THE SOAPBOX

One Guy's Opinion

I’ve got a real pet peeve lately about the general lack of respect shown to rock ‘n’ roll people –– artists and otherwise –– who have endured, who have continued to be productive and who after overcoming obstacles in their careers, are still standing at the end of the day.

     Normally, such an exemplary feat would warrant praise and respect. In all aspects of the arts I can think of, save that of rock ‘n’ roll, such would be the status quo. And that’s as it should be.

    What started me burning on this topic, was an article in the February edition of “Details” magazine, one of the many entertainment glossies dotting the periodical rack over at Border’s and Barnes & Noble.

       This edition had a brief piece titled “Dead Wood. ” The author, armed with a barbed and poisoned pen, proceeded to disparage the last decade’s worth of work by the likes of Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Aerosmith and other senior rockers.

       To me, attacking and degrading the remarkable musical talents who helped write the book on an art form in which these same, self-congratulatory and self-righteous bastards are now reveling, just seems... well... WRONG!

        The article proposes that there should be mandatory retirement for all rockers at age 50, who fail to release new product as powerful or moving or groundbreaking as the early works which made them cultural icons.

       This was not the first such article I have read in which pretentious rock scribes and/or underground bands looking to make a name, take cheap shots at folks who helped break down barriers and set new standards. Sir Paul, whom I have had the privilege and honor of meeting twice in the past, seems an especially favorite target of late.

      Granted, his compositions in recent years may not have had the impact of his Beatles-era work or even his immediate post-Fabs releases. But these are different times. He’s a different person now than when he created those now classic pieces.

      All of us are a product of our environment and a product of the times in which we live.
       With age, often comes fresh new outlooks and ways of looking at things. Would we rather have artists we’ve admired continue to make the same record over and over again? That would get rather boring, rather fast.

     But on second thought, since that’s what so many of today’s artists do, perhaps that’s exactly what some of these “new bloods” might indeed expect from our aging icons.

     While it may be true that recent albums by some of the proud names of the past, are not up to snuff, the general irreverent attitude that calls to categorically dismiss anything released by veteran artists is a travesty. At best, it’s the blissful ignorance of ill-educated youth. At worst, it’s a jealousy of those too lacking in talent and ideas of their own, who feel they must tear down others to give their own work and lives meaning.

      Today’s young rockers could and should learn a valuable lesson from other musical genres, whose performers hold in high esteem the elder statesmen in their respective forms –– be it jazz, blues, opera, country, or bluegrass.

     In the world of jazz particularly, veteran artists are generally placed upon pedestals and in most cases, rightfully so. Names like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie are always spoken with deep reverence and respect.   When 80-year-old Dave Brubeck took his seat behind his piano last summer at the Chicago Jazz Fest in Grant Park, young jazzers watched and listened with attentive amazement at the old master, thrilled to see him still tickling the ivories.

      The same is true in the world of blues...where aged masters have always been regarded with reverence and shown respect. This is also true in the classical realm and in opera, country and bluegrass as well. The veteran artists, the torch bearers of their respective musical styles – living or
dead – are spoke of with dignity.

        At a time when we are fast losing so many of the great musical trailblazers who helped forge the sounds we all love so much and hold so dear (George Harrison, Waylon Jennings, John Hartford and Dave Von Ronk in just the three months), it would really be nice to see today’s rock generation be more respective of the pioneering artists who enabled them to do what it is they do. Especially in the case of the elder statesmen who continue to practice their craft.

       Many living heroes of rock ‘n’ roll are still with us and we should be soul-deep grateful that continue to be creative souls and that they continue to bless us with new music. Sure, there are many wonderful new talents who sprout up each and every year in all genres, but should we
dismiss and dispose of those who perhaps are no longer trendy or fashionable, but who continue to be moved by the music in their hearts?

        Indeed not.

      We need to reevaluate the way we look at those icons still with us and revel that they continue to release new music, whether it stands shoulder to shoulder with their past catalog or not.

      Obviously, there are some senior artists like Bob Dylan, who are now releasing some of their best work ever. Others may indeed be past their creative pinnacles, but they still feel the need to make music.

      Please realize that we only have folks like Van Morrison, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Ray Davies, Stevie Wonder, Pete Townsend and others of their ilk for a short while longer.   Time keeps moving on and we are losing more and more of them each year.

       While we’ve got them here walking among us, let us strive to show them the kind of deep impact they’ve made on our lives and our world. Let us show them the appreciation and respect we have for their art (past and present) by treating them and their views with a sense of dignity.

      Now – this month, this week, today – is when we need to do this, not after they are found dead and we all suddenly trip over each other to write “memorials” and “tributes” or race off to the local record store and cause a sell out of their albums.   That whole – “They died so now we have to say
nice things about them...” – scene is bullshit. Say it now.

       And in closing... To those people who feel they lift themselves higher by tearing down others – famous or otherwise – you are pathetic fools too blinded by your own ignorance to see the pettiness and hurtful results of your methods.

     Remember, that you too are subject to slings and arrows in life. Karma is a powerful thing.   Like a boomerang hatefulness always has a way of coming back to visit the source from which it sprang.

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