"But most musicians are not well-adjusted, they play for the love of
the audience, they get high being on stage, and then being off is
positively awful. First, the comedown from the gig, then the endless
travel/boredom."
Yes. This sums it up perfectly in 2 sentences.
Just fantastic writing.
Landon Hendricks
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......great piece, bob..........(while I know many guitar players who were fans, I prefer Edgar for his musical contribution to my ears)...........
Tommy Allen
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You're so wrong. Paul Nelson kept Johnny clean and did good by him. You
need to fact check the last few years of Johnny's life
Jesse Lundy
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I agree with so much of what you put out there but you're surprisingly wrong on this.
It's hard to believe that your inbox is full of requests to write about Johnny as you seem to know very little about his essence.
And to throw overdose out there as cause of death is irresponsible at best. He had myriad and well-publicized health issues but he was cleaned up.
Johnny was a dynamic live artist who was a Texas blues guy at heart. Mike Bloomfield recognized this and so did Stevie Ray Vaughn. If you were a fan, you did own his albums and could name the tunes. You obviously weren't.
If Johnny Winter And (Rock And Roll Hootchie Koo) was a stylistic sellout in your opinion, couldn't you say the same of Mike Bloomfield and Electric Flag? That wasn't Chicago blues. Who cares?
"The sixties were different from today. All the energy came from the label..." Really? That certainly isn't how it felt at the Fillmore East when acts like Johnny and others too numerous to mention used their live performances to electrify crowds and create a rabid fan base. "Moving product" wasn't on anyone's radar screen other than the suits.
Johnny might have been over-hyped in some respects (thanks to Steve Paul and Columbia) but he had a unique and recognizable sound and he delivered live.
I saw him last August and while significantly diminished from his late sixties skill and energy level (who isn't?) he could still ratchet it up to kill Highway 61 Revisited on his Firebird.
William Nollman
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You can't say that. Damn.
Roxy Myzal
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Lovely tribute
Ihor Gowda
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Bob,
You cannot talk about Johnny Winter's career without talking about the albums he produced!
Muddy Waters "Hard Again" alone with the iconic & ballsy version of "Mannish Boy" is enough to secure his place in both Blues & Rock'n'Roll history!
I feel you on the albums though, but damn if he wasn't one of the best slide guitarists ever! And I'm stoked he had a resurgence in the past few years. Like Leon Russell, he earned it!
RIP Johnny Winter
P.S. I'm 33, the first time I saw or was aware of Johnny Winter was in 1993 (I was 12) - Johnny did his (killer) version of "Highway 61" at the Bob Dylan 30th anniversary concert (which my dad ordered on pay-per-view) and Johnny scared me to death...he looked like Freddy Krueger (from Nightmare on Elm St)...I didn't sleep that night because of him! But I still remember watching & hearing him shred that tune!
P.P.S. If you are unaware of the albums Johnny produced for Muddy (which I hope to god you're not!), you are truly missing out on some of the greatest electric blues ever recorded!
And I'm not some blues freak! Listen to "Mannish Boy", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I'm Ready" or "I'm a King Bee" from those records and tell me you don't feel like the toughest, baddest mother-fucker in the world!
You can hear Johnny screaming in "Mannish Boy" and yelling "got that mother-fucker" at the tail end!
P.P.S.S. The albums to check out are "Hard Again", "I'm Ready" & "King Bee"
Best,
Tom Cusimano
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Hi Bob,
I read your column and enjoy your writing but...
Johnny Winter was a musician's musician. You are not a musician so you didn't get him. I doubt he read your column. Johnny Winter was as authentic as it gets. Was he tortured and his health a wreck? Hell yes. We're lucky we had him as long as we did. This video of Johnny playing Highway 61 Revisited at the MSG Dylan Tribute is an example of why musicians study his technique. A master has passed away. Have some respect.
http://www.bobdylan.com/us/news/video-johnny-winter-performs-highway-61-revisited-bob-dylan-30th-anniversary-concert-deluxe-edi
Lorenza Ponce
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Good one.
Fly away...
Tony Brummel
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Too old? Or too young. Winter was the whitest black guy of the generation, but not the age, that the Rolling Stones covered.
Had he been thirty years older he would have been "Whitey" Winter and Keith would have him in the autobiography.
Cheers,
Jay Currie?
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Could you be any more smug? I know, it makes for a more interesting read to have a strong opinion, but you really wanted to have it both ways. You don't want to speak ill of the dead, but, what the hell, you will anyway. You think(s) he O.D.'ed, but a few paragraphs down you sort of meekly retract your blustery opening line--maybe he didn't. Who knows?
Knowing everything is cool and all--but sometimes a touch of human kindness is what is required. Surely you can be uncool for one fucking day, no?
Kyle Osborne
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You never mentioned the way he helped rejuvenate Muddy Waters career. Hard Again put Waters back on form and introduced him it audiences once again. Perhaps that was Winters' greatest gift to us. Though having mined what's available of his on Spotify yesterday, there were doubtless many more. We just didn't always see past the wrapping paper.
Steve O'Hear
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Come on Bob. Highway 61 Revisited? I loved johnny Winter. I will miss him he was a national treasure. H could play the shit out of a guitar and he had that gift that separates the haves from the have nots. No one will ever play like Johnny Winter. No one. I can't even count how many hours I have spent listening to his music. I loved "2nd Winter," the three sided album. He is and will always be the man.
PS. I am a black man in love with the blues and Johnny Winter was one of the baddest 'MFs ' I ever heard on guitar. Color did not matetr one iota. He was and will always be the blues. I am a little high right now so excuse my typos and grammatical errors.
Montry Carroll
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Dear Bob,
I was saddened to hear about the death of Johnny Winter and like you I thought it was drugs. Currently I'm suspicious of anyone's death. Nonetheless, I was enchanted by Winter. Second Winter had the chutzpah to have had released a double album with only three sides! His concerts were like a synagogue for rock and roll. Every song he covered he stole and made it his own. He was a true bluesman and had he gone a different route he might have been remembered of as Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Jeff Laufer
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Bob,
I didn't even finish reading this.
Can't you you leave anyone alone?
If you played guitar, if you toured, if you even tried, you wouldn't write such crap.
Learn how to get in the game or stay the fuck out.
Bill West
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Good post, thanks. RIP Johnny. I have fond memories of paying $5 at the door in the early 70's at Panther Hall in Ft. Worth. Memory Pain is a classic cover Johnny used to do, making an SG Custom scream like nobody else could.
Thanks,
Brian Casstevens
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Wow, that really captures the essence of not only JW but those artists who inhabited that world between pure musicianship and stardom. Fat people have been stars, but not so much albinos. If you don't look like Morrison or Mick or Jimi, you can't be a true rock star based on talent alone. A few exceptions. I hadn't even heard he died.
John Brodey
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Stick to writing what you know. You have no idea how far off the mark you are with Johnny, beginning with the drugs. Shame on you.
Michael Witthaus
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Saw Jonny Winter at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1973. Probably 14,000 at the show.
Played Lauderdale last year in a 400 seater. Twenty bucks a ticket and the place was packed...Edger played a couple of songs with him on his birthday.
The common thread 40 years later...Johnny loved what he did and he could play.
Kevin McCloskey
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I read your stuff. You are very vocal about sensationalist bull, yet the Garcia thing in the Johnny Winter piece is just that. What are you saying? Not only are you speculating that Winter overdosed but you are also saying that Gerry's death was a result of drug use. Sure, he loved drugs, but these are two different things/circumstances man. I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm just wondering why you're jumping the gun. You are better than this. Get back to that and stop farting around. Fuck.
Dennis Ellsworth
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We went and saw him last spring in our town in South Orange New Jersey. It was tragic. He was literally carried on stage. Then his band carried him for the first hour. We couldn't stay it was impossible to hear him. What we could hear was that his playing was nowhere like what it was when he was younger. As a lifelong guitar player who had seen him twice before on the joint, it was hard to watch a man who could hardly keep his head up and should not have been on the road. He was not well at that point. I said to my wife as he walked out it'll be a miracle if he survives the summer. She said it'll be a miracle if he survives this gig. He was just plum wore out.
God bless you Johnny Winter. I listened to six hours of you yesterday on Spotify. Very few people ever get to play that well.
With Gratitude,
Matt Peyton
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good one.
Denise Mello
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Last few years he literally had to be carried to a chair where he would play...might've OD'd but nobody surprised he is gone...
Tom Clark
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Johnny Winter IS a legend.
Mark Towns
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Well this was the final straw for me . Just because you didn't listen to him he was no body fuck you little snob I'm glad this has come up been looking for an excuse to drop you pathetic ass and this was it. Oh how you have changed for the worse .
Randell Pepler
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Not very responsible to mention drugs when it has not been mentioned anywhere else ..
Sorry but he was bigger than you believe
Wnew played hoot hie coo must
Not to mention Johnny winter and.. Live!
He was a musicians musician..
casbag2000
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It's pretty fucking harsh to use a man's obit as a "lesson" about career timing and how insignificant you felt his career was to music. I have never listened to his records, but show him some respect as a human being. Remember the old saying, "if you can't say something nice..." I would think that it goes double when summing up a man's life. I would say much more, but I think I'll abide that old cliche' and say good night.
Tom Minarchick
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Well done.
Rob Wolfson
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I call bullshit on your glib analysis of a talented guitarist. His connection to the blues was through his "otherness" being an albino judged on the color of his skin . His performances were transcendent. His music business acumen was not. So what.
I remember the transcendent experience of listening. I was not counting his record sales or arena counts. If I got to listen to him in a bar with thirteen other people, I felt privileged.
Fuck your snarky glib evaluation.
Alex wright
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I did not know him ,but I don't think he OD'ed. I think he died of a life lived. He was a great player.
Michael Tomasek
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Don't forget about _Hard Again_ (1976) -- a truly great latter-day blues record Johnny Winter organized and recorded for Muddy Waters. Who cares about rock 'n' roll anyway! Friggin' permanent music, that is.
Marshall Armintor
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Hi Bob,
in the film "Johnny Winter - Lowdown and Dirty" one of his band mates (Paul Nelson I think) talks about getting Johnny off methadone and cleaning him up.
So I really, really doubt it was an O.D.
He was seventy and not in the best shape physically to say the least. He'd been on the road since he was 15. That would kill anybody.
BTW - the film is great.
here's the clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=195nrG_bHlk
cheers
Kieran Stafford
Birdland Records
Sydney Australia
ps
the movie was shown about a month ago at the Sydney Film Festival. It's worth seeing
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Good perspective bob...not fluffy. One can't ignore his time with the master though, Muddy Waters. Heroin is a very powerful drug ... I can't believe he lived as long as he did...
Lavon Pagan
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Thanks for this, Bob.
If all Johnny Winter had ever done was help Muddy Waters make 'Hard Again',
he'd be my hero. 'Oh yeah!' indeed. Is there a more forceful opening to an
album? Never fails to get me.
Best
John Pidgeon
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It would have been better that you hadn't written anything.
Your opening with a comment that "Methinks he O.D.'ed" underscores your abysmal inability to understand Johnny Winter or his music. His use or non-use of drugs or alcohol at seventy years is really a non-sequitur. The commentary about drugs is just pedestrian journalistic fluff, patronizing and a metaphor for your failure to understand anything here.
You are not a blues fan and you obviously know nothing about white Texas blues musicians. Do tell how ZZ Top or Stevie Ray confused the blues and rock and roll in their quests for radio and career success. Moreover, tell us how JW mangled other Stones' songs like "Jumpin' Jack Flash" or did some other terrible "rock and roll" covers like "Highway 61 Revisted" and "It's All Over Now".
At least be honest when you use this one as a flatbed for yet another one of your dreary lectures about how it worked in the good old days.
What a disgrace.
Bruce Rosenberg
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Edgar Winter! was Hoochie Koo. This is not like you to get it so wrong.
Mark Cubey
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Hi Bob,
I played a festival with Johnny Winter last May 31 in Belgium. It was not the first time our paths had crossed in Europe where for some mysterious reason they treat rock 'n roll and the blues and jazz like it was serious music and age has not yet become the all-defining factor. We were playing on two different stages and I managed to catch part of his show right before I went on myself. Two signs of an aging rocker - we wear hats and eventually we sit down on stage. I've been wearing hats a while but still am on my two feet. Johnny was sitting down but it didn't matter because his light shone brightly and his voice was powerful with that biblical intensity only a true bluesman can possess. I remember when the late Steve Paul got Johnny his huge deal at Columbia back in the sixties. Read about it in Rolling Stone when it was folded up twice like an underground newspaper. Honestly, that deal made an impression! A few years later I got a chance to audition for Rick Derringer, a true
gentleman, and he let me down easy. Guitar hero was not my destiny and I started writing songs about the white, middle class blues instead. America made me and Europe embraced me and I've got no complaints. Well, there is the tinnitus ...
Figured I'd see Johnny back at the hotel after the show but he'd gone on to another gig, down the road. I've got over 2000 shows under my belt and I'm sure he had two or three times that. Road warrior is a misused term but Road survivor says it all.
