Boy George And Jesus

I was listening to Boy George being interviewed on NHPR recently.

Sounds bizarre, no? Boy George on NHPR. This is one of the many things I like about public radio.

The range of topics is amazing.

Boy George is now 52 years old.

How bizarre, how bizarre.

The interviewer asked him if his flamboyant, gender bending style paved the way for performers like Lady Gaga.

I love questions like this.

I remember a guy named Elton John. Before him I remember a guy named Liberace. Before him I remember a guy named Little Richard. Before him I remember.............................

Comparisons are a waste of time.

The nature of music spawns uniqueness. These are people who are putting their souls out there on display.

You don't do that. I don't do that. We keep our souls thickly cloaked so nobody will ever know who we really are. So we won't be vulnerable.

Performers do exactly the opposite. That fact alone makes them flamboyant. Then you get the performers like Elton John, Liberace, Little Richard and hundreds of others you could name that just push the whole thing as far as they can.

I guess you can recognize the lineage, which is a good thing, but trying to establish causality is a waste of time and words.

You would have to go back to the first performer who was ever over the top.

I don't know who that was.

Maybe Jesus.

Then again, his dad was pretty damn boastful himself, bragging about creating the world and everything in it in 6 days.

And then taking the first recorded vacation.

To his credit, Boy George was quite humble and did not leap to take credit. Pretty much said he did what he did, does what he does, and Lady Gaga does her own thing.

That's because he is on the inside of soul exposing. He gets it.

He doesn't need to seek credit or have his influence defined.

He just is.