In yesterday’s blog I noted the absurdity of The Sun referring to Ben Chasny as the “Jimi Hendrix of Folk”. This is a prime example of the kind of lazy mainstream ‘journalism’ reducing complexity into neatly packaged categories. In other words the hacks seem to assume that we share their limited capacity for appreciating shades of grey.
I came across an article in the Guardian Weekly about bluesman Otis Taylor in which he was described as the “Jimi Hendrix of the banjo”. For both Chasny and Taylor the analogy at least has a semblance of logic since they refer to virtuosity and innovation in the use of a stringed instrument. So if you use this phrase to describe expertise of the bass, violin or ukelele you could at least argue that you are comparing like with like.
A google search , however, reveals that the Hendrix connection is also made to likes of Keith Emerson (keys), Ian Anderson (flute), Brian Eno (synthesizer) as well as a heap of lesser-known players of the accordion, bagpipes, clarinet and harmonica.
Nor is the phase “the Jimi Hendrix of” confined to musicians – Sans Sergei is “sort of the Jimi Hendrix of box jugglers” while Rodney Mullen is the Jimi Hendrix of skateboarding.
An article in Reveille Mag about 16-year-old Chris Chike (“the Jimi hendrix of video game players”) at least tries to explain this linguistic phenomenon : “Saying someone is the Jimi Hendrix of X has come to mean that they’re revolutionarily good at something. So good they break all the rules governing past accomplishment and set a new standard”.
But when Peter Rodgers is Editor of Physics World speaks of trying to get the phrase “Richard Feynman is the Jimi Hendrix of physics” into general usage it’s time to say ENOUGH ALREADY!
There comes point when a quirky comparison just becomes a tired cliché. Next thing we know Jesus will be called ‘the Jimi Hendrix of religious mystics’ or Frederik Nietzsche ‘the Jimi Hendrix of philosophers’ !
And what of the man himself – Hendrix was both an iconoclastic genius and unique showman – in other words you could say Jimi Hendrix was the Albert Einstein of the guitar. (if you can’t beat ’em – join ’em)
Or you could say Albert Einstein was the Jimi Hendrix of – no, hang on, yes you could – Feynman is more like the Spike Milligan of physics. Q.E.D.