From Paris,
Elliott Murphy
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Creeping Jesus! A little cold hearted, today.
Fausto Johann Lopez
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you my friend are an idiot....
Michael Mule
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Hi Bob
This is a fabulous analysis and obituary.
Thank you.
John Parikhal
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Nice job Bob.
Bob Grunow
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Bob,
I grew up in Texas during the late 60's where Johnny Winter was larger than life on the local music scene. His reputation was earned by numerous live performances in small clubs scattered between Houston, Austin and Dallas. My first experience seeing Johnny Winter was at the Cellar club located below KBOX radio in the McLendon radio building in Downtown Dallas. It was a dingy joint with not much more than a stage and a bar. He was "the man" for blues in Texas around 1968. We later caught many shows as his career blossomed- somehow always in Texas. We moved to Florida in 1985 and lost touch with his live gigs until recently.
A couple years ago I noticed that Johnny Winter playing a gig at a small theatre in Lakeland, Florida. My son accompanied me as he had been introduced to Johnny's music through listening to my old vinyl. At the gig Johnny appeared to be quite feeble. Someone had to assist him to walk from the side of the stage to a chair where he played. He had a three or four piece backup band. Behind him some one had stretched a ragged banner with his name in some sort of electric logotype. It was pretty cheesy and my thoughts were that he must have bad management.
Miraculously, once he was positioned with guitar in hand, he playing was fluid and voice was strong. This was not the Johnny Winter of 1974 jumping around the stage playing Johnny B. Goode but he still had the roots of his music. After two hours of guitar genius someone took his arm and assisted him offstage. I turned to my son and said "you have just witnessed a real Texas Bluesman."
RIP John Dawson Winter
Bill Powell
___________________________________
Statins? Not a good recommendation in most cases.
"The Great Cholesterol Myth: Why Lowering Your Cholesterol Won't Prevent Heart Disease-and the Statin-Free Plan That Will": http://amzn.to/1rrcXCH
Marc Coleman
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Kudos for your discerning objectivity as you address request's Johnny Winter's passing. As the late Lowell George sang (and he knew all too well), it's easy to slip, so the facts of the man's death may indeed be sordid, but no more so than the period late in the decade when (see MaryLou Sullivan's Raisin' Cain).he was deliberately kept out of touch with his career and himself. I saw Johnny in 2007 and while I did not expect the hyper-wraith of '69-'70, I was nonetheless saddened to watch his fingers a nano-second behind his thoughts when he played (except for a blazing "Highway 61 Revisited to close). Earlier this year the fiery moments of that tune were the rule not the exception so my hope for him is that as departed this material world, he brought some sense of peace with him
anodyne7
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Well said.
Russ Mixer
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"But today no one's lonely, you can always find your tribe online."
---do you really believe this? You think the basic human emotion of feeling alone---which we are---is solved by reddit or 4chan? You think those folks don't feel lonely or alone?
Technology is great at solving problems (or creating new ones), but I don't agree that it has altered the basic human condition yet.
John Cunningham
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Bob -
I have followed your musings for some time. Little did I know how willing you were to write about matters of which you have little to no knowledge.
Johnny Winter's is possibly the greatest story I have has an opportunity to be associated with in my professional career. A precautionary tale, yes. But one of redemption and second chances. Depsite what tidbits you may have picked up from social media, Johnny was not "found in his hotel room in Switzerland." Hours after his final performance, a cough that had started to surface he was diagnosed at the hospital as walking pneumonia. A 7o year-old albino with very high-mileage years behind him and a litany of health issues, each day that he stayed with us was a blessing. He died in the arms of the personal physician that accompanied him on tour and in the company of his crew.
You wouldn't have to look far to learn that since 2005 Johnny has enjoyed the protection and support of a manager, Paul Nelson, who truly cared about the man and his legacy. A man that helped wean him off of every thing that was doing him harm. Johnny no longer smoked. No longer drank. No longer abused prescription meds. He was weaned off of the methadone that he had leaned on for years. No longer indulged in any drugs that were not part of the regimen of prescribed remedy common to a man of his age. He added years to his life and allowed him to reclaim many of the talents. As somebody who had the opportunity to work and travel with Johnny extensively of late, I can speak first-hand to this transformation. It's a heart-warming story that in no way resembles what you published.
You'll see some of these revelations in the documentary "Down and Dirty: The Johnny Winter Story" the documentary that debuted at this years SXSW Fest and is making rounds this summer in the film festival circuit. And your speculation and conclusions that you found it so easy to jump to will be revealed as bullshit, and your writings will be revealed as little more than the sensationalist, phoned-in dreck that we have come to expect from tabloid writers. The music industry needs more from its "insiders."
Say what you will about his talent, his career. But shame on your for sullying the accomplishments of someone, anyone who has come so far against the odds in recent years and dropped every bad habit that was doing them harm. Shame on your for publishing and throwing dirt on the deceased before doing any research or vetting your sources. Shame on your for turning a story of redemption into dark speculation, because its easy for you. A rock star dies in a hotel room. Probably O.D.'d. Easy isn't it? Column done. Check.
I hope that you are revealed to the world, as you have been to me, for the two-bit keypunch that you are. And in spite of your pathetic column, I hope that Johnny Winter's true story will be, too.
Casey Scott, Piedmont Talent
Agent: NE US & Overseas
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Excellent Bob, thanks.
Ken Sebesky
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I just relived the last 40 years. Thanks
Tim Hurst
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Bob,
Despite the ending note, mostly inappropriate and I'm not sure all that factual. Why you would rate a musician's life and popularity on record sales alone is beyond me. And, all just because You didn't care for his music that much.
Of course you have the career arc about right, but I think that had a lot more to do with the drugs than anything else. By the way, if you watch the new documentary you will see that after many many years of drug, and post addiction problems, Johnny was pretty much clean and on his way back to some semblance or normality. Stoli seemed to be his one remaining vice.
I'm not saying he may not have relapsed, but he had so many other health problems that I think it would have been much fairer to go there than the OD 'ed comment. Not that I think you/we should be openly commenting on it at all at this point.
I have no way of imparting just how big a part Johnny was to our circle of friends, admittedly mostly musicians, and how we hung on every blazing note just as much as we did for Clapton, Beck, Muddy and Buddy. And, I suspect from some of the responses you might get that you may begin to realize that he was much more important than you thought, hits or not.
Stan Budgell
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Bob- if you weren't a Johnny Winter fan then you just shouldn't write about him rather than write such a disrespectful piece. And your opening line? Shameful. If you had done one iota of research you would know that Johnny has been in poor health for quite a while. His death was not a surprise to those who followed him and you are the first person I've read suggesting it was a drug overdose.
Did he have a history of drug abuse? Yes and that certainly contributed to his health problems.
I wish I hadn't read this post because it was so disappointing.
Angel roeder. Just a music lover in Burke va
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Nice work but a piss poor cheap shot at Pearl Jam. You need to write about them and perhaps discover their brilliance. Keep it up.
Kurt Lambeth
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Bob,
I was blessed to have met Johnny two years ago doing freelance television booking and consulting producer work. My understanding from conversations prior to taping that day was that Johnny, a former substance abuser, fought his most difficult battle with Methadone. Fortunately, Paul Nelson and others were able to help Johnny transition from substances to being clean and sober. Johnny was now healthier and could stand while performing a few songs which many fans thought in prior years was attributed to his age. Unless Johnny relapsed within the last two years, I find it hard to believe he "O.d.'ed." Seems his rigorous touring schedule at age 70 would play more of a role. As you often note in your writings, relentless touring is required of musicians to build and keep a fan base and to survive financially. Johnny's long and packed tour schedules converted him into a touring machine with some parts worn but others refreshed and effective. And that's what you often say a dedicated and
professional musician does or, if we view Johnny from your perspective, a "Rock Dog" does to survive in this business. With regard to Johnny being a blues or rock musician, he left the impression he was a true fan of the blues greats and the genre of blues. Johnny mentioned how he would sometimes pay out of his own pocket to travel and perform with Muddy Waters, his idol. Johnny did express a disdain for what he considered the use of blues music by some of the British greats such as Led Zeppelin without giving due credit to the blues writers. However, he seemed overall to be happy the genre was kept alive in mainstream music.Your point with regard to Baby Boomers fantasizing and wishing the past were present resonated when I learned that at meet and greets after Johnny's shows some older fans would comment on how they were disappointed in Johnny's playing speed and that he didn't play as fast as he did in his younger days. These comments would be made thinking Johnny could not hear
them but actually could. Of note, Johnny mentioned Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks as two artists he felt represented today's blues greats which is a significant honor to both. While I know there are many people who knew Johnny much longer and closer than my short encounter would allow and who have incredible personal stories about their friendships and experiences with him, I can say that my life was truly enriched from my time spent with him and Paul. My thoughts and prayers are with Johnny's family, his band, and everyone who knew him including his fans.
Chris Petras
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Not sure if it was drugs or not. I'd heard his health hasn't been good. Of course he's had drug problems over the years, but since he's not in the front lines TMZ doesn't tell us.
I was a Johnny Winter fan. Interesting how different parts of the country got things and others didn't in the 60's and early 70's. Here in the midwest lots of us heard Johnny on Beeker Street on KAAY out of Little Rock Arkansas.
Beaker Street intros:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykjcrlK7gxo
Beaker Street Wikipedia--fairly accurate from my memory:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaker_Street
It came on in the evenings from 11 until 2 AM and played all the things that top 40 radio didn't, and before FM was huge here.
We heard Blind Faith before it was released, The Amboy Dukes, All the Hendrix, Cream, and other things that still aren't out on CD. (grin) It all blasted through on that 50,00 Watt AM station with host Clyde Clifford.
So many of us DID know who Johnny was. I certainly can't deny that his over all popularity may not have been as high as some other folks, but many many of us knew of him and really loved his playing. We loved the fact that he'd take a Stones tune and really Rock it up. Heck the Stones did it with their share of tunes over the years. How 'bout Johnny's live version of Jumpin' Jack Flash, or Dylan's Highway 61?, or his version of Rock Me BAby?
He was earthy, Rocky, and soulful.
The girls might not have known him but the guys did, and I'd say it's largely due to Beaker Street. Drugs? Not for me, I was 9 when it went on the air, but stayed up every night to listen.
The Beaker Street intros deffinitly sound dated. (grin)
Bill Scherer
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Bob,
I owned Johnny Winter And. I still do. Bought the CD reissue. Wore out 4 copies of the vinyl. I know the tunes.
I know the amazing guitar interplay between Winter and Derringer. I know the majesty of Winter's cover of "No Time To Live".
As if "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" was the only song worth remembering.
Just another "rocker" ?
I'd kill to wear that mantle if it meant I'd produced a work of that stature.
Maybe it's because I heard the rumor that the album was recorded in a single day, live in the studio with minimal overdubs.
Or maybe it's because it's a fucking killer album.
Yes...he was overhyped in the beginning.
Second-rate stardom. ?
Go back and read some of your own Lefsetz Letters and get a gander at some of those you've overhyped.
Some of the shit you insisted was the "tits".
Acts whose longevity is measured in months, if not days or weeks....whose deaths will impact your inbox nary a bit.
Scott Sechman
P.S. - "Ain't Nothing To Me". Just another rocker, eh?
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Johnny was a guitar hero of mine, introduced by my old man's vinyls which I still have. Mean Town Blues baby!! He could play. Thanks for the blurb on him.
Mike Monosky
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Hi Bob,
Thanks for your words about Johnny Winter. However, there is one contribution that you may have forgotten. Because of my long association with Pinetop Perkins, Muddy's piano player, and because you are so knowledgeable about the music business, I earnestly ask you to remember what Johnny did for Muddy's career in the mid to late seventies. In my opinion, Muddy was a national treasure. It was at Johnny's insistence that Muddy's records, Hard Again, I'm Ready, and King Bee, were released on the Blue Sky Label, which, if my limited knowledge is correct, was distributed by Columbia. Without Johnny's tireless efforts including playing on and (I think) producing these records, Muddy Waters music would not have been heard by millions of people. He could have possibly lingered in obscurity as many other great treasures have. I certainly tip my hat to Johnny for his effort. RIP.
Keep writing, man,
George Kilby Jr.
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You nailed Winter's career and impact but didn't go far enough. He was responsible for arguably the best Muddy Waters album, "Hard Again". By recording at Muddy's house with no hype and no pressure, Winter produced one of the finest blues albums ever.
Martin Rowell
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Bob
Johnny was a big influence on Triumph -
His take on the blues was unique to say the least-
When Johnny left Beaumont to bring his music north he never lost that bluesy-grit we discovered touring the southern states
... as a musician I think you savor the previous gen -those you learned from
One night in ~84 before our show at Market Square Arena in
Indianapolis I watched from backstage as Johnny launched his set /rail thin and frail.. Escorted onstage by his wife -barely able to walk unassisted..
