Excellent work. Yes, it wasn't Whitney, but Whitney Inc., a contrivance of many hands and minds that took on a life of its own. And like so many avatars, they got to work on her when she was young. Promises were made, deals were struck, pacts were sealed. That Whitney Inc. would eventually swallow the girl was a foregone conclusion. But no matter; they would find another sacrificial lamb and reform themselves around her.
A few years ago I was chatting to a former member of one of Australia's biggest rock bands. He was bemused that a version of the band was touring with only one original member, who happened to own the rights to the band's name. You'd think people would avoid such a fraud, but as you said, the name evokes an image that has a life of its own. It has been "paid" such emotional and psychological energy that it exists independently of the musicians who once constituted the band. The image has become a commodity.
Not Farnsy. Red Symons. At that point in time he was committed to never play again, but things may have changed. Still, no Shirley, so no Skyhooks, end of.
The idea that the Whitney Houston whom we perceive was a different being than her physical self is intellectually fascinating, to say the least. As an egregore, she would have been an emergent being, who is still 'alive' in some ways. Here on the 4th, it's interesting to wonder if the George Washington and Thomas Jefferson that we know are egregores.
Yeah, the ideas of egregores can feel really disorienting psychologically when you go deep enough with it. But it makes sense. None of us know Washington or Jefferson personally; we are acquainted with cultural narratives about them, which may or may not be historically accurate. But I think the optimistic and inspiring versions of those narratives about our Founders are important; if they weren't, the Marxcissists wouldn't be so committed to undermining them.
'when you hear that voice today, it’s not her voice. It doesn’t belong to her anymore. She’s dead and buried (or cremated, or eaten by vultures if there wasn’t enough money left in her estate to pay a funeral home to get rid of the body properly). She’s gone, yet the voice abides.'
Parmenides disagrees
'Suppose you took one of Morpheus’s red pills and learned that the whole world was created five months ago, and God (or Descartes’ evil demon, take your pick) used some super-advanced AI to engineer a convincing backstory, complete with historical records and music and movies from the past and all kinds of false memories for everyone to think they have, and included in that computer-generated backstory were all the images and songs of Whitney Houston. Suppose that when you watch a Whitney Houston music video, you’re not watching a recording of anything a real person ever said or did. Would any of that make the image of Whitney Houston, on display in those music videos, any less real today?'
Parmenides says no
I think the right answer might be that she was barely even there. That's the thing about music: once you've made the sound, it's gone; it's not you (or yours) anymore. Imagine to what extraordinary degree this must seem true to *famous* musicians. Indeed this is the kind of thing famous people of moderate to high intelligence say when they're trying to be angsty/interesting (as did I, just then).
Another aspect might be that great artists usually manage to get in touch with something higher and can bring it down to earth. This is part of the tragedy that they often go mad (either in an introverted self-destructive way or an extroverted manic way): they can't handle those energies. Or maybe at some level they sacrifice themselves for the sake of their mission to bring something transcendent to us.
But the biggest tragedy of all is when such people and their "connection" gets abused by Evil for nefarious purposes, and turned into a dark vessel. This too has been done frequently, and seems to have become the norm.
That's really well said. Like an appliance gets energy from the electric wires, and it works well, but if there's a sudden surge of electricity from a nearby lightning strike, all that energy overwhelms and destroys the circuits of the appliance. Maybe some artists channel more energy than their minds can handle and still remain functional long term, but in the short-term, the energy they channel can produce some amazing art.
Yes. Then there are also many "artists" who don't channel any cosmic energy at all, but are simply pathologically drawn towards the "crazy artist" lifestyle.
Made me think of Hunter Biden. I know he made "art" that some rich folk paid big money for (though whether that was for the "art" itself or as an indirect bribe to his dad is a separate matter), and although he didn't seem to be channeling anything transcendent, he nevertheless fully lived out the "crazy artist" lifestyle with drugs and whores and wild debauchery.
Well, I would say that about a lot of today's "influencers" and tabloid personalities, but with Whitney Houston, I think she had a very real artistic talent and vision, and I don't think that capacity is consistent with her being a "hollow meat puppet." There are a lot of NPCs out there, but I don't think she was one of them.
She could have been a "meat puppet" to some extent, like all of us can be at times. But I don't think she was completely hollow or "nothing more" than a meat puppet. We can have our own being and agency while still getting manipulated by forces beyond ourselves.
Excellent work. Yes, it wasn't Whitney, but Whitney Inc., a contrivance of many hands and minds that took on a life of its own. And like so many avatars, they got to work on her when she was young. Promises were made, deals were struck, pacts were sealed. That Whitney Inc. would eventually swallow the girl was a foregone conclusion. But no matter; they would find another sacrificial lamb and reform themselves around her.
