I was talking to a girl last spring about the band MewithoutYou, and I made the comment that they are a very strange band. Indeed they are; especially the lead singer, I noted. She remarked, "You know he's autistic, right?" Umm... no, I actually didn't. I knew about his masterful lyrics, but I didn't know that. Well, that nugget rested somewhere in my cerebral cortex until a conversation I had last weekend with the owner of a drum shop (an especially good one in St. Cloud called Kracker Jacks). He told me that there was a study done on brilliant musicians which found that the really good ones all have a touch of autism. I'd never heard that, but it sort of makes sense in a way.
The people I've met who have autism aren't that great at a ton of things, but they are really great at certain things. For instance, there was a kid I knew who was autistic, and all he talked about all day was playing video games. He'd go into great detail about it. For hours. Autism is manifest in different ways, and some people who have it are way more functional than others. But for those musicians (in particular) who are super good, do they have a tinge of autism?
(genetic cheater?)The really good musicians (I know a couple) also attribute their abilities to lots of hard work. But there is also something to be said about being "born with it." Kind of an interesting thought I guess. Well, that's it for now.
Merry Christmas all!
Merry Christmas all!
