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| From | "Alan Haber" <zoogang@cox.net> |
| Subject | Re: Well, this should keep the McCartney Thread alive for another 1200 posts... |
| Date | Fri, 22 Jun 2007 20:20:37 -0400 |
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Well, that's the most abhorrent load of trash I have had the displeasure to
read in a very long time.
I don't know what else to say.
Alan
http://www.purepopradio.com
http://www.buhdge.com
-----Original Message-----
From: audities-owner@smoe.org [mailto:audities-owner@smoe.org] On Behalf Of
bob
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2007 5:36 PM
To: audities
Subject: Well, this should keep the McCartney Thread alive for another 1200
posts...
From Bob Lefset'z Newsletter...
bob
Bob Lefsetz <bob@lefsetz.com> wrote:
This record is positively AWFUL! I'm surprised there aren't SUICIDES at
Starbucks. That baristas haven't offed themselves rather than endure this
piece of crap all day long.
Anybody who says this album is good has no ears. Maybe literally. Certainly
was never exposed to Paul's previous solo work.
Have you revisited "McCartney"? Famous for "Maybe I'm Amazed", even the
MINOR tunes contain magic. Really, all these years later, listen to "Teddy
Boy", even "Kreen-Akrore", never mind "Every Night". Seen as slight at the
time, minor in comparison to the Beatles' work, it's Paul's second best solo
album, after "Band On The Run".
It's not like Paul hasn't misfired before. Did you buy "Wild Life"? That was
just about as bad as "Memory Almost Full". And to say "Ram" was spotty would
be charitable. Ditto with "Red Rose Speedway", with the saccharine monster
hit "My Love" yet the infectious "Big Barn Bed".
"Venus and Mars" was a disappointing follow-up to "Band On The Run", but it
was playable throughout. "At The Speed Of Sound"...that heralded the great
decline. Paul lost it. Oh, he regained the magic occasionally, with such
sublime work as the title cut of "London Town". But then paying attention
was too depressing. The disappointment made one reevaluate Paul's great
prior work, and you didn't want to allow yourself to feel that way. Oh, he
still killed live, but his albums? Not exactly dreck, but UNMEMORABLE!
So now we've got this piece of crap.
Paul's entitled to work, Paul's entitled to sully his career. But it's not
necessary for us to laud him, give him a pass on everything he does now
BECAUSE OF WHAT HE DID BEFORE!
I'd only sampled the CD previously. Yup, that's enough. Not only for me, but
you. If you need to live with a record that long to get it, then you just
want to be BRAINWASHED into digging it. And for those albums that revealed
themselves over time, at least they had some intriguing elements to begin
with, that made you want to spin them again, like Roxy Music's "Avalon". One
listen to "Memory Almost Full" and you feel like you're in Guantanamo Bay,
being tortured. You'll do ANYTHING to get off the island. That's how I felt
when I sat down tonight and really tried to listen.
This is the emperor's new clothes. Nobody had the balls to tell Paul
McCartney "Memory Almost Full" sucked. That he was polishing a turd. Maybe
Paul's too fucked up to listen. But I'll tell you, when you approach a
legendary artist or businessman and just kiss his ass, your sycophantic ways
are dismissed. But if you engage them in a substantive discussion, engage
their reasoning in discussions, they come alive, because they're confronted
with adulation ALL DAY LONG!
All those bigwigs you abhor for failing to pay attention to your substandard
work, you'd be shocked at the intellectual discussions you can get them
involved in. I've only met one label head who wasn't a deep thinker, if you
got them on that path. You can imagine who...
Point is, everybody treats Paul like a Beatle. Which he IS! But that's got
nothing to do with the entertainment business, where it's WHAT HAVE YOU DONE
FOR ME LATELY? Hell, would people even give George Lucas cash to make a
movie? After not only the abortion of "Howard The Duck", but the three new
forgettable "Star Wars" flicks? No, he's lost touch, he seems to be done.