Jumpin' Jack Flash .. then R&R Hoochie-Koo..his signature guitar solos - it was mesmerizing
Johnny rocked that crowd even though he was past his prime - we should be grateful for his music and spirit
Gil Moore
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Johnny Winter is simply one of the all-time greatest guitar players I ever saw--and also one of the most charismatic. In his heyday he could sell out arenas and keep audiences spellbound with just his performance alone-no fancy light shows needed.
The reason was, not only was his left hand lightning fast, but he also did a lot of finger picking with his right hand at the same time. This caused many more notes to explode out of the guitar at once, like sparks streaming out of a pinwheel. But what really sent everything over the top was when he put a slide on. He played slide parts with one finger and kept the other fingers free to play even more notes. So, you heard all the finger picking with the right hand, all the regular licks with the left, and now all the slide parts added on top, and all together at once! Magnificent! It sounded like he had ten fingers on each hand playing on a dozen strings--and it was positively euphoric! Put that together with his Texas blues voice, his on-stage presence prancing around with slinky style movements while playing all these licks, and you've got real magic.
In fact, click on the link below to hear the fast version of "Mean Town Blues." IT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND!
http://youtu.be/MYGtopgc46Y
"Mean Town Blues" is my all time favorite Johnny Winter classic.
I have fond memories of Johnny, as he was one of the first artists I got to know pretty well while working at Columbia Records. I tell these couple of stories not for the "kiss and tell" aspect, but because it was a real moment in time, and perhaps they capture a little bit who he was.
He used to always greet me the same way, "Paul, my favorite promotion man!" I was never sure if that was true or if he said the same thing to all the promotion guys, but I like to think it was. At least he knew I was a player myself, so when I complimented him, he knew I knew what I was talking about.
In those days Johnny was a wild man-sometimes I was afraid, a bit too wild. Although, that may not be fair to say, as it's not for me to judge and he played great every night no matter how f*cked up he was. I guess, kind of like Keith if you think about it-so who can argue when the art comes flying out like that.
I remember being backstage once, and Johnny and the band, which at the time also featured Rick Derringer, were warming up and jamming at lighting speed in a back room. I got close so I could peak in and listen. They finish this blistering jam and Johnny (his head swaying back and forth, eyes half closed) says, "Wow, that was grrrreat!! What was that man?!!" And Derringer looks up and says, "Johnny, that was 'Highway 61' you're gonna play it in 5 minutes when we hit the stage." "Awesome man!!"
The next part is a bit funny, but again in the end, you can't argue with the art.
For those of you not familiar, go back to YouTube and check some live performance footage out. Johnny was very tall and thin, an albino with long blond hair, so he had this unique look. On stage he used to slink around while he played-looked really cool. But, when he got really high he used to slink around back stage too, playing air guitar while yelling at the top of his lungs in that gravely Texas voice, "Rock and Roll! Rock and Roll!!" So, there is Johnny just coming out of a jam where he's so fueled on God knows what that he doesn't even know what he's playing, now feverishly slinking around back stage playing air guitar yelling "Rock and Roll! Rock and Roll!!" A roadie says it's time to go on. So, they lead him up the stage stairs with his arms still stretched out in air guitar mode, and drop a real guitar in his hands (Johnny played a Gibson Firebird—it was his trademark). Without missing a beat he just starts playing the real guitar and slinks right up to the microphone
(head still swaying back and forth) and continues to yell "Rock and Roll! Rock and Roll!!" Nothing had changed from backstage to onstage except now he had a real guitar in his hands and all the mics were on-amazing. And the volume was turned up to eleven I might add (a Johnny Winter show was always a very loud show). But damned if that wasn't one of the best performances I ever saw him do! So, again, for all the times we have seen musicians pretty loaded before they go on stage, and no matter how much we may worry, or think this can't be cool, it's very hard to argue with a brilliant performance.
One of my other favorite stories is when Johnny played the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City,Utah. It was the early 70's and the people who lived in Salt Lake at the time were very straight, middle America, kind of folk (I figure most were Mormon).
Johnny looked strange enough as it was naturally, but at the time he also liked wearing a big black, magician like, top hat. So, he and his girlfriend at the time, the rest of the band and I, decided to go out to dinner the night before the show. We walk into a family style restaurant, Johnny dressed in black with his top hat, the road manager who had extremely long wild hair and a big beard (and who also wore big furry boots), me with a giant Jew fro with mustache and goatee at the time, and the rest of the crew who were all assorted hippy freaks. To the rest of the people in the restaurant we must have looked like we just landed from Mars. Certainly, they'd never seen anything like this before. So, we walk in, and the entire restaurant full of parents and their kids, put their silverware down, looks up and just stare at us-everything just goes quiet. It was like those old E. F. Hutton commercials where everyone stops what they're doing, go silent, look up and they say, "When EF
Hutton talks, people listen." Just bizarre. The maitre de walks up and says, "You guys in a band or somethin'?" Of course we nod our heads and wisely he showed us to a table in the back.
We sit down and Johnny says to me, "Paul, my favorite promotion man (ha, ha), do me a favor and go across the street and buy me some whiskey set ups-we won't be able to get any in this restaurant". The alcohol laws in Utah were insanely strict at the time (still are I figure) and for some reason, at convenience stores they only sold hard liquor in these little airplane type bottles that Johnny called set ups. So, I go and knowing how much Johnny likes to drink (and how tiny those bottles are) I buy everyone the guy will sell me. But there's a limit to how much they will sell. At any rate, I came back with a paper bag full to the brim.
The next morning I go to pick Johnny up from his room to take him for an interview. The room is totally trashed with these little empty bottles strewn all over the place-in the living room, bedroom, bathroom-just everywhere! Clearly one of those famous rock and roll parties had taken place but the aftermath just looked funny because of all the little bottles it took to fuel the party.
This was a moment in time when a lot of rock musicians just "were." They didn't think much about marketing, maybe not even enough about their careers-they just lived the life of rock and roll, and lived to play.
Whatever anyone wants to say about Johnny Winter, his legacy is one of pure musician, and showman too I suppose. One thing is for sure, I've never seen anyone play guitar like that before or since.
Paul Rappaport
___________________________________
Not sure if you've done your research on this or not, but Jerry Garcia did not die of an overdose.
He died of a heart attack, caused by years un-filtered cigarettes, chili dogs and Hagen-Dazs and a lack of physical inactivity. Did the heroin contribute to this decline? Probably, but your newsletter goes out to thousands and implies he died of a overdose, which he did not.
Andrew
___________________________________
Subject: Garcia -- your personal Jesus: thanks for saying that Bob!
This is a subject I cannot broach among my Deadhead friends, even 25 years after the fact. They don't want to hear it, but his fans killed him. If you went to Dead shows in the 80s and you refrained from drugs, and if you had ears, you could hear the dysfunction Garcia led. But the audience kept dancing, kept buying tickets to shitty shows, kept applauding, kept following the bus. They didn't see the dealers lining up backstage to sell Jerry drugs.
Every junkie's like a setting sun.
Judy Smith
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Saturday 19 July 2014
Friday 18 July 2014
Johnny Winter
Methinks he O.D.'ed.
I understand the use of drugs on the road, but it's hard for me to glorify them. As much as I believe marijuana should be legalized, along with the harder stuff, it bugs me that we lionize inebriation, as if the highest state of being is to be high. Because personally, my greatest experiences have all been natural.
I don't want to lock you up. As I get older, I veer towards the libertarian philosophy of we're all individuals and get to make our own choices, but when someone dies of drugs, I think of the waste involved, it taints the legacy. Yup, even Jerry Garcia. Wouldn't it be great if we still had Captain Trips around, if you didn't use him as your personal Jesus, forcing him into a drug habit retreat.
It's hard to be famous. Not that only famous people do drugs, never mind O.D. But most musicians are not well-adjusted, they play for the love of the audience, they get high being on stage, and then being off is positively awful. First, the comedown from the gig, then the endless travel/boredom.
But maybe Johnny Winter didn't O.D. He was seventy, he was an albino, maybe he never went to the doctor and died of a heart attack (yup, go every year, despite conventional wisdom, get a colonoscopy and take your statins and your life will be lengthened, and believe me, when you become aged, you want that.) But the truth is after the death of Jimi, then Janis and Jim, we're skeptical. It's not like Uncle Stan, or the regular people walking the street, when musicians die, we think drugs.
And my inbox is filling up with people asking me to write about Johnny. And I don't want to speak ill of the dead. And I was not the biggest fan, even though I bought a few albums and went to see him live, but most interesting is his career arc.
He was overhyped.
The sixties were different from today. All the energy came from the label, and then it was dependent upon radio to blow you up. Oh sure, if you were not a label priority, you might build a fanbase that would support you along the way, while you searched for that elusive hit, as was the case with Bonnie Raitt and Little Feat, but if the label worked you hard and radio didn't believe, you ended up in a no-man's land, like Johnny Winter.
We all knew who he was, but none of us could name his tunes. Because we didn't own the albums, because there was no Spotify, no YouTube, no BitTorrent. If radio didn't play it, if you didn't own it, it's like it didn't even exist, it might as well have been an empty cover in the record store.
So the first album stiffs. And then they hype the second one as a three-sided double. And back then the scene moved fast, tracks didn't last a winter or a summer, furthermore, if the hype preceded the traction, it was even harder.
So Johnny Winter changed direction. He pushed aside the blues and embraced rock, and scored a hit with Rick Derringer's "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo." A certified smash in both this incarnation and the following Rick Derringer solo rendition. But it was the wrong track at the wrong time. It wasn't quite the sixties, with album side long cuts by Arlo Guthrie and Iron Butterfly, but we hadn't switched over to bite-sized tour-de-forces. Lee Abrams had not taken over the FM world, codifying it into AOR. "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" was too pop for WNEW. This was the height of hipness. A few years later, in the Abrams era, the track would have dominated like "Sweet Home Alabama." But we were still waiting for "Stairway To Heaven" and "Free Bird," which were yet to be released.
And suddenly Johnny Winter wasn't what he was presented as. Rather than the blues slinger, the Texas Michael Bloomfield, he was just another rocker.
Then it got worse. Winter was finally a star who could draw, but he was covering the Stones' "Silver Train," it's like he had a lobotomy and was delivering what the audience wanted, just to stay alive.
But this was the era of careers and credibility. And when the hits dried up, so did Johnny's fame. Not that most cared, the grinning guy with the tiny guitar seemed a curio, far from the original bluesmeister.
And when Johnny Winter returned to who he was, very few people noticed. Enough to keep him alive, enough to keep him on the road, not enough to bring him back to prominence.
This was not someone ripe for MTV airplay, never mind a VH1 "Behind The Music." His stardom was second-rate. It was unclear who his fans were. All he had left was himself and his playing.
And that's when Johnny Winter started to flourish. When people stopped paying attention, he went back to who he was in the first place. Unfortunately he was a little too old for the Internet. If the online world had begun a decade earlier, and/or Johnny had been ten years younger, he might have been able to rebuild his career. But at his age...it's kind of like Hot Tuna, there's the hard core, and the rest of the people who might care don't spend hours surfing the Internet and the youngsters who are are more interested in discovering the legends.
Which, unfortunately, Johnny Winter never became.
But Johnny was a musician, unlike so many of today's stars. He really could play the guitar like ringing a bell, he did have roots, he did have a style.
And like the classic bluesmen who preceded him, Johnny had his ups and downs. But he stuck with the program. He delivered for those who cared.
So let this be a lesson for you.
Or not.
The truth is every career is unique, would the Beatles have licensed to corporations if they broke today? I'm sure Pearl Jam would. You're a product of your place and time.
And Johnny Winter was a product of the radio and records era. Wherein you listened all night, bought the recordings and stayed at home practicing until you were good enough to gig and get a life.
It was so different from today. No one thought they were entitled to instant stardom, never mind a gig, whereas today pre-teens are stunned that no one wants to see them live.
But today no one's lonely, you can always find your tribe online.
But back then the loneliness was overwhelming, especially if you didn't live in the city. You were an outcast if you didn't play sports. Girls didn't pay attention to you if you weren't cute. You got bit by the music bug and woodshedded until you could break out. And Johnny did. Although his career was thwarted by high expectations that were initially unfulfilled.
So another classic rocker is gone. Not one of the Brits who gave it up for a day job and rarely straps on his axe, but someone from the second generation, someone who didn't break in '64, but hit the scene before everybody had an FM radio in their car, when music and albums were still for the hip.
The timing of these musicians was right, they were infected before the Beatles, so when that band broke, they were ready.
But so many of the American bands were influenced by the Yardbirds and the rest of the U.K. acts feeding our history back to us. Yup, in the late sixties, we reclaimed the blues.
So Johnny, we hardly knew ye. You were trumped by the publicity, you changed styles before you caught on and when you returned happily to who you were times had changed and few were paying attention.
But you got to be up on stage. You got to play and record with your heroes. And life is not about charts and spreadsheets, it doesn't come down to data, but experiences.
And all those playing at home just dream of having the experiences you did.
You were a soldier in the rock and roll army when not anybody could enlist, when they only wanted the best and the brightest. You fulfilled your duty. You got no medals, but you were a key player in the ultimate triumph of rock and roll over disposable pop.
