire box of rocky road ice cream could revive my beat box back into normal pumping circulation. (Quick someone call ER...Where’s George Clooney at? Ha! So dramatic). My brain trips over itself when wondering...How could someone destroy such a beautiful thing?

My whole idea of good and evil is being challenged here...artistic expression vs. artistic abuse? You know what? Screw artistic expression here...this band publically abused their instruments. I felt like praying to the high priests of Saint-Fender/Holy-Gibson craftsmanship and asking forgiveness for these guitar-cracking-offenders. (The term drunk with power rings true here)! There is a disturbance in the world of creation when perfectly good equipment is being put to an early end. Death by thrashing... Murder! (Them’s some strong words I know). At times like this even craftsmen like Geppetto are turning over in their graves...hurry hide Pinocchio just in case!

Musical instruments are one of the most precious things ever invented (I think). They should be cared for and respected. The Queen of Soul (good old Aretha) would for sure not stand for such blasphemy. She’d be all like, "R-E-S-P-E-C-T find out what it means to me"...Then Franklin would somehow manage to piece back together all the limbs of these demolished guitars with her magical voice. (It just makes me feel better to visualize that). Recklessly breaking a delicate and defenseless instrument...that’s gotta be bad Karma!

Furthermore who can afford to do this? If you’re breaking your gear at every show you either have $ coming out of the wazoo (meaning you’re a rich kid douchebag) or you’ll be eating poor man’s pizza/mac-n-cheese for the next few years. Why ya gotta be like that? Just for the record I have no kwams with rich kids...I do however have issues with rich kids who think it’s humourous to blow all of daddy’s dough. Like Paris Hilton for example. If you saw Paris in concert (God forbid) and she started breaking every instrument in sight because it was trendy or just ‘cause she has tons-O-money....Wouldn’t that piss you off? (Yes...yes it would).

If I have a religion it would be music. So to me...the breaking of the instruments is like spitting on The Holy Grail (and not in like a funny, Monty Python, coconut horse skipping, silly walk kinda way). To me...deliberately injuring an instrument is like peeing in a Temple or laughing in the face of Scientology. (Ummm...don’t worry if you’re laughing in the face of Scientology I won’t tell Tom Cruise....But he might come and find you in your sleep, grab your hands and try to wrestle you to the ground like he did to Oprah. I think she sleeps with one eye open now). Ok so maybe Scientology was a bad example or maybe not? Whatevs, "different strokes for different folks". Overall, I can’t help it...I think the whole down with the drums in a drop kick if offensive! (Leave that little drum set alone it never hurt anyone)!? I try to keep an open mind but there’s just certain things I can’t simply give a thumbs up to (unless it’s done sarcastically). I guess it’s true, "one person’s trash is another person’s treasure". I think that yes...breaking of the bread as a ritual...go for it (if you’re into that) but breaking of the instruments as a ritual!? Bit*h please.....I’m not buying it!

All that and I still somehow love this video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY3oEvaq71A