Neil Peart gets the introvert thing.

 

 

I just read this interview with Neil Peart and loved what he had to say about this:

“ It is true, but I’m less comfortable in a gregarious social situation, and you can be introverted and still share everything. It just means that you’re guarded. Certainly there is a line that seems perfectly clear to me about what’s to be shared and what isn’t, but it’s not always so clear to others. Extroverts never understand introverts, and it was like that in school days. I read recently that all of us can be defined in adult life by the way others perceived us in high school. I know [people] who had the popular, good-looking path in high school; they tend not to do so well. It was a little bit too easy for them, where for those of us who struggled in every sense, perhaps our determination and self-reliance and discipline were reinforced by that.”

Read the interview on Maclean’s.

 

I mean, I’m not bitter about high school or anything. But it wasn’t a party. I admit I never had to put up with bullying or anything with angst-appeal. It was just kind of a slog through nothing in particular while mostly being ignored because I wasn’t on a sports team or nerdy enough to fit in with the bullied outcasts, or enough of a skid to be lumped in with that crowd. It’s not like I have any bad feelings towards the popular people, but it did seem like they had it a lot easier. But Peart’s quote seems to ring true–some of them aren’t doing any better than I am, and in some cases worse . . . despite that they were the centre of attention as teenagers.

I didn’t really know that Neil Peart identifies himself as an introvert. I just assumed that because he’s the best drummer in the world that he’d be an extravert, since touring and doing live shows is more tailored to those types. That’s probably because personally, I have trouble with the social aspect of being in a band. I just want to play music. That should be enough for an audience. It’s probably easier for a drummer to be like that, but guitar unfortunately comes with stupid expectations that have nothing to do with music. This is illustrated by the fact that people find it noteworthy that Robert Fripp sits while playing, like any [real] musician in an orchestra, instead of trying to “engage the crowd.”

Maybe that’s why some guitarists do the costume thing. Fellow May 13ther Buckethead might even be an introvert? I don’t know anything about him besides that he’s an incredible player. Maybe it’s just a Taurus thing. Or an Earth sign thing. Peart’s a Virgo, Fripp is a Taurus as well . . .

This reminds me of a great quote from Mark Vonnegut. “Introverts almost never cause me trouble and are usually much better at what they do than extroverts. Extroverts are too busy slapping one another on the back, team building, and making fun of introverts to get much done. Extroverts are amazed and baffled by how much some introverts get done and assume that they, the extroverts, are somehow responsible.”

You have to allow for the Vonnegut sarcastic edge and not be too offended if you’re an extravert reading this. It’s not like most of us want to trash the extraverts, who aren’t even a majority, by the way. But you can’t deny the societal bias. Even I perpetuated it by assuming that just because one of my greatest heroes/role models was so successful meant he couldn’t have been introverted.

The problem with this dichotomy is that nobody seems willing to admit that being on either side of the spectrum leaves you just a little fucked up in some ways. So instead of thinking that the introverts are dumb people with no sense of humour, maybe look at yourself. Or if you’re an introvert, stop being bitter and learn the reason why extraverts aren’t understanding you. It’s just a little ridiculous to segregate and judge based on that.

In other news: what should have been a 10 minute job screwing a pot rack/light fixture into a joist has ended up taking 5 hours. I don’t even want to talk about it. Carry on.