We could still use you, your ability and your wisdom, your staccato and your twang, the way you wrung that sound out of your guitar.
Unfortunately, you're gone.
Bye Johnny!
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I understand the use of drugs on the road, but it's hard for me to glorify them. As much as I believe marijuana should be legalized, along with the harder stuff, it bugs me that we lionize inebriation, as if the highest state of being is to be high. Because personally, my greatest experiences have all been natural.
I don't want to lock you up. As I get older, I veer towards the libertarian philosophy of we're all individuals and get to make our own choices, but when someone dies of drugs, I think of the waste involved, it taints the legacy. Yup, even Jerry Garcia. Wouldn't it be great if we still had Captain Trips around, if you didn't use him as your personal Jesus, forcing him into a drug habit retreat.
It's hard to be famous. Not that only famous people do drugs, never mind O.D. But most musicians are not well-adjusted, they play for the love of the audience, they get high being on stage, and then being off is positively awful. First, the comedown from the gig, then the endless travel/boredom.
But maybe Johnny Winter didn't O.D. He was seventy, he was an albino, maybe he never went to the doctor and died of a heart attack (yup, go every year, despite conventional wisdom, get a colonoscopy and take your statins and your life will be lengthened, and believe me, when you become aged, you want that.) But the truth is after the death of Jimi, then Janis and Jim, we're skeptical. It's not like Uncle Stan, or the regular people walking the street, when musicians die, we think drugs.
And my inbox is filling up with people asking me to write about Johnny. And I don't want to speak ill of the dead. And I was not the biggest fan, even though I bought a few albums and went to see him live, but most interesting is his career arc.
He was overhyped.
The sixties were different from today. All the energy came from the label, and then it was dependent upon radio to blow you up. Oh sure, if you were not a label priority, you might build a fanbase that would support you along the way, while you searched for that elusive hit, as was the case with Bonnie Raitt and Little Feat, but if the label worked you hard and radio didn't believe, you ended up in a no-man's land, like Johnny Winter.
We all knew who he was, but none of us could name his tunes. Because we didn't own the albums, because there was no Spotify, no YouTube, no BitTorrent. If radio didn't play it, if you didn't own it, it's like it didn't even exist, it might as well have been an empty cover in the record store.
So the first album stiffs. And then they hype the second one as a three-sided double. And back then the scene moved fast, tracks didn't last a winter or a summer, furthermore, if the hype preceded the traction, it was even harder.
So Johnny Winter changed direction. He pushed aside the blues and embraced rock, and scored a hit with Rick Derringer's "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo." A certified smash in both this incarnation and the following Rick Derringer solo rendition. But it was the wrong track at the wrong time. It wasn't quite the sixties, with album side long cuts by Arlo Guthrie and Iron Butterfly, but we hadn't switched over to bite-sized tour-de-forces. Lee Abrams had not taken over the FM world, codifying it into AOR. "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" was too pop for WNEW. This was the height of hipness. A few years later, in the Abrams era, the track would have dominated like "Sweet Home Alabama." But we were still waiting for "Stairway To Heaven" and "Free Bird," which were yet to be released.
And suddenly Johnny Winter wasn't what he was presented as. Rather than the blues slinger, the Texas Michael Bloomfield, he was just another rocker.
Then it got worse. Winter was finally a star who could draw, but he was covering the Stones' "Silver Train," it's like he had a lobotomy and was delivering what the audience wanted, just to stay alive.
But this was the era of careers and credibility. And when the hits dried up, so did Johnny's fame. Not that most cared, the grinning guy with the tiny guitar seemed a curio, far from the original bluesmeister.
And when Johnny Winter returned to who he was, very few people noticed. Enough to keep him alive, enough to keep him on the road, not enough to bring him back to prominence.
This was not someone ripe for MTV airplay, never mind a VH1 "Behind The Music." His stardom was second-rate. It was unclear who his fans were. All he had left was himself and his playing.
And that's when Johnny Winter started to flourish. When people stopped paying attention, he went back to who he was in the first place. Unfortunately he was a little too old for the Internet. If the online world had begun a decade earlier, and/or Johnny had been ten years younger, he might have been able to rebuild his career. But at his age...it's kind of like Hot Tuna, there's the hard core, and the rest of the people who might care don't spend hours surfing the Internet and the youngsters who are are more interested in discovering the legends.
Which, unfortunately, Johnny Winter never became.
But Johnny was a musician, unlike so many of today's stars. He really could play the guitar like ringing a bell, he did have roots, he did have a style.
And like the classic bluesmen who preceded him, Johnny had his ups and downs. But he stuck with the program. He delivered for those who cared.
So let this be a lesson for you.
Or not.
The truth is every career is unique, would the Beatles have licensed to corporations if they broke today? I'm sure Pearl Jam would. You're a product of your place and time.
And Johnny Winter was a product of the radio and records era. Wherein you listened all night, bought the recordings and stayed at home practicing until you were good enough to gig and get a life.
It was so different from today. No one thought they were entitled to instant stardom, never mind a gig, whereas today pre-teens are stunned that no one wants to see them live.
But today no one's lonely, you can always find your tribe online.
But back then the loneliness was overwhelming, especially if you didn't live in the city. You were an outcast if you didn't play sports. Girls didn't pay attention to you if you weren't cute. You got bit by the music bug and woodshedded until you could break out. And Johnny did. Although his career was thwarted by high expectations that were initially unfulfilled.
So another classic rocker is gone. Not one of the Brits who gave it up for a day job and rarely straps on his axe, but someone from the second generation, someone who didn't break in '64, but hit the scene before everybody had an FM radio in their car, when music and albums were still for the hip.
The timing of these musicians was right, they were infected before the Beatles, so when that band broke, they were ready.
But so many of the American bands were influenced by the Yardbirds and the rest of the U.K. acts feeding our history back to us. Yup, in the late sixties, we reclaimed the blues.
So Johnny, we hardly knew ye. You were trumped by the publicity, you changed styles before you caught on and when you returned happily to who you were times had changed and few were paying attention.
But you got to be up on stage. You got to play and record with your heroes. And life is not about charts and spreadsheets, it doesn't come down to data, but experiences.
And all those playing at home just dream of having the experiences you did.
You were a soldier in the rock and roll army when not anybody could enlist, when they only wanted the best and the brightest. You fulfilled your duty. You got no medals, but you were a key player in the ultimate triumph of rock and roll over disposable pop.
We could still use you, your ability and your wisdom, your staccato and your twang, the way you wrung that sound out of your guitar.
Unfortunately, you're gone.
Bye Johnny!
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Rhinofy-Billy Squier Primer
ROCK ME TONITE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR0j7sModCI
This is the clip that ended Billy Squier's career, that shot him from the beer drinker's hope to nobody's favorite seemingly overnight.
Dancing in a pink tank top? What was he thinking?
He wasn't. He listened to famous choreographer Kenny Ortega and was instantly finished. Oh, he got some airplay thereafter, but there was a stink upon his career that still hasn't worn off.
Meanwhile, this is a serviceable hit, but nothing like what came before, on "Don't Say No."
THE BIG BEAT
Yes, there was a first album, cut with Eddy Offord, of Yes fame, which got hardly any traction, despite this track ultimately being sampled by a who's who of rappers.
YOU SHOULD BE HIGH LOVE
This track on the initial LP, entitled "Tale Of The Tape," got a bit of airplay, in retrospect it sounds like classic Squier, but it was not a hit. Squier was just another unknown journeyman who'd worked with various outfits and failed and now had a deal with one of the worst labels in the business. And then came...
THE STROKE
The one. An instant hit. All over the radio. With that backward snare drum, masterminded by producer Reinhold Mack, who'd just come off Queen's huge "The Game." It was 1981, most people did not have MTV, but "The Stroke" broke through on FM, before the new English wave hit, when we were sick of the same old seventies hits. "The Stroke" was played into the ground, but with just a few modernizing tweaks, it could be a hit again today. Especially notable are the dynamics, how it can be loud, then quiet, then...
IN THE DARK
Nothing was as big as "The Stroke," but I far prefer this, for the wall of sound riff, which segues into Billy's mellifluous vocal. This is the kind of track that's made for air guitar, you just close your eyes, pick out your imaginary axe, and then open your peepers and perfect your moves in front of the mirror...
Punks said they wanted to get rid of this sound, but so much of America still loves this sound. Probably my favorite Billy Squier cut.
MY KINDA LOVER
The album opened with "In The Dark," "The Stroke," then this, with the enrapturing chorus you couldn't help but do your best Stevie Wonder head weave to.
TOO DAZE GONE
Sure, it was an album track, but it was oh-so-good. Kinda reminiscent of Bad Company whilst still being its own cut...
"Too daze gone...
Too daze gone..."
And then that lyrical guitar underneath, whew!
LONELY IS THE NIGHT
The big hit that opened the second side of the album, and I had to own the LP, along with millions of others, because after a few hits you believed there had to be more, and there was. It's all about the riff, with that squealing, bending sound, like an animal in heat. And those little guitar accents after the lines of the verse, and then that twisting, bending vocal in the pre-chorus. "The Stroke" may be overplayed, but despite "Lonely Is The Night" getting a ton of airplay, it's still fresh in my mind.
DON'T SAY NO
Despite featuring future masked marvel Bruce Kulick on his solo debut, despite cowriting with Desmond Child on same, the second album was all Billy Squier all the time, he wrote all the songs, he pushed the envelope, proving he was a talent to be reckoned with. Sammy Hagar modernized Capitol Records, but Billy Squier made the label one to be considered.
"Don't Say No" finishes the album on a tear, daring you to drop the needle and hear the whole opus again.
Billy Squier was a star. Radio made him, MTV blew him up, and then...
EVERYBODY WANTS YOU
The follow-up to "In The Dark" wasn't quite as good, but what could be? Furthermore, by this time Culture Club and the rest of the new English wave were squeezing out the classic rockers on the all powerful MTV. Still, this made inroads, this is good, it could have fit perfectly on "In The Dark," and that's a good thing!
SHE'S A RUNNER
Another keeper from "Emotions In Motion," it's the guitar sound that's so intriguing, that keeps you listening. The track builds, it's different from what's come before, but it satisfies.
EMOTIONS IN MOTION
The title track. Queen-influenced. Actually, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor participated on it. "Emotions In Motion" was not made for radio, but for home, it was a hit in your living room.
SIGNS OF LIFE
And then came "Rock Me Tonite," on this, Squier's fourth solo album. It was the wrong video at the wrong time. By this time, Squier was a star, MTV was all powerful, Michael Jackson had penetrated it, everybody was watching, and Squier misfired.
Why wasn't anybody in the room saying NO!
But that's rock and roll. Where everybody convinces each other something's a winner, and then the public immediately puts thumbs down, kind of like with Robin Thicke's "Paula." But Billy Squier was bigger than Robin Thicke. Back when it wasn't about the single, but the body of work.
And then it was too late. Squier retreated, lost momentum and the game changed. It was no longer about rock and it was all about the video.
So what we're left with is one superior album and a few tracks, a guy with talent who made it but then was excoriated and gone. Proving, once again, that even though you think you've made it, that may not be true.
Furthermore, it shows the power of video. Without it, Billy Squier would still be a star today, filling sheds all by his lonesome, or with Styx and Def Leppard.
Ah, progress...
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/1kxDgiN
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR0j7sModCI
This is the clip that ended Billy Squier's career, that shot him from the beer drinker's hope to nobody's favorite seemingly overnight.
Dancing in a pink tank top? What was he thinking?
He wasn't. He listened to famous choreographer Kenny Ortega and was instantly finished. Oh, he got some airplay thereafter, but there was a stink upon his career that still hasn't worn off.
Meanwhile, this is a serviceable hit, but nothing like what came before, on "Don't Say No."
THE BIG BEAT
Yes, there was a first album, cut with Eddy Offord, of Yes fame, which got hardly any traction, despite this track ultimately being sampled by a who's who of rappers.
YOU SHOULD BE HIGH LOVE
This track on the initial LP, entitled "Tale Of The Tape," got a bit of airplay, in retrospect it sounds like classic Squier, but it was not a hit. Squier was just another unknown journeyman who'd worked with various outfits and failed and now had a deal with one of the worst labels in the business. And then came...
THE STROKE
The one. An instant hit. All over the radio. With that backward snare drum, masterminded by producer Reinhold Mack, who'd just come off Queen's huge "The Game." It was 1981, most people did not have MTV, but "The Stroke" broke through on FM, before the new English wave hit, when we were sick of the same old seventies hits. "The Stroke" was played into the ground, but with just a few modernizing tweaks, it could be a hit again today. Especially notable are the dynamics, how it can be loud, then quiet, then...
IN THE DARK
Nothing was as big as "The Stroke," but I far prefer this, for the wall of sound riff, which segues into Billy's mellifluous vocal. This is the kind of track that's made for air guitar, you just close your eyes, pick out your imaginary axe, and then open your peepers and perfect your moves in front of the mirror...
