Why seeing David Duchovny live may make me lose my respect for him
OPINION: In terms of the tussles of daily life, this one definitely falls into the "First World Problems" basket.
Icon David Duchovny, aka Fox Mulder of The X Files, hits New Zealand this week for his first ever shows in Auckland and Wellington.
You didn't know Agent Mulder was a rock singer?
Well, to coin a phrase, The Truth is Out There - but I sort of wish the musical talent was as well.
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Mulder and Scully were heroes to me in my formative years.
Our student flat would gather round the TV and gorge ourselves on the conspiracy theories laid bare weekly by Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny's G-men characters.
We'd spend hours after discussing what was really going on in the show - what the alien abductions were about, what the standalone episodes with their horror elements actually meant - but never really whether these two would get together.
Now, with some 25 years passed since the series came out, Mr Duchovny is heading to New Zealand to take his musical talent to the potential masses.
He's got three albums under his belt, with his latest Every Third Thought just released this past Friday.
Except, from what I've listened to this past week or so as I debate whether to give up around $70 for the show and my time to be in his presence, I just can't bring myself to face him not meeting my expectations on this Kiwi debut.
The thing is, as everyone knows, music tastes are subjective and everyone listens, more or less, with a different ear.
But Duchovny's blend of dad-rock with basic level rhyming couplets just simply doesn't seem to cut it from what I've listened to online.
And I'm terrified that live, it could be something close to a borderline disaster, and destroy the respect I have for him as a talent.
From Aquarius to Californication, the laconic style he pioneered in those, complete with self-deprecating appearances on The Larry Sanders Show and as transgender Denise in Twin Peaks, the man is nothing shy of an immense talent.
In a recent interview with Indiewire ,Duchovny's self-awareness over how he's come to release the music shines out as well, knowing clearly that these stepping stones have led him on a path to musical nirvana.
"Yeah, I probably wouldn't have been able to put an album out if I wasn't in the position I'm in, but that doesn't mean the music sucks," Duchovny said. "There's plenty of great bands that can put out a sh..y album."
His music is apparently redolent of Leonard Cohen, REM and Bob Dylan - if his PR is to be believed. Heady influences indeed.
Yet, with lyrics like "Half my life, By your side, Through thick and thin, Rain or shine" don't exactly seem inspiring - set against a sound that's very much MOR and would not be out of place in the background of a pub, I just can't shake the feeling that his well-meaning intentions and musical desires are slightly outstripping his actual musical ability.
These aren't timeless epithets - and while songs like Every Third Thought from his new album seem to run the gamut between blues and William Shatner style delivery, the idea of this translating to a live atmosphere makes me potentially cringe.
I know I'm opening myself up to criticism and facing comments on what I have ever done - and that's fine. This is, after all, a personal opinion, and it won't matter a jot to those who are going to simply bask in his glow and enjoy what he has to offer.
I'm not jealous of his wide-ranging talents (he writes too), but I reckon he's using his ambition and privilege to get further than his talent will allow currently.
(There's always room for growth, as anyone will admit. And I don't believe this is by any stretch of the imagination an ego project, as he's said elsewhere that he's taking singing lessons.)
There's an earnestness to his live performance that I expect his Kiwi fans will lap up as they stand in his presence this week.
Sure, at the end of the day, others have done it (step forward, Russell Crowe, Kevin Bacon, Billy Bob Thornton) and I genuinely hope that Duchovny's charm and appeal will win out.
But I just can't bring myself to face the possibility that, in this case, the music doesn't maketh the man.
David Duchovny plays Auckland on Tuesday, before heading to Wellington on Wednesday.
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