And, unfortunately, Paul McCartney seems to be too. Can he be persuaded to
recapture the magic? Maybe not. But he made it by either being sweet or
rockin'. That sweetness is absent here. And there are only moments of
rocking. Play a Little Richard album and then listen to THIS!
And I don't give a shit that this album sucks. It's what it represents that
interests me. This Paul McCartney album is the biggest hype of the year.
Imagine if you BOUGHT IT!
Yup, imagine taking this turkey home and spinning it. You might NEVER BUY A
CD AGAIN!
This is one of the reasons we got into this mess. Overpriced albums with
only one good track. But there's not even that ONE GOOD TRACK ON THIS CD!
Really, buy "Memory Almost Full" and you'll GIVE UP ON MUSIC! Think ALL NEW
MUSIC SUCKS!
The guy's all over the media. Everybody says it's a return to form. But
you...you think otherwise. So, are you going to trust the media in the
future?
This business self-immolates. It's about smoke and mirrors and ripping
people off. People have been burned by the music business so many times that
they've stopped paying attention. Paul McCartney GETS attention because he's
a Beatle, but then he fumbles the ball.
Howard Schultz...you're not making ENOUGH money at Starbucks? If "Memory
Almost Full" was coffee beans, you wouldn't even GRIND them. How come you
insist on serving quality coffee, but when it comes to music, you're willing
to foist third rate crap upon your customers? Oh, because he's a BEATLE!
That's what's wrong with this whole campaign. That's not just enough. Give
Paul an award at the Kennedy Center. A lifetime achievement Grammy. But
don't promote his crap and tell us it's good.
A Starbucks record label. Yup, it's American business. Just another way to
make money. Or, a way to hang with the rich and famous. Howard Schultz, in a
boring business, now gets to hang with Hollywood royalty. He's a starfucker,
just like in that Rolling Stones song. Like every rich businessman you get
to invest in your crap. Really, only someone completely out of the
entertainment mainstream, who wants in, lays down money for this unwanted
junk. If Paul had gone to a traditional label, the employees there, the ones
left anyway, would just go through the motions, because they wouldn't be
able to get excited about the music. Able to get excited about Paul, but not
what he's purveying.
Rather than go back to Capitol, Paul just found a mark to sell his shit.
And don't tell me about sales. In two weeks they've moved a scant 267,414.
Yup, scant compared to the number of people traipsing through Starbucks,
never mind traditional music retail. Scant compared to the number of people
in AMERICA!
Just like "Survivor" exploded out of nowhere, and then "American Idol",
we're gonna have an act/record that's gonna be owned by tens of millions
sometime in the future. It will be SO good people will be driven to the Web
to acquire it. Yup, that's where they'll do it, they won't pay even 99 cents
per track, but they'll want it nonetheless. There will be mania. Just like
we had all those years ago.
Why couldn't Paul have called Don Henley, famous for releasing no music
before its time. Laboring over it until he believes it's not only beyond
satisfactory, but GREAT! Sure, the Eagles might have made a deal with
Wal-Mart, their Starbucks, but Henley and company are not going to blow
their chance. They're not going to release something subpar like "Memory
Almost Full". They wouldn't do that to their fans. They went on tour without
new music. Why put out an album that people don't want to buy and don't want
to hear live. Make something so good that people WILL embrace it like your
old stuff, OR DON'T MAKE ANYTHING AT ALL!
Don't be blind, don't tell me it's Paul McCartney. Don't show me the reviews
on Amazon. Just play this album, from beginning to end. You'll be looking
for magazines. Thinking about going to the bathroom. Looking at your watch.
Anything but listening. Because you're a professional, you're a fan, and you
know it's crap. If you don't know this is crap, then I don't care about your
opinion. Have you listened to "Let Me Roll It"? Even "Mamunia"? Secondary
tracks off of "Band On The Run"? There's nothing even in the same
NEIGHBORHOOD on "Memory Almost Full".
I'm sick and tired of people saying to root for the business. Fuck the
business, I'm rooting for MUSIC! People who make stuff I'm dying to hear.
And "Memory Almost Full" IS NOT IT!
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