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3 Comments What is the true measure of greatness?
So a few weeks ago when I was in the hospital and we were in the dining room, a U2 song came on the radio. Of course, I was excited and requested the volume be turned up slightly so we could hear it better. One of the other patients asked me if I was a U2 fan. “Of course”, I replied, “they’re only the greatest band ever.” He did not agree with my assessment.
So I started thinking, is U2 really the greatest band ever? I have a habit of choosing whatever is my favorite as the “best ever”. Part of it may come from a person I know, Dan. I remember things like “Boetje’s mustard is the best mustard in the world!” or “Harris Pizza is the best pizza in the world!” and how could you argue with that? They truly are the best mustard and pizza, respectively, in the world. So I think this is partly where my habit comes from. U2 is the greatest band in the history of music. 24 is the greatest show in the history of television. Blah blah blah…
Anyways, like I mentioned, this got me thinking. What is the true measure of greatness? Is it popularity? Does having the most “fans” make you great? Obviously something must be great about your music or art or whatnot to get so many people to like you. The problem with this is, most times in order to have such a broad fan base, one must market to the lowest common denominator. Can something great come out of something that appeals to the masses? Or does being great require something deeper? Another problem with popularity is, one can name too many examples of popular, without being great. Are the Jonas Brothers or Spice Girls great? One would think not.
Is it longevity? U2 has been around forever, like 30 years. Certainly they wouldn’t still be one of the most popular bands in the world still after all this time if there wasn’t some measure of greatness. I think longevity might be a marker for this. Another band that has been around forever, even longer in fact, is The Rolling Stones. They’ve been together for 47 years! Personally, I don’t like The Rolling Stones, but would I have any sort of argument against the greatness of a band that has been around for nearly a half century? In fact, I don’t think I could mount any sort of argument against any band that has been around forever. I mean, seriously, certainly longevity has to count for something right?
What about the ability of the art or song to touch many different people on many different levels, depending on what stage of their life they are at? I will again use U2 as an example, only because I am most familiar with them. I have a book at home about the lyrics of U2′s music and how, in the author’s opinion, their lyrics have deeper meanings to Christians than non-Christians. Yet, to non-Christians, the music still conveys meaning, and not just a bunch of random, non-sensical phrases strung together (think Summertime Girls by LFO). Is this the measure of greatness?
Or am I asking a ridiculous question, in that greatness can’t really be defined?
I am going to have to say that the measure of 'greatness' lies within each individual fan. How else would Miley Cyrus have gotten so big, unless of course we are letting the prepubescent group determine greatness. I couldn't agree with you on U2, nor could I totally agree on longevity, because in my opinion, The Beatles are the "greatest bad ever." I do think there is a little to your theory on longevity, because bands like U2, Aerosmith, and the Rolling Stones are on a totally different level than LFO, as a matter of fact I threw up a little in my mouth just mentioning them in the same sentence. Even though I still consider The Beatles as "the greatest," The Rolling Stones would be my next choice, and although U2 probably doesn't rank in my top 25 favorites, I still have respect for them, because they have done so much, and influenced many…maybe that is the key to greatness, how many people you can influence.
There is a branch of philosophy dedicated to this questionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AestheticsHegel wrote a book on it that is big enough to kill a cat if it fell on one.