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THE MUSIC/SODA ROOM — Expectations can be dangerous. When we have expectations sometimes they are not met and we're left disappointed, or they're exceeded and we aren't ready for it.
A great example of expectations not being met happened to some musicians when I was in college.
The apartment complex I lived at held a battle of the bands. Some great acts showed up including one that was later signed to a small label.
The lineup was filled with really talented musicians and one pretty terrible band called Threat Level Midnight. This band consisted of two actual musicians: one a talented piano player and the other a trained violinist. The rest of the band wasn't quite up to par. There were two self-taught guitar players who were mediocre at best, a drummer who had a djimbe one of the guitarists stole from an ex-girlfriend, and a snare drum they found in the violinist's basement. The lead singer was chosen because he could almost hold a tune, which was better than the rest of the band.
Threat Level Midnight didn't stand a chance in the battle and the other bands knew it. The others walked in with confidence that one of them had this in the bag. That assumption was solidified further when one of the guitarists kept missing chords because his fingers were so cold.
The time finally came when the winner would be announced. Expectations were that anyone but Threat Level Midnight would win.
The winner was announced and guess who took home the trophy?! Threat Level Midnight. That's right, the worst and most underserving band won and expectations were shattered.
The other bands didn't know or need to know that Threat Level Midnight cheated by having friends stuff the ballot boxes, however. How do I know this? Because I was the terrible lead singer and guitarist with numb fingers.
While that is an example of never underestimating the resourcefulness of untalented people and expectations not being met, this video is an example of a musician's totally blowing expectations out of the water.
This video is from 2017, but not many people have experienced its brilliance.
In the video, late Danish musician Peter Bastian plays a straw with holes cut in it. Yes, a straw, like that you use to blow bubbles in your chocolate milk with.
When you see it your expectation is that Bastian will get some noise out of it and maybe be able to eek out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." But no, the straw sounds like an actual instrument, and Bastian creates beautiful music. Don't pretend like you were expecting what you got.
If you're as talented as Bastian then good for you, but watch your back when you see Threat Level Midnight on the lineup. They may be terrible, but they're crafty. To get your own copy of Threat Level Midnight's album reach out to me so I can let you know no one ever let us within a mile of their recording studio.
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