10.31.12 Happy Halloween!!

I don't think it is angry, but rather determined and focused.

He needs to use a lot of his energy to overcome barriers that others don't even have to cross. He's running a 100 m hurdles, when others next to him just run the 100 m dash.

The thing is, because we around him all see that, he has ended up with a far more committed fan base than the typical pop artist and that allows him to clear a few hurdles that otherwise would stop him.

But his path is going to be different than the regular one, because running hurdles when others don't have that issue will mean that he is not going to always come in first or hit those charts in top position, at least not in areas where the fans cannot force the position.

But at the same time, I think the tenacity that he is still in this race and HOLDing ON, has lots of folks listening up, who are not initially inclined to take him seriously.

I am always astonished by his inner ability to steel himself. When you meet him in person, he displays calmness and concentration, but also so much of an artistic and sensitive side (except when he plays rock star, which is ultimately a role that he plays on stage). That he has both a very tender and a very tough side to him makes him so fascinating, but also gives him a powerful weapon for the fight he is fighting.

This song was, I presume, written before July 2011, that is before his album musically took a different turn. I think if anything the roll out of this second album since then with all his ups and downs must have taught him that he cannot compare himself to others who walk the regular pop artist path.

He presently does not get the chart positions that others seem to climb with radio-fueled ease, but at the same time, the lack of those hits has also not diminished the commitment of his fans or the interest of the wider community. That interest just has to be awoken (PLL) and the buzz is right back to where it was.

Knowing this gives him opportunity, but some of that opportunity will have to come from unconventional paths, doing the controversial, saying things that resonate beyond the fan community and make the news, stretching into other art forms, etc.

I think it is important that we as fan community don't stress out so much about him that it holds him back because he is worried about us.

As fans we sometimes need to forget some of the chart position stuff and rather develop that HOLD ON spirit, that lets a lot of the small stuff just glide off of us. i.e. the need to respond to comments and twitters, when really this does nothing but make US nervous. I think that those that are cut out to be AFL fans are able to look past the b/s and hear the music, the lyrics, the interviews, see the fashion, the stage make-up, the performances and we just need to walk with big steps past the small minded nutcases that are spending their wasted lives crying foul.

Adam is walking past it, and he is winning.

Look, today, Adam cannot release a song or album or anything without the whole industry watching and awaiting it. He already has won that battle. Never will an album release of him be ignored. That is huge and very few artists are in that position that they can bank on that.

Adam will win in his own way, but he knows it will take time and tenacity and strength to get there. So we better HOLD ON.