E. A. Blair: July 2008 Archives
I am a competitive person, a fact not lost on me. But recently I've thought about exactly how and in what context I am competitive and came up with some interesting, but troubling, conclusions.
Competition with and against others is what most people think of when they hear someone described as competitive. In that sense, I certainly fit the bill. Whether it is Thanksgiving football, Risk with my friends, disc golf against my buddy Reilly, tennis, soccer, racquetball, the Callan Cup, or the fantasy football league I run, if the result is a loss I am, in varying degrees, disappointed, frustrated and angry. But never at my competitor, only at myself. And those contests are staged engagements - prearranged face-offs pitting two or more opponents, all equally aware that the goal is to win. A competition that is willingly entered into by all parties, and for all intents and purposes, a healthy one. But what happens when that competitive spirit begins to invade subconsciously into other benign parts of your life?
Over the 4th of July weekend, some friends and I, through rambling conversation, came to the topic of the Foo Fighters. We were speaking of songs that feature a 'screamer' while listening to Pearl Jam's "Rearview Mirror", a decidedly 'screamer' song. Not to say Eddie Vedder himself is a consistent screamer, just that that song in particular fits the bill. Well the next singer to come to mind who frequently screams was the Foo Fighters David Grohl. The conversation though did not last very long on that topic because none of us really cares all too much about the Foo's and their ex-Nirvana drummer for a front man. Not to say I particularly dislike the Foo's, I have seen them twice (once being an MTV $2 Bill show) and do in fact greatly enjoy some of their songs, "Everlong" in particular. But I simply don't see them as being anything special in the genre of rock and alternative music.
