Because it's important to whine

The question arises for those with artistic ambitions; just how important it is that what they create is then presented to the wider world around them? For me, thanks to a rather severe case of the existential ‘why am I doing this’ blues; in which I seriously considered selling off all my instruments and equipment, it’s whether there’s worth in putting the work out there to begin with. Unlike when the material, in this case music, was first written and recorded back in the age of cassette tapes, when getting it out meant running around town trying to get people to listen, now we have the means to expose it to the great wide world, but, it also has to compete with the other billion voices seeking an audience as well. Ironically, you can now go from no one can hear it to no one wants to hear it. That may be overly pessimistic, but is there enough value to the person creating the work, to then spend the time necessary for it to be viewed or heard with the understanding that it may not be heard at all, or may be derided, criticized, lambasted, or flagged as a gross waste of anybody’s time?

As I write this, I sit on a pile of 90 plus songs, and 1 book, and vacillate as to what to do. On the one hand, I do want them to be listened to and read; on the other, I’m keenly aware that even if I put them all out there that doesn’t guarantee that they’ll be anything other than out there. It’s not even a matter of whether they will be like or appreciated, or dismissed as so much dreak. It’s the sinking feeling that it’s all a great waste of time. None of this happens in an afternoon, as anybody who has fallen into this habit will attest. It’s a lot of work, time, and effort. So, at some level, there needs to be some form of payoff, or acknowledgement, whether in personal or social recognition.

Am I whining? Absolutely. I believe it’s part of the artistic milieu. I want to be loved, admired, gloried; don’t judge me; love me! Yeah, it’s not going to happen, but I can dream. The more prosaic answer to all of this is do it, found your legacy and let history be the arbiter of it quality and benefit to mankind, because if history has to do something, it’s to determine our place in the human pantheon. I can cling to that in this roiling sea of existence. How's that for prosaic. Anyway, plod on and we won't ponder whether there's any monetary value to consider. That is a whole other can of hash.