Punks said they wanted to get rid of this sound, but so much of America still loves this sound. Probably my favorite Billy Squier cut.
MY KINDA LOVER
The album opened with "In The Dark," "The Stroke," then this, with the enrapturing chorus you couldn't help but do your best Stevie Wonder head weave to.
TOO DAZE GONE
Sure, it was an album track, but it was oh-so-good. Kinda reminiscent of Bad Company whilst still being its own cut...
"Too daze gone...
Too daze gone..."
And then that lyrical guitar underneath, whew!
LONELY IS THE NIGHT
The big hit that opened the second side of the album, and I had to own the LP, along with millions of others, because after a few hits you believed there had to be more, and there was. It's all about the riff, with that squealing, bending sound, like an animal in heat. And those little guitar accents after the lines of the verse, and then that twisting, bending vocal in the pre-chorus. "The Stroke" may be overplayed, but despite "Lonely Is The Night" getting a ton of airplay, it's still fresh in my mind.
DON'T SAY NO
Despite featuring future masked marvel Bruce Kulick on his solo debut, despite cowriting with Desmond Child on same, the second album was all Billy Squier all the time, he wrote all the songs, he pushed the envelope, proving he was a talent to be reckoned with. Sammy Hagar modernized Capitol Records, but Billy Squier made the label one to be considered.
"Don't Say No" finishes the album on a tear, daring you to drop the needle and hear the whole opus again.
Billy Squier was a star. Radio made him, MTV blew him up, and then...
EVERYBODY WANTS YOU
The follow-up to "In The Dark" wasn't quite as good, but what could be? Furthermore, by this time Culture Club and the rest of the new English wave were squeezing out the classic rockers on the all powerful MTV. Still, this made inroads, this is good, it could have fit perfectly on "In The Dark," and that's a good thing!
SHE'S A RUNNER
Another keeper from "Emotions In Motion," it's the guitar sound that's so intriguing, that keeps you listening. The track builds, it's different from what's come before, but it satisfies.
EMOTIONS IN MOTION
The title track. Queen-influenced. Actually, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor participated on it. "Emotions In Motion" was not made for radio, but for home, it was a hit in your living room.
SIGNS OF LIFE
And then came "Rock Me Tonite," on this, Squier's fourth solo album. It was the wrong video at the wrong time. By this time, Squier was a star, MTV was all powerful, Michael Jackson had penetrated it, everybody was watching, and Squier misfired.
Why wasn't anybody in the room saying NO!
But that's rock and roll. Where everybody convinces each other something's a winner, and then the public immediately puts thumbs down, kind of like with Robin Thicke's "Paula." But Billy Squier was bigger than Robin Thicke. Back when it wasn't about the single, but the body of work.
And then it was too late. Squier retreated, lost momentum and the game changed. It was no longer about rock and it was all about the video.
So what we're left with is one superior album and a few tracks, a guy with talent who made it but then was excoriated and gone. Proving, once again, that even though you think you've made it, that may not be true.
Furthermore, it shows the power of video. Without it, Billy Squier would still be a star today, filling sheds all by his lonesome, or with Styx and Def Leppard.
Ah, progress...
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/1kxDgiN
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Thursday 17 July 2014
John Oliver
Fix the teeth, make it shorter and lie about your age.
Is John Oliver breaking all the rules or is the truth there are no rules to begin with?
What we know is you've go to appeal to the younger generation, oldsters don't switch products, advertisers are not interested, if you're not shooting for tweens and teens, we don't care.
And god help us be beautiful. Isn't that the Fox News mantra? If you find a guy who doesn't want to bang Megyn Kelly, he's gay. If you're gonna hire a lawyer, one who's actually smart, why not get someone beautiful? Yup, no ugly people on TV.
And don't you know that kids have a short attention span? I mean you're gonna talk about income inequality for fourteen minutes? Everybody's gonna tune out, no one cares, can't you throw in some cute dogs or cats while you're at it, and a feel good moment too?
But no, John Oliver is British. So he's self-deprecating and can verbalize the truth everyone in America is afraid to utter. That's right, the mayor of Los Angeles utters the F-word and it dominates the news for two weeks, as if no one over twenty ever swears.
And there's the fiction that there are two reasonable sides to every story. As if every time someone's bleeding to death, we should call in the Christian Scientists for their take.
No, the truth is everybody knows what's real, and it's beyond refreshing to have someone in a position of power utter it.
That's what John Oliver is, a truth-sayer.
Who's been doing his job for decades.
Wait a minute? Don't we revere the barely pubescent, who haven't even had their first kiss? Old means worthless in America, over the hill old man, we don't want to hear your opinions. And the hilarious thing is the old people buy it, they diet down to nothing, wear their children's clothing and imitate their lifestyle. Why else to get plastic surgery other than to evade the aging police. It's like the whole country's living "Logan's Run," but no one will admit it. And they also won't admit that with age comes wisdom, which grows from experience. You live and you learn, but most people don't learn to let the epithets of the youngsters slide off of them. They feel inadequate themselves, when the youngsters say they are they don't own their identity, they change it.
The virality of John Oliver's HBO program is astounding.
And it's all because he's firing on all cylinders. To watch Oliver's show is to wait for the lull, the mediocre interlude, that permeates sitcoms, that's dominates society. It's like watching an acrobat, or a tightrope walker, we're on the edge of our seats, just waiting for him to fall. But Oliver keeps cruising along at an insightful comedy altitude that's jaw-dropping. Which is why everybody's talking about him, e-mailing clips about him.
Yup, you've just got to be that good. I mean you watch Oliver and you damn near have a heart attack, it's akin to watching the Beatles or Richard Pryor, if Richard Pryor did not only talk about race and his life, but politics. We're drawn to excellence. But everybody who's less than wants attention. Which means we wait to see what rises above. And John Oliver has risen above.
Income inequality. Even the Republicans now admit it's a problem. But it's a television third rail, because of "class warfare." Huh? There's already class warfare, why worry about the moniker? And Oliver addresses this too.
Now his fourteen minute diatribe on income inequality is not quite as good as his shorter evisceration of climate change deniers, but...
He starts with a joke, analogizing income inequality to whether you're stealing or paying for HBO, while he's on HBO! You won't get a musician to disparage his label, to poke holes in its business model, to criticize it as being antique unless said musician wants off.
Then, like a roller coaster, there are popular culture references and history and a refusal to be all or nothing, as in stating that true equality is a pipe dream.
And then there's the skewering of America's inane optimism, wherein if you're not a winner, or on your way to victory, you're a base whiner who must be shouted down and removed from the debate, you're a hater trotting out facts without concrete solutions so please get out of my way as I delusionally work twenty hours a day pursuing victory at a casino wherein the house always wins.
It's like an album where all ten cuts are winners, where there's no bait and switch, where when you're done you want more.
It turns out that we're not interested in exterior, but interior, that everything being told and sold to us is wrong. You don't have to be beautiful, your father doesn't have to be rich, but to triumph you've got to be smart, experienced and creative.
Oliver fights with facts, wrapped up in a presentation so good that it doesn't rely on said facts. It's like Eric Clapton not needing to whip out a lick because the song is so good, his guitar playing is secondary.
So when you gonna wake up?
That's right, once upon a time we relied on Bob Dylan and other musicians to speak the truth. But that no longer happens. Instead we must watch cartoons and comedians. You'll get more honesty on "South Park" than you will on the nightly news. And it's lucrative too, just check out "Book Of Mormon."
So keep telling yourself the game has changed, that the old values are out the window, that everybody's got a short attention span and we live in a hit and run society wherein Britney Spears is already too old and we need someone much younger to replace her.
You need no money to speak your mind. You need no money to be good. But if you pay your dues, those supposedly against you will embrace you, HBO will pay John Oliver to skewer the establishment. And the end result will be of such high quality that the unwashed masses will lift you above and beyond, you will become a superstar with credibility. Which is a far cry from what we're featuring on today's hit parade.
There is hope.
"Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Wealth Gap": http://bit.ly/1juUiTI
"Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Climate Change Debate": http://bit.ly/RAtlkx
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Is John Oliver breaking all the rules or is the truth there are no rules to begin with?
What we know is you've go to appeal to the younger generation, oldsters don't switch products, advertisers are not interested, if you're not shooting for tweens and teens, we don't care.
And god help us be beautiful. Isn't that the Fox News mantra? If you find a guy who doesn't want to bang Megyn Kelly, he's gay. If you're gonna hire a lawyer, one who's actually smart, why not get someone beautiful? Yup, no ugly people on TV.
And don't you know that kids have a short attention span? I mean you're gonna talk about income inequality for fourteen minutes? Everybody's gonna tune out, no one cares, can't you throw in some cute dogs or cats while you're at it, and a feel good moment too?
But no, John Oliver is British. So he's self-deprecating and can verbalize the truth everyone in America is afraid to utter. That's right, the mayor of Los Angeles utters the F-word and it dominates the news for two weeks, as if no one over twenty ever swears.
And there's the fiction that there are two reasonable sides to every story. As if every time someone's bleeding to death, we should call in the Christian Scientists for their take.
No, the truth is everybody knows what's real, and it's beyond refreshing to have someone in a position of power utter it.
That's what John Oliver is, a truth-sayer.
Who's been doing his job for decades.
Wait a minute? Don't we revere the barely pubescent, who haven't even had their first kiss? Old means worthless in America, over the hill old man, we don't want to hear your opinions. And the hilarious thing is the old people buy it, they diet down to nothing, wear their children's clothing and imitate their lifestyle. Why else to get plastic surgery other than to evade the aging police. It's like the whole country's living "Logan's Run," but no one will admit it. And they also won't admit that with age comes wisdom, which grows from experience. You live and you learn, but most people don't learn to let the epithets of the youngsters slide off of them. They feel inadequate themselves, when the youngsters say they are they don't own their identity, they change it.
The virality of John Oliver's HBO program is astounding.
And it's all because he's firing on all cylinders. To watch Oliver's show is to wait for the lull, the mediocre interlude, that permeates sitcoms, that's dominates society. It's like watching an acrobat, or a tightrope walker, we're on the edge of our seats, just waiting for him to fall. But Oliver keeps cruising along at an insightful comedy altitude that's jaw-dropping. Which is why everybody's talking about him, e-mailing clips about him.
Yup, you've just got to be that good. I mean you watch Oliver and you damn near have a heart attack, it's akin to watching the Beatles or Richard Pryor, if Richard Pryor did not only talk about race and his life, but politics. We're drawn to excellence. But everybody who's less than wants attention. Which means we wait to see what rises above. And John Oliver has risen above.
Income inequality. Even the Republicans now admit it's a problem. But it's a television third rail, because of "class warfare." Huh? There's already class warfare, why worry about the moniker? And Oliver addresses this too.
Now his fourteen minute diatribe on income inequality is not quite as good as his shorter evisceration of climate change deniers, but...
He starts with a joke, analogizing income inequality to whether you're stealing or paying for HBO, while he's on HBO! You won't get a musician to disparage his label, to poke holes in its business model, to criticize it as being antique unless said musician wants off.
Then, like a roller coaster, there are popular culture references and history and a refusal to be all or nothing, as in stating that true equality is a pipe dream.
And then there's the skewering of America's inane optimism, wherein if you're not a winner, or on your way to victory, you're a base whiner who must be shouted down and removed from the debate, you're a hater trotting out facts without concrete solutions so please get out of my way as I delusionally work twenty hours a day pursuing victory at a casino wherein the house always wins.
It's like an album where all ten cuts are winners, where there's no bait and switch, where when you're done you want more.
It turns out that we're not interested in exterior, but interior, that everything being told and sold to us is wrong. You don't have to be beautiful, your father doesn't have to be rich, but to triumph you've got to be smart, experienced and creative.
Oliver fights with facts, wrapped up in a presentation so good that it doesn't rely on said facts. It's like Eric Clapton not needing to whip out a lick because the song is so good, his guitar playing is secondary.
So when you gonna wake up?
That's right, once upon a time we relied on Bob Dylan and other musicians to speak the truth. But that no longer happens. Instead we must watch cartoons and comedians. You'll get more honesty on "South Park" than you will on the nightly news. And it's lucrative too, just check out "Book Of Mormon."
So keep telling yourself the game has changed, that the old values are out the window, that everybody's got a short attention span and we live in a hit and run society wherein Britney Spears is already too old and we need someone much younger to replace her.
You need no money to speak your mind. You need no money to be good. But if you pay your dues, those supposedly against you will embrace you, HBO will pay John Oliver to skewer the establishment. And the end result will be of such high quality that the unwashed masses will lift you above and beyond, you will become a superstar with credibility. Which is a far cry from what we're featuring on today's hit parade.
There is hope.
"Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Wealth Gap": http://bit.ly/1juUiTI
"Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Climate Change Debate": http://bit.ly/RAtlkx
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Wednesday 16 July 2014
Problem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS1g8G_njx8
I'm sick and fucking tired of armchair quarterbacks e-mailing me what they think is a hit, adjudicating while knowing nothing. Want to know what's a hit? ARIANA GRANDE'S PROBLEM!