Your synopsis is better written than the original post itself!
Awesome setup. I want more!
Attention/awareness creates the universe.
Thanks!
A few years ago I was chatting to a former member of one of Australia's biggest rock bands. He was bemused that a version of the band was touring with only one original member, who happened to own the rights to the band's name. You'd think people would avoid such a fraud, but as you said, the name evokes an image that has a life of its own. It has been "paid" such emotional and psychological energy that it exists independently of the musicians who once constituted the band. The image has become a commodity.
See also, Mike Love and The Beach Boys, or for a number of years, Axl Rose and GnR.
John Farnham?
The Johnny Farnham Revue with Jimmy Barnes on vocals is indeed a travesty.
Not Farnsy. Red Symons. At that point in time he was committed to never play again, but things may have changed. Still, no Shirley, so no Skyhooks, end of.
Aha
Poor old (B A S E D) Red...
Nice bloke, but... My wife knows his former sister-in-law, who despises him.
Fascinating thoughts. I learned about the concept of an egregore recently. (I think it was on Jay Rollins https://www.wonderlandrules.com/p/the-mask-of-the-zealot -- amazing what you can learn on Substack!)
The idea that the Whitney Houston whom we perceive was a different being than her physical self is intellectually fascinating, to say the least. As an egregore, she would have been an emergent being, who is still 'alive' in some ways. Here on the 4th, it's interesting to wonder if the George Washington and Thomas Jefferson that we know are egregores.
Yeah, the ideas of egregores can feel really disorienting psychologically when you go deep enough with it. But it makes sense. None of us know Washington or Jefferson personally; we are acquainted with cultural narratives about them, which may or may not be historically accurate. But I think the optimistic and inspiring versions of those narratives about our Founders are important; if they weren't, the Marxcissists wouldn't be so committed to undermining them.
'when you hear that voice today, it’s not her voice. It doesn’t belong to her anymore. She’s dead and buried (or cremated, or eaten by vultures if there wasn’t enough money left in her estate to pay a funeral home to get rid of the body properly). She’s gone, yet the voice abides.'
Parmenides disagrees
'Suppose you took one of Morpheus’s red pills and learned that the whole world was created five months ago, and God (or Descartes’ evil demon, take your pick) used some super-advanced AI to engineer a convincing backstory, complete with historical records and music and movies from the past and all kinds of false memories for everyone to think they have, and included in that computer-generated backstory were all the images and songs of Whitney Houston. Suppose that when you watch a Whitney Houston music video, you’re not watching a recording of anything a real person ever said or did. Would any of that make the image of Whitney Houston, on display in those music videos, any less real today?'
Parmenides says no
I think the right answer might be that she was barely even there. That's the thing about music: once you've made the sound, it's gone; it's not you (or yours) anymore. Imagine to what extraordinary degree this must seem true to *famous* musicians. Indeed this is the kind of thing famous people of moderate to high intelligence say when they're trying to be angsty/interesting (as did I, just then).
Another aspect might be that great artists usually manage to get in touch with something higher and can bring it down to earth. This is part of the tragedy that they often go mad (either in an introverted self-destructive way or an extroverted manic way): they can't handle those energies. Or maybe at some level they sacrifice themselves for the sake of their mission to bring something transcendent to us.
But the biggest tragedy of all is when such people and their "connection" gets abused by Evil for nefarious purposes, and turned into a dark vessel. This too has been done frequently, and seems to have become the norm.
That's really well said. Like an appliance gets energy from the electric wires, and it works well, but if there's a sudden surge of electricity from a nearby lightning strike, all that energy overwhelms and destroys the circuits of the appliance. Maybe some artists channel more energy than their minds can handle and still remain functional long term, but in the short-term, the energy they channel can produce some amazing art.
Yes. Then there are also many "artists" who don't channel any cosmic energy at all, but are simply pathologically drawn towards the "crazy artist" lifestyle.
Made me think of Hunter Biden. I know he made "art" that some rich folk paid big money for (though whether that was for the "art" itself or as an indirect bribe to his dad is a separate matter), and although he didn't seem to be channeling anything transcendent, he nevertheless fully lived out the "crazy artist" lifestyle with drugs and whores and wild debauchery.
Hollow meat puppets, nothing more.
Well, I would say that about a lot of today's "influencers" and tabloid personalities, but with Whitney Houston, I think she had a very real artistic talent and vision, and I don't think that capacity is consistent with her being a "hollow meat puppet." There are a lot of NPCs out there, but I don't think she was one of them.
She could have been a "meat puppet" to some extent, like all of us can be at times. But I don't think she was completely hollow or "nothing more" than a meat puppet. We can have our own being and agency while still getting manipulated by forces beyond ourselves.
Hey, I used to eat there.
Really good noodles.