Entertainment is entertainment. You're either entertained by the method or style of a performer or you're not. As an entertainer you can please part of the people some of the time and some of the people part of the time, but you can't please some of them at all and you certainly can't please them all. That's just the way it is.

Some songs start out as just words, before they ever get joined with a tune. It may be a story, a poem, a rhyme, a thought, an idea, a question, a statement, a plea, a moan, a joke, a feeling, someone's pain, hurt, joy, tears, insanity, morality, cruelty, fantasy, ideology, spirituality…

Do we need tunes to express ourselves as entertainers? Nope. Tunes can help some of the messages we present become more palatable to listeners. We can dress our messages in many ways via music.

Does having musical accompaniment make our messages any more valid? Well, perhaps to those who feel strongly about tying messages to melodies, but again, not everyone agrees that this union is necessary to impart a message, thought, feeling, moan, angst, etc in the realm of entertainment.

There are many methods beyond music with which to present our messages, including this method we're using here, blogs, papers, letters, bumper stickers, fortune cookies, magazines, tv, radio, horoscopes, podcasts, newscasts, poetry slams, sitcoms, dramas, soaps, plays, stand up, improv, books, chat rooms, phone calls, IMs, PMs, emails, group therapy, infomercials, and yes, even stories. All of these methods and more are constantly being used every moment of every day to entertain and inform us. Music can also be a part of many of these mediums but the choice of whether to add it and to what extent is up to each individual entertainer, just as it's the choice of each listener to find what it is that is most pleasing to their ears.

Some folks are entertained by listening to somebody beating a drum. No words are needed, just rhythm. Some folks are in love with drama and the complexities of human emotion played out in a serious format. Some folks can't get enough comedy in any form. Some go gaga over the antics of world championship wrestling. Others won't be happy until they've slaughtered their neighbors and left their corpses to rot.

The choices that some folks make in this life are perplexing to me. How or why some can justify treating others with such cruelty and heartlessness is beyond me. They knowingly act out thoughtless and hurtful behavior toward others and then feign ignorance of their misdeeds while they celebrate their pointless petty victories. It is because these poor examples of humanity exist that our world is torn asunder by war and strife. They revel in the creation of this torment.

Is it any wonder why so many folks need to be entertained? To forget, if even for a moment, about the state of things today is such a release as to be worth the price of the ticket. Entertainment is an escape from the reality of life on the planet. As entertainers we sing, recite, rap, and speak in an endless procession of emotions, passionately, sweetly, angrily… to meet the needs of those listening and for our own sanity.

Can't we all just get along and be nice to one another? Sadly, I think not. Well, I guess that's just more job security for those folks who entertain. That'll be ten bucks in advance and fifteen at the door.