Entertainment For Lively Minds
The importance of death in music
Reading a recent thread on Rod Stewart made me realise how often an artist has a parabolic career path and the time at the summit is often extremely short. If they have the good grace to do the decent rock star thing and die young (or take brain damaging amounts of drugs) when they are at, or near this point, their legend will be sealed for ever. If not, well lets think of a few examples:
Jimi Hendrix: would we all look at his blistering (if short) body of work as a masterpiece if he had spent the best part of the last 40 years in Las Vegas.
Talking of Las Vegas, would Elvis have been perhaps better served by taking a dodgy plane ride a few years before the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches took hold. Alternatively, you can wonder how much more embarrassing would he have got had his heart not given out.
If Rod had turned his toes up in 74 or so, we would all be wistfully wondering where his genius would have taken him, maybe Elton too...definitely Clapton.
The fact is, there are extremely few musicians who have evolved over 40 years and can still hold their head high, I give you Dylan, Neil Young...erm, there must be others. Most are on their 10th comeback / reformation churning out the same stuff or simply drifted into MOR banality, trading on their name (I would put Clapton in that category, some may disagree).
A positive example of 60 somethings who can still (or could until recently) claim credibility - Pink Floyd. How I dreaded Live 8 as, although I'm not a huge Floyd fan, they did nearly wear out the cassette in the old Vauxhall Victor a few years ago and I wanted to remember them "in their time". No problem! They looked 60 odd and seemed comfortable with it, played well and my toes uncurled nicely.
A negative example - got to be the Rolling Stones. If I want to watch Spitting Images, I'll hire a DVD.
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Interesting topic, sir
Two of my favourites (musically and example-wise) are Nick Drake and Joy Division. I didn´t discover them until the mid ninities when they were both already made untouchable. In the case of Joy Division I´m too young to even have grown up with New Order and in the case of Nick Drake: did ANYONE buy his albums when they were originally released? In his case, however well deserved, it is all word by mouth after death, isn´t it?
The question is, had they lived - would they have been able to age with dignity or would they have turned into, let´s say, The Stones?
I can already guess which path some of the artist I grew with will choose. For instance, I find it possible that Jarvis will age with more dignity than Liam. But hey, I´m just guessing here.
Oh, and added to the Dylan and Young-list: Emmylou Harris. Altough she´s never really had a dip as far as I know, even if a prefer Red Dirt Girl and onwards.
Saga stars
I think that David Bowie still has credence. His last few albums have been back on form. He did lose the way for a while but he's still got it.
Nick Lowe has found a very fine way to mature musically.
Bruce Springsteen still producing good tunes.
Dylan yes.
Young yes.
I'm having a senior moment myself and can't think of many more just now!
More old masters
Johnny Cash (though he had literally decades in the wilderness - touring Butlin's camps I think - before Rick Rubin came a-callin')
Neil Diamond (Rick Rubin again, but as above, a few decades in superstar MOR limbo before that)
Leonard Cohen (come on, would anyone have predicted him being this high-profile a few years ago?)
And looking into my crystal ball, I can see Bjork ploughing her furrow quite happily into her eighties.
Fair Enough
I can agree with most of the above except maybe Springsteen who I think ran out of steam a while ago, and its a fair point that all have had fallow periods along the way. Yes, Leonard Cohen is quite a number isn't he?
Also, a very good point about Nick Drake. I was quite interested in that kind of music at the time of his death yet didn't know he even existed until years later. Eva Cassidy also springs to mind in that context, although incomparible as an artist.
I suppose the best example, although not strictly death related, is Beatles vs Stones. I still have to pinch myself when I look at the body of work the Beatles created in the space of 7 (yes seven) years. Just take a second to think back to 2002, not long ago is it?
I don't mean just the number of records but the diversity, they went from rocknroll, through pop, hippy/mystic and then, well, however the White Album, Abbey Road period is categorised.
As a result of bitter arguments, splitting up, more bitter arguments, getting murdered etc, this phenomenal achievement is now preserved for eternity. The Stones on the other hand, if only they had split after Exile On Main Street..
Is it just me that finds the thought of Bjork ploughing her furrow a bit disturbing?
Iceland will have to go
I find everything that includes Björk disturbing. Can´t put my finger on why, but I do. Ploughing is top 5.
Had the Stones called it a day after Exile, they could have been a contender. At least we wouldn´t have had Mick´s trousers on the cover of Dirty Work.
Sshssh it's all so quite
Bjork! Due to Spotify I looked up the Sugarcubes 'Birthday' which was just so great when I first found it. I remember ringing a lot of people and making them check it out.It was something special.
She has had her moments but I don't think that she can be compared to the greats just yet.
Macca
can still cut it when he puts his mind to it. His last two releases have been damn fine I reckon.
Robert Plant?
conversely how about Cliff Richard? - he's maintained zero credibility for 5 decades now.
Jackie Leven
Pumping out reliably competent material at an alarming rate, with nary a whisper of big name success, from his persona as John St Field in 1971, thru' Doll by Doll and then, now, courtesy the patronage of Cooking Vinyl, his never ending at least one CD a year solo years. Allowing for production values altering over the decades, any of his songs can stand up as songs alongside each other, irrespective of decade of gestation.
I suspect there are a lot of solid similar performers, plugging away and making a level of living perhaps somewhat different to that of Mick 'n Rod. Steve Gibbons comes also to mind, tho' more as an interpreter and performer than writer, perhaps.
Hendrix
I don't think Hendrix would be playing Las Vegas had he lived, I think he'd have drifted towards jazz and continued his musical explorations there.