Happy World Introvert Day!

Contrary to popular belief, you can be a famous musician and also an introvert. As an introvert myself, I relish the day of recognition that folks like me are not weird, mentally ill, stuck up or anti-social. Introverts just experience the world much differently than extroverts.

This is a day for the dreamers. The thinkers. The quiet ones. The ones sitting in the back of the room or standing along its edges. The ones who know more than they show and feel more than they let on. Today we celebrate introverts. Happy World Introvert Day. #worldintrovertday

— Jenn Granneman (@JennGranneman) January 2, 2023

Some of my favorite musical introverts are below:

Freddie Mercury - yes, he had an unbelievably huge stage presence. He also loved to be left alone with his thoughts and his cats. (One of my favorite hobbies is taking a nap with Roosevelt, my cat).

Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Wilson also wrote Pet Sounds, the best rock album of all time. I said what I said. (Aerosmith Rocks in still right up there, though!)

Eminem is a lyrical genius - as a shy, quiet kid, he would spend hours reading the dictionary as a way to work on his craft. Introverts often have a wicked, dry sense of humor - and Eminem does too, it seems!

Comments

[Him]

As with many things, I tend to think there is a range when it comes to these sorts of designations. But categories make people feel like they 'fit' and that is a net positive too.

Can an introvert be extroverted? Sure. Reverse that? Sure. I'd be boring you to suggest why I actually think that is the case (and note that I am not saying in _all_ cases) oftentimes.

What I find funny is a day dedicated to celebrating a tendency not to want to be out there, in the public, doing stuff in front of a lot of people. But good on Jenn for hash-browning it for all to see (I think that is the wording). If I had one small quibble with Jenn's effusive celebration of not causing a ruckus . . . to cast creativity as either/or (she implies this) is to also miss the point about creativity more generally: it resides in a lot of places. And, while I always love Allyson's take on things (even when I disagree), you run the risk of creating a 'tortured genius' category for talent . . . which there might actually be. But there are also a lot of fun loving extroverts who made a splash. But that gets into the whole 'person vs. persona' thing. And, like I said, I don't want to bore you.

Cheers everyone!