Wednesday, June 6, 2012

The Next Best Thing: Even Better Than the Real Thing?

There was a Monday in April where America woke up and collectively said "what!?" April 15, 2012 will forever be known in music lore as the day we resurrected a dead icon, Tupac Shakur, and watched him perform 'live' onstage at Coachella. April 16th will forever be known as the day the rest of us- those not fortunate to have experienced it in person in the waning hours of a smoky Sunday night- found out about it. And we were all talking about it. It replaced politics, the latest Mad Men episode, and the average weekend forays as the number one talking point at water coolers and cubicles across the country. The internet and social media sites were abuzz with amazement. It was one of those watershed moments that was so cool it was discussed equally among hipsters, businessmen, stay-at-home moms, and high school teens.

One of the first questions everyone began asking was 'how?' We quickly learned exactly how this 'hologram' Tupac was created, a hi-tech stroke of genius that only Dr. Dre could have conceived and only an expert in effects could have reproduced. It was cool. Of course it was cool! It was cool because it had never been done before. It was cool because it was Tupac (!) that was the subject of this technological feat. It was cool because anything Dr. Dre and/or Snoop Dogg does just seems to always have that 'cool' factor. And, most importantly, it was cool because it gave a group of people who more than likely missed seeing Tupac perform before he was shot to death the chance to now do so. It was the next best thing to seeing the real flesh and blood Tupac rapping onstage.

That sums that weed-clouded evening up perfectly: the next best thing. It sums up a lot more than that; we are obsessed with the next best thing. If we can't afford the new Louis Vuitton purse or wallet, we buy the knockoff in some backstreet bodega. If we aren't able to see our favorite TV show's season finale when it aired, we DVR it. When we can't go on the vacation we wanted, we settle for something similar. If we don't have time to grab a cup of coffee at our favorite local stop, we stop at a place that makes the next best cup of Joe. Our days are filled with moments of settling and next best things.

Businesses, both of the legal and black market sorts, understand this phenomenon. That's why fake Apple stores, fake luxury goods, fake Coca-Cola, and fake Captain Crunch cereal sells all over the world. That's why the bootleg movie and music business has stayed strong despite law enforcement's crackdowns. It's why less-than-desirable travel destinations sweeten up their image with pictures that look like more famous destinations and why Vegas has hotels themed around Paris, New York City and Italy. It's why we are now going to see a rash of hologram performers on global stages (Freddie Mercury hologram performances were announced last month, and just this week reports of an Elvis hologram took flight). The next best thing can sometimes be the first best thing when it comes to making a buck.

It can be the best thing for us as well. There are countless reasons for settling on the second (or third) best, and not all are ill-advised. There are always moments where we settle out of necessity, where the next best thing is the only thing. Maybe we can't afford the real thing, so we go for the cheaper version we can afford. You missed out on a trip to Hawaii because of a sudden family emergency so you go to Palm Springs or San Diego the next weekend instead. You missed Tupac when he was alive, so you took the opportunity to see the next best thing- fake Tupac.

But there are also as many moments where we settle for wrong reasons; we settle because it's more convenient for us. We can't be there for our child's birthday or big moment in a school play because we chose a golf trip with our buddies instead, so we send lavish gifts as guilt offerings. We forget anniversaries so we buy flowers on the way home from the office and settle for a chain restaurant. We're greedy with our money so we buy our spouses the knockoff products and hope they don't notice. We don't plan family time or vacations so we settle for a trip to the water park on our next day off when we begin to hear complaints.

When settling for second rate, we must first analyze why we are settling. If the motives are born from necessity, then the next best thing is a pure outcome, and one in which you should find no shame. When settling is birthed by convenience, it's time to suck it up and go for the real thing. Put aside your greed, pride, selfishness, etc. and do what's right. In some cases, there are no next best things at all. It's either the real deal or nothing at all. Those instances are always the ones that arise from settling for ease. There is never a next best thing for a child missing your time and attention; never a next best thing for doing something that could save or improve someone's life; never a next best thing for bringing hope into someone's life. If what you're settling on is something intangible, chances are there's only the real thing and nothing else.

So go see The Beatles' (because you know it's coming!) holograms sing Strawberry Fields and bring your imitation soda with you. Just make sure that you're not doing that instead of your kids' birthday or your anniversary.

What next best things do you settle for? Is your personal life full of next best things? What are instances in your life where only the real thing will do?

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