Wasting Away Again in Margaritaville
By: Katy Ruzicka
By: Katy Ruzicka
Though it hardly seems possible, the roar of the crowd grows even louder as
the lights come up to reveal a man on stage. The followers of this man who
calls himself a "Reformed Catholic" and refers to "the pagan in me" have come to
worship at his feet. If only for a little while, the cares of the world seem
miles away as he transports them to the mythical city of Margaritaville.
These Parrotheads, as they call themselves, have thrown aside the shackles of
everyday life for this one night of the year when hedonism becomes acceptable.
Gone are the suits and ties, pantyhose and high heels of everyday life. They
are replaced by grass skirts, coconut bras, parrot hats, and mile-wide grins. The women wear some outrageous
outfits, too! No one here is concerned about finances as they toss `gold'
doubloons out into the throngs of merrymakers. The yellow ribbon magnets
reminding us of a war many miles away are overshadowed by giant shark fins on
top of cars. You can see your doctor, lawyer, and even your accountant lined up
at the ice luge to partake of shots of tequila. Everyone is a friend
here-racial barriers are invisible, class divisions are gone, men and women
alike are lauded for their hula-hooping abilities.
Coming together from all different walks of life, these party-goers forget their
day-to-day lives and congregate as one mass at the feet of their leader. They
even go by new monikers: Michelle forgets about the stresses of being a social
worker as she takes on her "Bubbles" persona. Lisa is not thinking about the progress she makes in
school with hearing-impaired children as her friends call out to "Lava Lisa" to
come have a drink. Kerry doesn't worry about how his teenage daughters are
doing as his alter ego "Chooch" leads the men in a hula dance. Even Katy
forgets about the time-management involved in working and going to school full
time as "Merphloozy" jumps into the conga line.
Who is this man that has led all of these normally decent members of society
into this fray? It is none other than Jimmy Buffett, the man from
Margaritaville. Traveling the country for the better part of the year, he
brings this little taste of the tropics to the landlocked masses of Dallas, Cincinnati, Las Vegas, and numerous other cities.
Relieving the cabin fever of those fans living in the north, he allows them to
leave their ice scrapers and snow shovels behind for the night, and make-believe
they're in the Caribbean, sipping "boat drinks" in the sand and following the
trail of Cleopatra Highbourne and Tully Mars. More important than albums,
t-shirts, koozies, and trinkets, he sells escapism, something sorely needed in
the modern world, and this explains why the man whose music has never met with
critical acclaim is able to gross millions a year from his dedicated followers. Jimmy's take on his success boils down to: "No
hit records, no MTV videos, you'll never make it. NOT!!" It is precisely that
childlike irreverence that carries his fans to the fantasy world of pirates and
parrots, beaches and bars and explains the phenomenal success of one man for
over three decades.
Born James Delaney Buffett in Mobile Alabama, Jimmy was raised on the sea by his
sea captain grandfather. His life in Alabama and travels throughout the Gulf
Coast region influenced his musical style greatly. After a stint as a
journalist for Billboard magazine, Buffett began recording his music in Nashville, Tennessee and took up residence
in Key West, Florida (Galenet). His music is described as "shrimp boat rock",
but defies categorization (Austin). Though he has produced more than 30 albums
since his debut in 1974 and sold more than twenty million copies of these
records, both critical and music-chart success has eluded his grasp (Florida Arts). During a career
spanning more than 30 years, Buffett has had only seven songs break into the
Billboard Top 40 chart, with only three of those making it into the top ten, and
only two songs actually making the number one spot (Ruhlmann). His first number
one single came nearly 30 years into his career, in 2003, when he collaborated
with Alan Jackson on the song "It's 5 O'clock Somewhere" and his second was in
2004 with another collaboration with various country artists on "Hey Good Lookin'"
(Ruhlmann).
Despite his lack of success on popular radio and music charts, Buffett has
achieved great financial success through album sales and merchandising aimed at
his devoted fans. His habit of connecting with an audience during a performance
and holding a "conversation" with them has earned him the loyalty of many (Hochschild). His enthusiasm for
his job shows onstage and in his own words: "You've got to make it fun, and
you've got to have fun. I love performing more than anything else" (Hochschild).
It is this affect of making his audiences feel involved in the performance that contributes to the escapism
experienced at one of his concerts.
