Flavor of the Month

No one is indispensable
Your kind are a dime a dozen
Don't delude yourself on special standing
Don't fall for that kind of racket
True, your skills are specialized and you're now being feted
Your insights are recherché, studied as befits the media glare
With the acclaim, you seem to have gained an entrée, a seat at the table
But the real power brokers are at the high table, far from where you are seated

No one is indispensable
True, for now you're the flavor of the month
But, as the history of all creative endeavors has shown,
Originality, although prized, has a shockingly short shelf life
Humanity can amble along with the merely mediocre, or plain ordinary
Survival is the biological imperative, your talents are unnecessary
Excess sauce, a thrill for the moment, a temporary passion
Tastes are bound to change, albeit you may be the latest fashion

No one is indispensable
I know, it's sad. They're throwing fine labels at you:
Edgy, Emersonian, afrofuturist, avant garde
Such is the frisson of authenticity granted those bearing a ghetto card
Your time might have come, feel free to enjoy the spotlight of this phase
But steel yourself for when their gaze surely shifts in the coming days

No one is indispensable
I tell you, let me count the ways
My friend, trust me on this,
Get ready to be lavished with faint praise
An ode to this fleeting moment when you are labeled Number One
Ephemeral, disappointment is nothing new under the sun

Flavor of the Month, a playlist

A soundtrack for this cautionary tale. (spotify version)

• Drop a Dime by Charlie Hunter
  I like the version on the Gentlemen I Neglected to Inform You that You will Not be Getting Paid album and accompanying tour but any version of this groove will suffice
• High Fashion by The Family
  Here's hoping that Prince's vault will reveal more from the sessions for this band.
• Flavor Man by Public Enemy
  The album's title poses the existential question of the internally displaced: How you sell soul to a Soulless People who sold their soul? The greatest hype man in history, Flavor Flav.
• The Latest Fashion by Prince and The Time
  The live and original versions are light years from what was released, I hold on to them. Staying power was suspect with this tune.
• Hot Property by Jamiroquai
  A light fun jam to round things up. It sounds almost like disco which we know quickly became branded as a passing fancy.

...

Timing is everything
Observers are worried

File under: humour, culture, hatchet job, observation, perception, hype, hubris, identity, poetry, authenticity, shell game, Africa, immigration, Observers are worried, Buyer's Remorse, toli

Writing log: Concept March 2012; March 17, 2021