Huh?
That's right, welcome to today, where you've got a bunch of pontificating blowhards angry the world doesn't conform to their desires when the truth is they don't want to spend or play, they just want to bitch!
So, you used to be addicted to the free format FM station. So, you used to watch MTV incessantly. I've got news for you, the world CHANGED! You're no longer a teenager, you don't spend all day in front of YouTube, you haven't bought a concert ticket in eons unless it's from Goldstar, and you say the best music is made by people in clubs that you don't go to, even if there's no cover charge.
It all comes down to money, people vote with their wallets. And today, time is also currency. Are you willing to watch the YouTube clip again and again? Because then the artist will get paid. The reason your fave is broke is because nobody is watching, nobody is streaming. Forget about sales, the revenue may be great per unit, but there's no guarantee anybody listens, and not that many buy. But can you get tens of millions of people to stream on YouTube or Spotify? Do this and you'll no longer bitch about dough. Ariana Grande is turning down opportunities every day while you're crying in your beer.
She bought insurance, sure she had a hand in writing the song, but so did Max Martin, today's number one songwriter, has been for eons. It'd be like you being produced by Mutt Lange, at least in his heyday, he could turn just about anybody into a worldwide superstar, like Shania Twain, without him she's nothing, other than her rep, which he's responsible for.
But Max Martin doesn't want to work with you, because you don't want to compromise and you don't have a good voice and you don't want to make hits, and today either you're creating a hit or you're shit. Yup, you can post it online, but that does not mean anybody is listening to it. You think you're entitled to success, but you're not, even if you once had a hit in rotation on the aforementioned MTV.
The problem is you're not creating alternative hits, something with as many hooks as "Problem" which sounds different. You've got a lousy voice, it takes forever to get to the chorus, and no one ever needs to hear the song ever again.
Repeatability... If I don't want to put your track on endless repeat, it's a stiff. I don't have enough time, I've got endless episodes of "Breaking Bad," John Oliver and "Vice" to watch, do you really think I want to waste time with something that's not superior?
I'm with you on one thing, "Problem" breaks no new ground, it's somewhat disposable. But the truth is your brethren, the greedy boomer businessmen, helped make it so. They didn't want to invest in the alternative, and as a result today's younger generation knows not of what you speak. That's right, they didn't spend all night glued to their transistor listening to underground FM radio, bonding with the deejay, they've just been exposed to Ryan Seacrest, and they keep pushing NEXT, because they don't want to waste any time and they've got incredible shit detectors.
So I hope it makes you feel good to sit at home and e-mail me that my taste sucks and you know best. But I've never heard of you, and I have heard of Ariana Grande, never mind Max Martin, because they make music that appeals to many, and you can't. And you can only make bank by appealing to many, that's why they call it broadcasting, that's why they call it mass media.
Yup, this cut is formula, and even hearkens back to C&C Music Factory, never mind having the obligatory rapper. But at least it succeeds on its own level, it hits the target. Chris Martin may be a whipping boy, boy, but at least his music is pleasant to hear.
That's what's wrong with music, all the know-it-all naysayers. Who suddenly have a voice because of the Internet. Father might know best, but not about music. Music is a living, breathing thing, it keeps changing, and mutating. I guarantee you four years from now what's on the hit parade won't sound like "Problem," but will it be comprised of what you produce, of your favorites, unlikely, because you don't know what's a hit. And it's all about hits, never forget that.
Yes had "Roundabout."
Led Zeppelin had "Whole Lotta Love."
James Taylor had "You've Got A Friend."
Sure, the rest of their albums had mellifluous, challenging cuts, but they hooked everybody with their hits. There's got to be an entry point. You keep bitching about the Eagles, but I'd like to see you burst on the scene with a song as enrapturing as "Take It Easy," but Henley, et al, are whipping boys because they figured out the game and played it at a professional level.
But you're an amateur.
I hope you're satisfied with your highfalutin, worthless opinions, because that's all you've got!
P.S. Come on, do you even get the reference to "99 Problems"? I'm sure our President does, but he's probably hipper than you, he knows to ignore the naysayers, whose only goal is to tear others down and put themselves in power.
P.P.S. You may think the clip only has 77,000,000 views, but the truth is the lyric video has another 52,000,000. And you've got 1,300 or 13,000 and wondering why you're not rich, HA!
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I'm sick and fucking tired of armchair quarterbacks e-mailing me what they think is a hit, adjudicating while knowing nothing. Want to know what's a hit? ARIANA GRANDE'S PROBLEM!
Huh?
That's right, welcome to today, where you've got a bunch of pontificating blowhards angry the world doesn't conform to their desires when the truth is they don't want to spend or play, they just want to bitch!
So, you used to be addicted to the free format FM station. So, you used to watch MTV incessantly. I've got news for you, the world CHANGED! You're no longer a teenager, you don't spend all day in front of YouTube, you haven't bought a concert ticket in eons unless it's from Goldstar, and you say the best music is made by people in clubs that you don't go to, even if there's no cover charge.
It all comes down to money, people vote with their wallets. And today, time is also currency. Are you willing to watch the YouTube clip again and again? Because then the artist will get paid. The reason your fave is broke is because nobody is watching, nobody is streaming. Forget about sales, the revenue may be great per unit, but there's no guarantee anybody listens, and not that many buy. But can you get tens of millions of people to stream on YouTube or Spotify? Do this and you'll no longer bitch about dough. Ariana Grande is turning down opportunities every day while you're crying in your beer.
She bought insurance, sure she had a hand in writing the song, but so did Max Martin, today's number one songwriter, has been for eons. It'd be like you being produced by Mutt Lange, at least in his heyday, he could turn just about anybody into a worldwide superstar, like Shania Twain, without him she's nothing, other than her rep, which he's responsible for.
But Max Martin doesn't want to work with you, because you don't want to compromise and you don't have a good voice and you don't want to make hits, and today either you're creating a hit or you're shit. Yup, you can post it online, but that does not mean anybody is listening to it. You think you're entitled to success, but you're not, even if you once had a hit in rotation on the aforementioned MTV.
The problem is you're not creating alternative hits, something with as many hooks as "Problem" which sounds different. You've got a lousy voice, it takes forever to get to the chorus, and no one ever needs to hear the song ever again.
Repeatability... If I don't want to put your track on endless repeat, it's a stiff. I don't have enough time, I've got endless episodes of "Breaking Bad," John Oliver and "Vice" to watch, do you really think I want to waste time with something that's not superior?
I'm with you on one thing, "Problem" breaks no new ground, it's somewhat disposable. But the truth is your brethren, the greedy boomer businessmen, helped make it so. They didn't want to invest in the alternative, and as a result today's younger generation knows not of what you speak. That's right, they didn't spend all night glued to their transistor listening to underground FM radio, bonding with the deejay, they've just been exposed to Ryan Seacrest, and they keep pushing NEXT, because they don't want to waste any time and they've got incredible shit detectors.
So I hope it makes you feel good to sit at home and e-mail me that my taste sucks and you know best. But I've never heard of you, and I have heard of Ariana Grande, never mind Max Martin, because they make music that appeals to many, and you can't. And you can only make bank by appealing to many, that's why they call it broadcasting, that's why they call it mass media.
Yup, this cut is formula, and even hearkens back to C&C Music Factory, never mind having the obligatory rapper. But at least it succeeds on its own level, it hits the target. Chris Martin may be a whipping boy, boy, but at least his music is pleasant to hear.
That's what's wrong with music, all the know-it-all naysayers. Who suddenly have a voice because of the Internet. Father might know best, but not about music. Music is a living, breathing thing, it keeps changing, and mutating. I guarantee you four years from now what's on the hit parade won't sound like "Problem," but will it be comprised of what you produce, of your favorites, unlikely, because you don't know what's a hit. And it's all about hits, never forget that.
Yes had "Roundabout."
Led Zeppelin had "Whole Lotta Love."
James Taylor had "You've Got A Friend."
Sure, the rest of their albums had mellifluous, challenging cuts, but they hooked everybody with their hits. There's got to be an entry point. You keep bitching about the Eagles, but I'd like to see you burst on the scene with a song as enrapturing as "Take It Easy," but Henley, et al, are whipping boys because they figured out the game and played it at a professional level.
But you're an amateur.
I hope you're satisfied with your highfalutin, worthless opinions, because that's all you've got!
P.S. Come on, do you even get the reference to "99 Problems"? I'm sure our President does, but he's probably hipper than you, he knows to ignore the naysayers, whose only goal is to tear others down and put themselves in power.
P.P.S. You may think the clip only has 77,000,000 views, but the truth is the lyric video has another 52,000,000. And you've got 1,300 or 13,000 and wondering why you're not rich, HA!
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Bloodstream
YouTube: http://bit.ly/1qfVA82
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/1tS03iW
This makes me want to see Ed Sheeran live. And I already have!
At the Hotel Cafe Ed was trying to close us, he was willing himself into our hearts, he was performing, but "Bloodstream" is something different, it's interior, listening to it I'm on the outside and I want in. And I know so many go to the show to be with others, be part of the giant party, but I go to bond with the artist, to experience live what I've experienced over and over alone, in my house, with the headphones on, to connect with the person who makes the music that saves my life.
I listened to the Top 50 most popular tracks in the U.K. on Spotify. You should check out George Ezra's "Budapest," it sounds so different from everything else, it stands out, you find yourself dancing in place, you wonder if something like this can hit in the USA. Because the truth is all the music on Top Forty sounds alike, and some of it's hooky, but it ultimately becomes oppressive and depressive, that everybody's imitating each other, that they're inbreeding, and then you hear something like "Bloodstream."
Yes, Ed Sheeran is a star, his record entered the chart at number one, whatever that means. Many won't get past the singles, which have to fit the format. But then you hear something like "Bloodstream."
You know what it's like to wake up in your sleeping bag, with mist still upon the landscape, smelling the world?
You know what it's like to come home, throw your keys on the table and realize you're totally alone?
You know how your brain stops working, you've got so much to say, but the words can't come out, never mind that no one's listening?
That's what "Bloodstream" sounds like.
Sure, you can do the web research and learn that the lyrics are about taking MDMA at a friend's wedding in Ibiza, but to take the lyrics so literally is to make a mistake. The truth is most lyrics are just a jumping off point, you twist and turn them and make them your own.
"Tell me when it kicks in"
That's what we're all waiting for, for the hypodermic of life to kick in. To meet our significant other. To have the peak experience. We want the chemicals to burn in our bloodstream, we want to feel fully alive.
And although it's fun to be exuberant, most of life is more reflective. Where's the music for that?
Used to be there was a ton. Before business trumped art. Before the goal was to be happy and sell out to corporations, as if everybody could be a 24/7 winner.
But I'm not. My mind twists and turns into places I should not let it go. Who's going to go for that ride with me, keep me company in the depths and lift me back up? Certainly not the dancing fools with their fake drums uttering bland statements I cannot relate to. But I can relate to "Bloodstream," the sound and the music.
I'm telling you when it kicks in. Right now.
You remember when music could be introspective, before MTV. You remember when you didn't believe you could be the artist, but just worshiped at their feet, when you merged with their bloodstream?
"Bloodstream" is the anti-Top Forty. So much of Ed Sheeran's album is quiet and simple when everything else is noisy and loaded up. In a complicated world we yearn for simple. That which goes directly from one heart to another.
This is what the classic rockers were selling. Back when all music didn't sound the same. When it was the highest art form and not only did you not need to sound like everybody else, there was honor in testing your own limits.
"Bloodstream" will give you hope for the future, listen.
"Budapest"-YouTube: http://bit.ly/1nk359O
"Budapest"-Spotify: http://spoti.fi/1p9ppSE
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Spotify: http://spoti.fi/1tS03iW
This makes me want to see Ed Sheeran live. And I already have!
At the Hotel Cafe Ed was trying to close us, he was willing himself into our hearts, he was performing, but "Bloodstream" is something different, it's interior, listening to it I'm on the outside and I want in. And I know so many go to the show to be with others, be part of the giant party, but I go to bond with the artist, to experience live what I've experienced over and over alone, in my house, with the headphones on, to connect with the person who makes the music that saves my life.
I listened to the Top 50 most popular tracks in the U.K. on Spotify. You should check out George Ezra's "Budapest," it sounds so different from everything else, it stands out, you find yourself dancing in place, you wonder if something like this can hit in the USA. Because the truth is all the music on Top Forty sounds alike, and some of it's hooky, but it ultimately becomes oppressive and depressive, that everybody's imitating each other, that they're inbreeding, and then you hear something like "Bloodstream."
Yes, Ed Sheeran is a star, his record entered the chart at number one, whatever that means. Many won't get past the singles, which have to fit the format. But then you hear something like "Bloodstream."
You know what it's like to wake up in your sleeping bag, with mist still upon the landscape, smelling the world?
You know what it's like to come home, throw your keys on the table and realize you're totally alone?
You know how your brain stops working, you've got so much to say, but the words can't come out, never mind that no one's listening?
That's what "Bloodstream" sounds like.