Music is at the very root of the human experience, first being created more than
30,000 years ago at the dawn of civilization (Weinberger). Robin M. Dunbar of
the University of Liverpool has proposed that music "originally helped us by
promoting social cohesion in groups that had grown too large for grooming"
(Weinberger). Everyone is affected by music, from infants to adults, with
infants showing an innate appreciation for music by turning towards pleasant
sounds. Weinberger states that "An exhilarating orchestral crescendo can bring
tears to our eyes and send shivers down our spines." Adults studied by John A.
Sloboda of Keele University in England reported physical responses to music, "including thrills, laughter or tears" by as many as 80% of the group
studied. Polls taken of young men and women have revealed that they enjoy music
"because it elicits emotions and feelings." Music has also been shown to activate some of the same rewards systems that are
stimulated by food, sex, and addictive drugs (Weinberger). This innate
attraction and emotional response to music helps explain the euphoria
surrounding Buffett's concerts, even if his music is not the style typically
used by researchers during their studies.
Merriam-Webster defines escapism as "habitual diversion of the mind to purely
imaginative activity or entertainment as an escape from reality or routine."
Escapism creates an environment where there are no morals, rules, etiquette,
laws or standards. The physical world and its limitations can be escaped by
imagination and fantasy (How to). In moderation, escapism is a healthy way to relax, enjoy life, and
interact with others. This behavior is becoming the norm for more and more
people, although it was once regarded as extreme. Activities such as consumerism
and celebrity worship as methods of escape are becoming socially acceptable,
thus explaining the pseudo-deification of Buffett and the acceptance of this by the media and consequently
the general public. Use of escapism is viewed as evidence that people are not
happy with their lives for reasons such as the competitive nature of our lives
that rewards selfishness and punishes the altruistic aspects of our character
(Altruists).
Escapism is becoming more popular and accepted by society because of the
stressful times we live in. When the weight of the world and its issues seem to
be too much, people cope by pretending these problems don't exist. Affected by
a daily glut of misery in the media, pushing death, economic slumps, war,
terrorism, and social anarchy to the forefront of the world's events, people are searching for a way to get away
from it all (Chu). Jeff Chu predicted that the year 2003 would be the year of
New Hedonism:
It's not easy to escape. But we'll try. Expect the next 12 months to see the
creation of our own Never Never Lands, where we get away from it all, whatever
bad news "it" turns out to be. 2003 will be the year of escapism-hedonism for
some, fantasy for other, nostalgia for many more.
According to Chu, we are smoking and drinking more, using drugs, and turning to
sexual promiscuity for the purposes of escapism. If that strikes one as going
too far, escaping through the arts is an option. The arts offer up hope and
idealism, and the idea that one can experience what is being presented by the artist. "We escape because we
want to create a semblance of security in a world where security is rare" (Chu).
Jimmy Buffett's world of tropical breezes and palm trees helps people escape the
reality of the world we live in. As the state of the world grows more perilous,
his music sales continue to skyrocket. Propelled by an innate attraction to
music, and possibly even an instinct passed down from ancestors drawing them towards the tribal rhythms of
his songs, more and more people are becoming both casual and devoted fans as
they continue to flock to his concerts in record numbers. Buffett offers
transport to worlds outside of our normal scope through his music and through
the fantastical tales told in his books, which have all become #1 sellers on the
New York Times Bestseller List (Florida Arts). Despite the stresses of everyday
life, Buffett's fans are able to take a few hours one night of the year to
forget it all and imagine themselves relaxing on a far-off beach, margarita in
hand, watching the world go by. Apparently that's enough to sell millions of
copies of both music and literature created by one man whose greatest talent
lies in telling the tales of an ordinary life.
Works Cited
Altruists
International. Escapism- What & Why?. 7 March 2005.
Austin City
Limits 1977. Jimmy Buffett followed by Rusty Wier. 7 March 2005.
Chu,
Jeff. Fly Away. Time Europe 16 December 2002. 7 March 2005.
Contemporary Authors Online. The
Gale Group, 2001. 7 March 2005.
Florida
Artists Hall of Fame. Jimmy Buffet Hall of Famet. 7 March 2005.
Hochschild, Rob. The
Crowd Pleaser, Berklee News. 29 November 2000. 7 March 2005.
How to
Use the Escapism Technique. 7 March 2005.
Ruhlmann, William. Jimmy Buffett. All Media
Guide. 9 March 2005.
Weinberger, Norman M. Music and the Brain. Scientific American. November
2004. 7 March 2005.