In 1993, punk icon Henry Rollins urged MTV viewers to stop being fans and make their own music
He used Nirvana as the perfect example of being “inspired” instead of "awed.”
Henry Rollins whants you to pick up a guitar and play.
The rock music scene changed in a big way in the early ‘90s; spandex-clad glam rockers were kicked to the curb by a new group of alternative-rock acts that were rooted in the D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) ethics of the late ‘70s, early ‘80s punk movement.
MTV served up videos to the new movement via “120 Minutes,” a nightly video show featuring the latest alternative rock, punk and indie acts. A frequent host of the show was Henry Rollins, the former singer of punk icons Black Flag who later created The Rollins Band.
One night, Rollins dispensed some essential D.I.Y. advice for the kids watching at home. He asked them to be inspired by the acts they saw on MTV, not awed by them.
"Instead of being awed by all these people with their wonderful hair and airbrushed faces, you can also go out and get yourself a guitar, learn some rudimentary chords and play yourself,” Rollins said. “You can be awed into submission to where you will sit and be a fan for the rest of your life instead of being someone who does.”
Rollins tied his advice to Nirvana's approach that completely changed rock music.
Henry Rollins says don't be awed, be inspired on MTV 120 Minutes (1993.01.31) Black Flag
"That's why you should learn the lesson from Nirvana,” Rollins continued. “You can be a mere mortal on the planet, not be the big attractive, perfectly-styled guy, have a greasy T-shirt and an attitude, pick up a guitar and actually make some meaningful music. You figure half these boneheads can't read and they can play a guitar. You stand a really good chance."
Rollins then pointed out that people can easily be "freaked out" when they see a genius like Picasso or Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. Instead, they should choose to be "inspired" by their work to create their own art for the world to enjoy.
Billie Eilish says Instagram comments were ruining her life. So she quit reading them. Smart.
Billie Eilish has gone from being a pop star to a superstar over the course of about a year. Her meteoric rise to fame has forced her to reevaluate how she deals with her fans online.
She used to be happy to read the comments on her Instagram feed, but the tone of the posts has become exceedingly negative. So she's decided to stop reading them altogether.
According to psychologists, that's a very good idea.
Eilish admitted she quit reading the comments during an interview with Louise Minchin from the BBC where she was joined by her brother, writer and producer, Finneas.
"Do you still read everything that's on Instagram?" Minchin asked.
"No, no. I stopped like two days ago," Billie responded. "Literally two days ago. I've stopped reading comments fully. Because it was ruining my life. It's weird. The cooler the things you get to do are, the more people hate you. It's crazy."
"How do you make it better?" the interviewer asked.
"The internet is a bunch of trolls. And the problem is that a lot of it is really funny," Billie said.
"Everyone is much braver behind a cell phone screen than they would be if they walked down the street," Finneas added.
"It's way worse than it's ever been right now," Billie admitted.
"It's insane that I even have been reading comments up until this point. I should've stopped long ago, it's just the problem is I've always wanted to stay in touch with the fans and keep talking to them, and people have ruined that for me, and for them. That sucks," she added.
However, the negativity Billie has faced online hasn't affected how she treats her fans in public.
"If I see fans anywhere, I just want to talk to them and be around them, because they're people. They're me! They're like other me's," the "Bad Guy" singer said. "They're like friends of mine, but the internet is ruining my life, so I turned it off."
Reading the comments on social media shouldn't be a huge problem for those of us who post things that are only seen by people we know. But for anyone in the public spotlight, being bombarded by negative comments day in and day out can be damaging.
That's because of a psychological trait called negativity bias.
According to Psycom's Margaret Jaworski, "We're more likely to register an insult or negative event than we are to take in a compliment or recall details of a happy event. The negativity bias can even cause you to dwell on something negative even if something positive is equally or more present."
Research suggests that it takes three positive comments to cancel out the effects of one negative remark.
Billie Eilish is smart to protect her own sanity by staying out of the comment section and not allowing it to affect her art or life. It's fine for the public to have access to her art but there's no reason she should be handing over her sanity as well.