Sure, you can do the web research and learn that the lyrics are about taking MDMA at a friend's wedding in Ibiza, but to take the lyrics so literally is to make a mistake. The truth is most lyrics are just a jumping off point, you twist and turn them and make them your own.
"Tell me when it kicks in"
That's what we're all waiting for, for the hypodermic of life to kick in. To meet our significant other. To have the peak experience. We want the chemicals to burn in our bloodstream, we want to feel fully alive.
And although it's fun to be exuberant, most of life is more reflective. Where's the music for that?
Used to be there was a ton. Before business trumped art. Before the goal was to be happy and sell out to corporations, as if everybody could be a 24/7 winner.
But I'm not. My mind twists and turns into places I should not let it go. Who's going to go for that ride with me, keep me company in the depths and lift me back up? Certainly not the dancing fools with their fake drums uttering bland statements I cannot relate to. But I can relate to "Bloodstream," the sound and the music.
I'm telling you when it kicks in. Right now.
You remember when music could be introspective, before MTV. You remember when you didn't believe you could be the artist, but just worshiped at their feet, when you merged with their bloodstream?
"Bloodstream" is the anti-Top Forty. So much of Ed Sheeran's album is quiet and simple when everything else is noisy and loaded up. In a complicated world we yearn for simple. That which goes directly from one heart to another.
This is what the classic rockers were selling. Back when all music didn't sound the same. When it was the highest art form and not only did you not need to sound like everybody else, there was honor in testing your own limits.
"Bloodstream" will give you hope for the future, listen.
"Budapest"-YouTube: http://bit.ly/1nk359O
"Budapest"-Spotify: http://spoti.fi/1p9ppSE
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Tuesday 15 July 2014
The Ladder
STARTING
We've all got to start somewhere, just don't delude yourself that because you've started you deserve to be successful.
There are a number of routes to take, some of which can be combined.
Skills cannot be emphasized enough. Knowing how to play your instrument, sing or deejay, gives you a floor upon which you can build. But, once again, talented people are a dime a dozen.
Furthermore, creativity is king at this level. What can you do that both sounds professional and sounds different? When you're starting at the bottom you jump to the top by creating that which can get instant airplay, instant success. Managers and labels are not looking for me-too. They can get that from "Idol" and the "Voice." They're looking for unique.
MUSIC
You need a finished product. Best to learn how to make it yourself, whether it be on GarageBand, Pro Tools, Logic or...
Today you're both the creator and the producer. And so many producers are creators. The roles have merged. Knowing how to work the equipment and get what you want, and experience happy accidents, pays dividends down the road.
Rather than pay a name producer to cut demos, you should do them yourself.
The truth is, no pro the labels are really interested in is gonna do your demo, they're inundated with offers from true talents/famous people. Rather, you'll get someone over the hill or who never quite made it. That does not mean they're not talented, just that working with them won't give you much of a jump. Every week someone e-mails me that they cut demos with a name, which, unfortunately, I've usually never heard of. Yes, there are many who will take your money despite having no real c.v. So what you end up with in most cases is a polished turd.
No one said the music business was easy. In order to move forward on the board you've got to capture the zeitgeist, which is damn near impossible.
DISTRIBUTION
Don't talk about money, don't talk about streaming royalties, just place your music where everybody can hear it. Jason Flom found Lorde's "Royals" from an online posting. If your music is not available, you'll never make it. The way the music business works is you get screwed first, sometimes a few times, and then you make the money. I'm not saying to sign a bad deal, I'm just saying if you're thinking about getting paid from the get-go, you're on the wrong track.
BIFURCATION
Huh?
The road splits, you take one way or the other.
Let's say you make Top Forty music, the kind you hear on the radio. Then the most important thing is to have the track and an online presence, that's how labels judge your success. How many followers you have, how many likes, how many YouTube plays. Yes, if you're going the Top Forty route, you should have a video, which features you, yourself, in all your glory. Either you've got to be beautiful or demonstrate charisma or both. That's what sells today, your looks and personality, it's key to major companies investing in you.
Or, you don't make Top Forty music...
Then you've got to penetrate deeper into the scene you're in. Make friends with traction, get them to allow you to open. Sure, you can do it yourself, but it's much easier with friends. Which is where you truly start, if the people you know and can reach easily are not rabid, no one else will be, don't delude yourself. The people you know would love to spread the word on you if you're good. Don't get caught up in hater/jealousy mind games. If you've got no virality, even at the tiny friend level in your own hometown, no one else will care.
TOP FORTY ACTS
You're building your resume. You're selling to the tippity-top most level, because to make it in radio you need bucks behind you, and only the major label has these. Oh, you also need relationships. So even if a billionaire will fund you, that's irrelevant, he can't get you on the radio.
Keep working it and being innovative, trying to get to the point where the label will find you! Followers are not enough, there must be substance. YouTube stars are a dime a dozen, but all they've got is their will to be famous and a willingness to do anything. Everything revolves around your music. If you don't have a good or unique voice, find another career. Because Top Forty is a massaged medium. They'll find someone else to write the hits, the only thing they can't change is you, what you sound like and look like.
ROAD ACTS
Yup, you're sweating it out on the boards. It's less about a digital presence/social networking, than finding places to play and building your fan base.
You want to build up your mailing list. Yes, that may sound antique, but it's the only thing that's real. You want to be able to reach your people and motivate them, e-mail is the best way.
You can spam everybody else, but no one will care.
You can send tracks to Pitchfork and other sites, but unless they're one listen smashes, you will get no traction.
You're building your fan base live and figuring out your act, you're getting onstage experience, discovering yourself off the grid.
MAKING IT
Top Forty
In both Top Forty and road act paradigms, it pays to know someone, because they can gain you access. But they'll only provide this if they think it's of benefit, they don't want to abuse their relationships, everyone's overwhelmed, no one's got any time.
So when you've got something that's already ready for Top Forty radio, that might need only a few tweaks, then you press the button and get it to the decision-maker, not a moment before. It's a business, they want to make money, can you make them some?
So you're one step away from success, but it's a huge chasm, most people never cross it. And now, more than ever before, the majors take fewer chances, they want to know you're gonna succeed, they just don't want to throw it against the wall. Are you Beyonce, Rihanna? If not, you probably won't get an investment.
Road Act
Keep building your fan base, and once you get traction sell them something, merch, vinyl, t-shirts...
A road act has to constantly put out new material, their hard core fans demand it. And if you grow bigger, you can get an indie label deal, oftentimes through someone you know who knows...
What the indie will do is get you a little publicity/notoriety. Indies are legendary for disappointing, not doing what they say they will and not paying either. But the more major ones, like Merge, mean something to tastemakers, if you're on their label, people pay attention. But you must deliver, you don't get endless chances.
MANAGER
Every great act has one. One can argue that the manager is more important than the act, never mind the label. The manager believes in you and promotes you. It doesn't matter if the manager is famous if they're not committed to you. Furthermore, a scrappy young person will pay further dividends, they're banking their progress/career on you.
ATTORNEYS
Don't sign anything without one. Especially a management or label deal. And not just any attorney, one who specializes in music. There are a ton in New York and L.A. without famous names who want to rise with you. Do your research. If you're unsure about signing a deal with a manager or label, don't. They can always find another act, your career might be hamstrung forever.
SUCCESS 1
With a Top Forty act it means you're on the radio. Congratulations, you've made it.
With a road act it means you can sell a thousand tickets all by your lonesome, almost anywhere.
But neither of the above mean you will sustain, that you will get rich, they're really just a start. Now the truly hard work begins. Going from someone some people have heard of to someone everybody has heard of. It's hard work and it cannot be done alone. Align yourself with the best team and good luck.
SUCCESS 2
You're making a living, you've not only given up your day job, you're being inundated with offers, everybody wants to be in business with you.
If you don't think you've got shelf life, if you want to go to graduate school, sign everything, take all the bucks.
If you want to last, pick very carefully. Everything's got a cost. Your one asset is your fan base, don't do anything to alienate those who believe in you and sustain you.
CONCLUSION
It's not that complicated, but it depends on the music, creativity and hard work.
The music is the question mark. Good is no longer good enough. Your tunes have to resonate, people must be clamoring to hear them again, your inbox must be blowing up or you're not there yet.
And you've got no idea of the amount of work involved. As Shep Gordon so famously said, if the manager does his job right, it'll probably kill you!
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We've all got to start somewhere, just don't delude yourself that because you've started you deserve to be successful.
There are a number of routes to take, some of which can be combined.
Skills cannot be emphasized enough. Knowing how to play your instrument, sing or deejay, gives you a floor upon which you can build. But, once again, talented people are a dime a dozen.
Furthermore, creativity is king at this level. What can you do that both sounds professional and sounds different? When you're starting at the bottom you jump to the top by creating that which can get instant airplay, instant success. Managers and labels are not looking for me-too. They can get that from "Idol" and the "Voice." They're looking for unique.
MUSIC
You need a finished product. Best to learn how to make it yourself, whether it be on GarageBand, Pro Tools, Logic or...
Today you're both the creator and the producer. And so many producers are creators. The roles have merged. Knowing how to work the equipment and get what you want, and experience happy accidents, pays dividends down the road.
Rather than pay a name producer to cut demos, you should do them yourself.
The truth is, no pro the labels are really interested in is gonna do your demo, they're inundated with offers from true talents/famous people. Rather, you'll get someone over the hill or who never quite made it. That does not mean they're not talented, just that working with them won't give you much of a jump. Every week someone e-mails me that they cut demos with a name, which, unfortunately, I've usually never heard of. Yes, there are many who will take your money despite having no real c.v. So what you end up with in most cases is a polished turd.
No one said the music business was easy. In order to move forward on the board you've got to capture the zeitgeist, which is damn near impossible.
DISTRIBUTION
Don't talk about money, don't talk about streaming royalties, just place your music where everybody can hear it. Jason Flom found Lorde's "Royals" from an online posting. If your music is not available, you'll never make it. The way the music business works is you get screwed first, sometimes a few times, and then you make the money. I'm not saying to sign a bad deal, I'm just saying if you're thinking about getting paid from the get-go, you're on the wrong track.
BIFURCATION
Huh?
The road splits, you take one way or the other.
Let's say you make Top Forty music, the kind you hear on the radio. Then the most important thing is to have the track and an online presence, that's how labels judge your success. How many followers you have, how many likes, how many YouTube plays. Yes, if you're going the Top Forty route, you should have a video, which features you, yourself, in all your glory. Either you've got to be beautiful or demonstrate charisma or both. That's what sells today, your looks and personality, it's key to major companies investing in you.
Or, you don't make Top Forty music...
Then you've got to penetrate deeper into the scene you're in. Make friends with traction, get them to allow you to open. Sure, you can do it yourself, but it's much easier with friends. Which is where you truly start, if the people you know and can reach easily are not rabid, no one else will be, don't delude yourself. The people you know would love to spread the word on you if you're good. Don't get caught up in hater/jealousy mind games. If you've got no virality, even at the tiny friend level in your own hometown, no one else will care.
TOP FORTY ACTS
You're building your resume. You're selling to the tippity-top most level, because to make it in radio you need bucks behind you, and only the major label has these. Oh, you also need relationships. So even if a billionaire will fund you, that's irrelevant, he can't get you on the radio.
Keep working it and being innovative, trying to get to the point where the label will find you! Followers are not enough, there must be substance. YouTube stars are a dime a dozen, but all they've got is their will to be famous and a willingness to do anything. Everything revolves around your music. If you don't have a good or unique voice, find another career. Because Top Forty is a massaged medium. They'll find someone else to write the hits, the only thing they can't change is you, what you sound like and look like.
ROAD ACTS
Yup, you're sweating it out on the boards. It's less about a digital presence/social networking, than finding places to play and building your fan base.
You want to build up your mailing list. Yes, that may sound antique, but it's the only thing that's real. You want to be able to reach your people and motivate them, e-mail is the best way.
You can spam everybody else, but no one will care.
You can send tracks to Pitchfork and other sites, but unless they're one listen smashes, you will get no traction.
You're building your fan base live and figuring out your act, you're getting onstage experience, discovering yourself off the grid.
MAKING IT
Top Forty
In both Top Forty and road act paradigms, it pays to know someone, because they can gain you access. But they'll only provide this if they think it's of benefit, they don't want to abuse their relationships, everyone's overwhelmed, no one's got any time.
So when you've got something that's already ready for Top Forty radio, that might need only a few tweaks, then you press the button and get it to the decision-maker, not a moment before. It's a business, they want to make money, can you make them some?
So you're one step away from success, but it's a huge chasm, most people never cross it. And now, more than ever before, the majors take fewer chances, they want to know you're gonna succeed, they just don't want to throw it against the wall. Are you Beyonce, Rihanna? If not, you probably won't get an investment.
Road Act
Keep building your fan base, and once you get traction sell them something, merch, vinyl, t-shirts...
A road act has to constantly put out new material, their hard core fans demand it. And if you grow bigger, you can get an indie label deal, oftentimes through someone you know who knows...
