More Reasons Why Being Deaf Sucks/Rocks: I Should Have Listened to Eddie Vedder

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Before I get into how misguided I was not to listen to Eddie Vedder, I really need to vent about some ignorant garbage I heard today at work.

So, there was this woman who was with her three friends, and as I approach them I can hear that she’s telling them about Erykah Badu’s video for “Window Seat”.

Two things become instantly clear: (a) she’s not a fan of the video and (b) she’s never seen the video. It’s distinctly possible that she’s getting her info from Fox News. The only urban thing Fox News supports is urban renewal.

So as she describes the video to her equally ignorant friends she’s saying that it’s a “cheap looking video” and that Badu’s “singing her song” and then “she gets shot.” At that point they become aware of my presence, as “work Mathan” has to keep “regular Mathan” in check.

No joke; I was almost in a situation where I could have been fired. I love a good debate or discussion and I wanted desperately to rip this woman to shreds and expose her as a fraud that was just parroting talking points. I wanted to point out that the video’s aesthetics were intentional and that it was a guerilla shoot with stolen shots. I wanted to point out that Badu is neither singing nor lip-synching.

But I didn’t. I held my tongue and remained professional. It was so frustrating and I’m glad I got it off of my chest.

Switching gears, I copped a ticket to see The xx (who are actually my new favorite band of the moment) when they come to town next week. I’m cautiously optimistic about the show for a couple of reasons. I’m looking forward to seeing them live and hearing the songs on a larger scale, but I’m sort of worried about being the oldest guy in the room. I mean, they’re a group of teenagers from the UK, so their peer group isn’t really my peer group. I think I may have to bring along a notepad and pretend I’m a journalist “covering” rather than a fan “attending.”

Getting the ticket was mighty alarming. The price of admission was $15, which caused me to jump at the opportunity. But by the end of the transaction the whole deal cost me $26.35. That’s an increase of 75% in fees alone. It’s absurd.

I was OK with the $5.75 “convenience charge.” I mean, I was purchasing the tickets online and through Ticketmaster, so they were entitled to their convenience charge. But then you get the additional “order processing fee” of $5.60 and it just seemed exorbitant. Why does there even need to be an order processing fee? I’m ordering it online with my computer. My computer was talking to their computer. Computers do not need a fee of $5.60 to process my order.

And if I wanted to have the ticket guaranteed to be delivered to be before 4/23 (the day of the concert) I would have had to pay an additional shipping charge. Therefore, I decided to gamble on the fact that the show was actually fourteen days away and that regular shipping would suffice.

The whole ordeal was very traumatic. I got violated by Ticketmaster and I didn’t really have a choice in the matter.

All I could think about was how I never listened to Eddie Vedder when he was attacking the evil that is Ticketmaster. I think I even laughed when others mocked him.

But I’m not laughing now. I’m crying.

If I had a time machine I’d totally go back in time and not only support Eddie Vedder fully, but I’d also be a more vocal opponent of Ticketmaster. And I’d probably try to hit the lottery too.