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| From | "Sager, Greg" <greg.sager@bankofamerica.com> |
| Subject | Viva old farts |
| Date | Mon, 25 Jun 2007 01:30:58 -0500 |
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<<Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2007 00:37:13 -0400
From: "Holmes Online" <bholmes_fm@msn.com>
To: <audities@smoe.org>
Subject: Re: Well, this should keep the McCartney Thread alive for
another 1200 posts...
Message-ID: <BAY113-DAV13BB93D655C1364862FFB5E3150@phx.gbl>
We live in a world where Paris Hilton's daily activities dominate the
news
media...so I can take excessive pub when Macca or Brian Wilson make an
album. The world is what it is - you need your bullshit filter on 24/7
because much is pandered to the lowest common denominator. Sure, Lefsetz
rants a lot - his favorite artist is Bob Lefsetz, so how could anyone
else
measure up? Just more shtick - he's in it for the fame, not the feeling.
And
like with music, when the material sucks, ignore it, and hope that
occasionally a hit sneaks through.
But back to Macca and Wilson...actually, I'm glad that a lot of the old
guard still make records, even if many of them don't appeal to me. Until
the
day when gun is placed to temple, whether or not I listen/buy/like is up
to
me and I'm thankful I get the opportunity to form an opinion. I don't
owe
artists anything, and they don't owe me, and if I like what they are
selling
I will be a customer and we're both happy. That part of the business
model
survived intact. (With forced retirement I'd have missed the last
releases
by old farts like Graham Parker and Ian Hunter, and Hunter's two most
recent
releases are arguably the best he's ever done, gravely voice and all.
Dude
is *68* years old...I'm floored!)>>
Exactly, Bill. I'm baffled as to why anyone on this list would raise the
ol' "why can't the old guard write and perform songs now as well as they
did back when they were in their twenties?" topic when several of us
Auditeers have made it a point to extol Parker's *Don't Tell Columbus*
and Hunter's *Shrunken Heads*. Both are fantastic albums that were
released no more than three months ago, and both were released by
artists who certainly define the word "veteran". Geep is 56 years old,
and his first album, *Howlin' Wind* (back when he was the frontman of
Graham Parker & the Rumour), was released 31 years ago. Hunter, as you
noted, is 68 freakin' years old, and his first album (Mott The Hoople's
self-titled debut) came out all the way back in 1969, although Hunter's
first appearance on record was supposedly with British pianist/singer
Freddie "Fingers" Lee several years before.
I recognize the fact that neither Parker nor Hunter is of the stature of
Brian Wilson or Paul McCartney, although neither one is a stranger to
the Top 40 on either side of the Atlantic (and Mott The Hoople's "All
the Young Dudes" and "All the Way From Memphis" continue to be US radio
staples to this day). Most people who are likely to start up the "too
old to rock'n'roll" conversation are likely to be unaware of Parker or
Hunter ... although that shouldn't be the case on Audities, both because
this is a list filled with rock'n'roll congnoscenti and because *Don't
Tell Columbus* and *Shrunken Heads* have both been touted here.
Nevertheless, those two albums are each 2007-vintage proof that you can,
indeed, write and record songs in your dotage that stand up to the
records that you made back in your salad days.
Greg Sager
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