What the indie will do is get you a little publicity/notoriety. Indies are legendary for disappointing, not doing what they say they will and not paying either. But the more major ones, like Merge, mean something to tastemakers, if you're on their label, people pay attention. But you must deliver, you don't get endless chances.
MANAGER
Every great act has one. One can argue that the manager is more important than the act, never mind the label. The manager believes in you and promotes you. It doesn't matter if the manager is famous if they're not committed to you. Furthermore, a scrappy young person will pay further dividends, they're banking their progress/career on you.
ATTORNEYS
Don't sign anything without one. Especially a management or label deal. And not just any attorney, one who specializes in music. There are a ton in New York and L.A. without famous names who want to rise with you. Do your research. If you're unsure about signing a deal with a manager or label, don't. They can always find another act, your career might be hamstrung forever.
SUCCESS 1
With a Top Forty act it means you're on the radio. Congratulations, you've made it.
With a road act it means you can sell a thousand tickets all by your lonesome, almost anywhere.
But neither of the above mean you will sustain, that you will get rich, they're really just a start. Now the truly hard work begins. Going from someone some people have heard of to someone everybody has heard of. It's hard work and it cannot be done alone. Align yourself with the best team and good luck.
SUCCESS 2
You're making a living, you've not only given up your day job, you're being inundated with offers, everybody wants to be in business with you.
If you don't think you've got shelf life, if you want to go to graduate school, sign everything, take all the bucks.
If you want to last, pick very carefully. Everything's got a cost. Your one asset is your fan base, don't do anything to alienate those who believe in you and sustain you.
CONCLUSION
It's not that complicated, but it depends on the music, creativity and hard work.
The music is the question mark. Good is no longer good enough. Your tunes have to resonate, people must be clamoring to hear them again, your inbox must be blowing up or you're not there yet.
And you've got no idea of the amount of work involved. As Shep Gordon so famously said, if the manager does his job right, it'll probably kill you!
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Monday 14 July 2014
Snowpiercer
How do you get from the back of the train to the front?
Greetings from sunny Southern California where it isn't. That's right, unlike in that old Albert Hammond song, today it's RAINING! Something seen once every decade. Which is why if you bring up board games Angelenos are flummoxed, they know not about rainy days and Mondays where you stay inside and try to entertain yourself. Then again, everybody's staying inside these days. Because of TELEVISION!
Ah, the idiot box that's now a flat screen, that is your window to the world, upon which you can view not only cable and network fare, but movies on demand.
That's the new thing. Who wants to go to the theatre anyway?
Certainly not me. Because the time is never convenient, and the people keep talking and I need to study the flick, it's my lifeblood. So when I read that you could pull up "Snowpiercer" on your cable system...
I was wavering, I was thinking about going to the multiplex. But reviews were not stellar enough to push me over. But to spend $6.99 to watch at home?
So we pulled the curtains, dropped the lights, clicked the remote, and saw an allegory about America, even though Americans don't know it.
Americans are stupid. That's why there will be no revolution.
Well, let me change that, they're not stupid, they're UNEDUCATED! They might know how to use YouTube, but they know nothing about the news, nothing about economics or the human condition other than what's in front of their very eyes.
And the self-satisfied smarties are just as bad, especially the Republicans. They read the "Wall Street Journal" and think they know everything, when the truth is a very small sliver of people know what's going on, and they're running the train.
Forget all the ink about inheritances, how bozos are living on the untaxed assets of their parents. As Bob Dylan said, "he not busy being born is busy dying," and if you think money is enough, you don't know that Mike Tyson went broke. Sure, you've got to have cash, even better you've got to know the score. And almost nobody in America does, otherwise there'd be revolution.
Like Sam Brownback lowering taxes in Kansas but the aforementioned WSJ not mentioning the consequences, continuing to parade the fiction that lower taxes drive business development, when in this case not only did revenues go down, but jobs.
But that's the way the rich wanted it. The rich want so much. And they convince the poor if they just play nice and follow in their footsteps, they'll get a few crumbs.
Hogwash.
Then again, the unwashed lefties keep clamoring to bring manufacturing back, which is pure insanity, and the poor are clueless and auditioning for reality TV.
So it's after the apocalypse, and everybody left is circling the frozen earth on a train. And the poor are afraid to speak up. But someone does...
Who's going to speak up in America? We used to count on middle class college students, like Mark Rudd. But now all the middle class kids at good schools want to be upper class, they don't want to rock the boat, they just want to make sure they're not down there with the hoi polloi.
Starving artist my ass. Used to be, but now they're just starving. Because it's a full time job putting food on the table, you've got no time to be an artist.
And the poor have no awareness, they don't know their food is made from bugs. They've never eaten at Chez Panisse, they think McDonald's is good, as they get fatter and fatter and die of heart disease and the rich eat vegetables while their women become x-rays. If you think being skinny is the end all and be all, I pity you. That just means you don't understand the game. It's not what you look like, it's what's inside your brain.
That's the mantra of Silicon Valley. Of Monsanto. Read this "BusinessWeek" article to make your head spin: http://buswk.co/1pLj3h9 You may think Monsanto is the genetically-modified seedmaker but that's just a tiny sliver of their business, they're selling insurance and software and they're so far ahead of the game that if you think labeling genetically modified food is the answer, you don't know that most of their products come from breeding and that's been done for a hundred years!
Yup, that's the problem with the lefties, always speaking from their emotions, facts are irrelevant.
While the rich right wingers tilt the facts in their favor, to keep the ignorant down.
So we need a leader. But no one wants to lead. And the battle is long and the rewards aren't clearly defined. And the truth is those at the top are not as evil as we believe them to be. They've got good qualities, it's just that these people are myopic, believing they know what's good for everybody when they know nobody other than themselves.
And this is all in "Snowpiercer," which everyone would know about except a major studio doesn't want to risk dollars promoting it, so it only opened in eight theatres and is now on VOD. Maybe it'll have an impact on Netflix, when it finally reaches there. You see art lives on forever, but very little is art.
I thought "Snowpiercer" was an action flick. And it was for the first third, but then it raised the big questions, the ones the musicians used to ask in the sixties, before selling out became the mantra and the rich kept eviscerating the safety net and we saw poor on poor crime. Yup, while you're battling each other, the rich are unreachable, behind walls, flying private.
But no one will tell you this, because otherwise you'll lose hope.
But what we need is true hope. Leaders we can believe in.
And artists and leaders always go side by side.
But only in the movies. That's right, a Korean director adapted "Snowpiercer" from a graphic novel and all we know about that far-away country is Samsung, as if our mobile phones will save the world.
But they won't. We've got to save ourselves.
Which is why all those Ivy League graduates are not becoming ski bums, are not becoming teachers, but are going into finance so they can not only get ahead, but interact with others who understand the game.
The game? It's rigged against you. The American Dream is kaput. You cannot get ahead, that's just a fiction those who've already got theirs are spreading, having you believe if you just push a little harder, you'll break through.
But the truth is we live in an information age. And he who knows most wins.
So surf all the porn you want, read the gossip columns. That's exactly how the owners of this country want you, distracted. Because if you understood what was really going on, you'd rally the troops and start moving forward, start battling the resistance, move your way from the back to the front.
But you've got no idea where the front is.
Never mind how to get there.
P.S. "Snowpiercer" got a limited release because the director wouldn't agree to Harvey Weinstein's edict that twenty minutes be cut and opening and closing monologues be added. But unlike the musicians, director Bong Joon-ho said no. Art is not about compromising, that's BUSINESS!
"Snowpiercer": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX5PwfEMBM0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowpiercer
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1706620/
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Greetings from sunny Southern California where it isn't. That's right, unlike in that old Albert Hammond song, today it's RAINING! Something seen once every decade. Which is why if you bring up board games Angelenos are flummoxed, they know not about rainy days and Mondays where you stay inside and try to entertain yourself. Then again, everybody's staying inside these days. Because of TELEVISION!
Ah, the idiot box that's now a flat screen, that is your window to the world, upon which you can view not only cable and network fare, but movies on demand.
That's the new thing. Who wants to go to the theatre anyway?
Certainly not me. Because the time is never convenient, and the people keep talking and I need to study the flick, it's my lifeblood. So when I read that you could pull up "Snowpiercer" on your cable system...
I was wavering, I was thinking about going to the multiplex. But reviews were not stellar enough to push me over. But to spend $6.99 to watch at home?
So we pulled the curtains, dropped the lights, clicked the remote, and saw an allegory about America, even though Americans don't know it.
Americans are stupid. That's why there will be no revolution.
Well, let me change that, they're not stupid, they're UNEDUCATED! They might know how to use YouTube, but they know nothing about the news, nothing about economics or the human condition other than what's in front of their very eyes.
And the self-satisfied smarties are just as bad, especially the Republicans. They read the "Wall Street Journal" and think they know everything, when the truth is a very small sliver of people know what's going on, and they're running the train.
Forget all the ink about inheritances, how bozos are living on the untaxed assets of their parents. As Bob Dylan said, "he not busy being born is busy dying," and if you think money is enough, you don't know that Mike Tyson went broke. Sure, you've got to have cash, even better you've got to know the score. And almost nobody in America does, otherwise there'd be revolution.
Like Sam Brownback lowering taxes in Kansas but the aforementioned WSJ not mentioning the consequences, continuing to parade the fiction that lower taxes drive business development, when in this case not only did revenues go down, but jobs.
But that's the way the rich wanted it. The rich want so much. And they convince the poor if they just play nice and follow in their footsteps, they'll get a few crumbs.
Hogwash.
Then again, the unwashed lefties keep clamoring to bring manufacturing back, which is pure insanity, and the poor are clueless and auditioning for reality TV.
So it's after the apocalypse, and everybody left is circling the frozen earth on a train. And the poor are afraid to speak up. But someone does...
Who's going to speak up in America? We used to count on middle class college students, like Mark Rudd. But now all the middle class kids at good schools want to be upper class, they don't want to rock the boat, they just want to make sure they're not down there with the hoi polloi.
Starving artist my ass. Used to be, but now they're just starving. Because it's a full time job putting food on the table, you've got no time to be an artist.
And the poor have no awareness, they don't know their food is made from bugs. They've never eaten at Chez Panisse, they think McDonald's is good, as they get fatter and fatter and die of heart disease and the rich eat vegetables while their women become x-rays. If you think being skinny is the end all and be all, I pity you. That just means you don't understand the game. It's not what you look like, it's what's inside your brain.
That's the mantra of Silicon Valley. Of Monsanto. Read this "BusinessWeek" article to make your head spin: http://buswk.co/1pLj3h9 You may think Monsanto is the genetically-modified seedmaker but that's just a tiny sliver of their business, they're selling insurance and software and they're so far ahead of the game that if you think labeling genetically modified food is the answer, you don't know that most of their products come from breeding and that's been done for a hundred years!
Yup, that's the problem with the lefties, always speaking from their emotions, facts are irrelevant.
While the rich right wingers tilt the facts in their favor, to keep the ignorant down.
So we need a leader. But no one wants to lead. And the battle is long and the rewards aren't clearly defined. And the truth is those at the top are not as evil as we believe them to be. They've got good qualities, it's just that these people are myopic, believing they know what's good for everybody when they know nobody other than themselves.
And this is all in "Snowpiercer," which everyone would know about except a major studio doesn't want to risk dollars promoting it, so it only opened in eight theatres and is now on VOD. Maybe it'll have an impact on Netflix, when it finally reaches there. You see art lives on forever, but very little is art.
I thought "Snowpiercer" was an action flick. And it was for the first third, but then it raised the big questions, the ones the musicians used to ask in the sixties, before selling out became the mantra and the rich kept eviscerating the safety net and we saw poor on poor crime. Yup, while you're battling each other, the rich are unreachable, behind walls, flying private.
But no one will tell you this, because otherwise you'll lose hope.
But what we need is true hope. Leaders we can believe in.
And artists and leaders always go side by side.
But only in the movies. That's right, a Korean director adapted "Snowpiercer" from a graphic novel and all we know about that far-away country is Samsung, as if our mobile phones will save the world.
But they won't. We've got to save ourselves.
Which is why all those Ivy League graduates are not becoming ski bums, are not becoming teachers, but are going into finance so they can not only get ahead, but interact with others who understand the game.
The game? It's rigged against you. The American Dream is kaput. You cannot get ahead, that's just a fiction those who've already got theirs are spreading, having you believe if you just push a little harder, you'll break through.
But the truth is we live in an information age. And he who knows most wins.
So surf all the porn you want, read the gossip columns. That's exactly how the owners of this country want you, distracted. Because if you understood what was really going on, you'd rally the troops and start moving forward, start battling the resistance, move your way from the back to the front.
But you've got no idea where the front is.
Never mind how to get there.
P.S. "Snowpiercer" got a limited release because the director wouldn't agree to Harvey Weinstein's edict that twenty minutes be cut and opening and closing monologues be added. But unlike the musicians, director Bong Joon-ho said no. Art is not about compromising, that's BUSINESS!
"Snowpiercer": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX5PwfEMBM0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowpiercer
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1706620/
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