Sarah, Is that You?

I’m a big fan of the singer Sarah McLachlan so I follow her official Facebook page where she posts song links, pictures and sometimes inspirational quotes. Last evening I found the quote she posted to be very meaningful so I liked it and then shared it. As I continued perusing FB, maybe 20 minutes later, I get a notification that I’ve received a friend request from Sarah McLachlan.

Hmmm.

That’s odd.

Internationally famous singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan wants to be friends on FB with me, who, she’s not only never met, but has never interacted with in her life. Literally doesn’t know I exist. If you said my name to her she would tilt her head like a dog who wonders why the cat is eating his food.

Hmmm.

I went to the page and there were 2 pictures of Sarah, both taken directly from her website or FB fan page. And nothing else.

There was no information, no other pictures, no posts and no friends.

How stupid does someone think I am? I mean this is just insulting. I get friend requests all the time from obviously fake FB accounts but they usually have dozens of “friends”, a couple of pictures, maybe an innocuous post or two. And most importantly none were ever from someone who has started their own summer music festival.

I got a request once from a guy in an eastern European country. The entire page was in his own language and all his “friends” were eastern European, but he did not have 7 Billboard top 100 songs.

Being a man, I used to get a lot of requests from women in bikinis or lingerie advertising their web sites. But I’ve never gotten one from a woman who has appeared on David Letterman, the Tonight Show, SNL and has her own ASPCA commercial.

I don’t know who really sent the friend request or what their purpose was but I didn’t fall for it.

Now, having said that, if Sarah McLachlan created a new page just to be friends with me on FB and I rejected the friend request, then I’m probably out of the fan club.

The Waiting

I love music. The styles I listen to are wide ranging which is the main reason my CD collection has taken over my home like a kudzu vine. I don’t know the exact number, my estimate is between 1500 and 2000 which doesn’t include the hundreds I’ve traded in, given away or sold over the years. Of course, among the forest of sounds there are a few favorites that stand out as redwoods among the pines. But lately a few of my bellwethers have been disappointing in their lack of output and possible demises.

Aerosmith: My all time favorite band has been in the news recently for every reason except the release of a new CD. Their last recording was in 2004 and it was a CD of covers. Their last CD of original songs was in 2001, 9 years and counting. In the past year one member has had throat surgery, one has had knee surgery, one has had shoulder surgery, one has had surgery on his head after hitting it on his Ferrari and another has had multiple surgeries as well as multiple rehab stints. They’ve reached the point where Steven Tyler has quit the band on Monday, re-joined on Tuesday, been kicked out on Wednesday and invited back in on Thursday. You might as well rename them the Desperate Rock Stars and move them onto Wisteria Lane. The lawyers have gotten involved now so I’m convinced the original band will never record together again.

Sarah McLachlan: The Canadian songstress with the ethereal voice has recorded 1 CD of new material in 12 years. You heard me. 1 CD in a decade plus. Surfacing came out in 1998. Afterglow didn’t arrive until 2004 and since then nothing. Oh there have been live recordings, Christmas collections, remixes and unreleased rarities, but lets face it, these are cubic zirconia friendship rings when I’m looking for more of a commitment. My God woman, sea slugs move faster than you. I’m still enjoying your previous CDs: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy and Surfacing are practically worn out, but how about some new songs? These are the prime years of your career and your output is so low if you were a bauxite mine you would be abandoned.

System of a Down: There were rumors of trouble in the band after the Hypnotize/Mesmerize tour was over. The band members themselves didn’t help matters by saying one day they were breaking up and the next day saying they were just taking a break. Great. Another band that needs a marriage counselor. Didn’t I see this drama already on Friends? Singer Serj Tankian recorded a solo disc that sounded a lot like System of a Down without Daron Malakian’s great guitar playing. Daron and drummer John Dolmayan formed Scars on Broadway and released a CD that sounded a lot like System of a Down with keyboards. A few weeks before the tour, Daron announced its cancellation because of “his lack of enthusiasm” for the project and he didn’t feel like touring. Since then he has dropped out of the music scene so completely people began to worry about him. Serj Tankian on the other hand is now working on a jazz orchestra CD. Excuse me? A few years removed from headlining the Ozzfest and the singer suddenly wants to be Michael Buble? Sadly, I see this trial separation becoming a divorce as daddy hides out in his den drinking gin and tonics while mommy becomes who she was always meant to be.

I find new artists to listen to nearly every week. Recently I picked up on Shaman’s Harvest, Corinne Bailey Ray and The Heavy. But you always return to your favorites and I’m getting antsy waiting for new CDs from these people.