Madonna is her own Hollywood studio - a popelike mogul and divine superstar in one. She has a laserlike instinct for publicity, aided by her visual genius for still photography (which none of her legion of imitators has). Unfortunately, her public life has dissolved into a series of staged photo ops.
Students must have initiative; they should not be mere imitators. They must learn to think and act for themselves - and be free.
Background singers who are any good have to be great imitators.
Posterity weaves no garlands for imitators.
O imitators, you slavish herd!
What gives the artist real prestige is his imitators.
Once avant-garde artists receive official recognition, they start a double life. In one, they inspire younger artists to do more. In the other, they inspire a mass of imitators who make the work respectable and exclusionary. The artists and their art become intellectual brand names.
Everyone always gets a little irritated by imitators, but mostly I'm flattered. What if you never did anything anyone wanted to copy?
Pros in state capitals across the country and inside the Beltway might be more skeptical, but they're still vulnerable. They should be on vigilant watch for Sacha Baron Cohen and a legion of his imitators.
The protest years were over, not just for me but for a whole generation, and in music, just like in politics, many of the greatest talents were dead or in exile, and their place was filled by third-rate imitators.
