Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2019 1:13:29 GMT -5
[This is another rescued PSF thread I thought was worth resurrecting here.]
In this thread, let's talk about our fave artists as PEOPLE. IE, not focus on their music so much as their life, their mannerisms and their disposition. For any of you who've read biographies or seen documentaries about some musicians, what did you think? Anyone who's met an artist in real life, what did you think of them? Any interesting anecdotes you know? Any obscure but fascinating figures we ought to look up? Any PARTICULAR bios you'd recommend? Which artist could you "have a beer with?" Which do you respect for what they did, even if you think they were a jerk? Post all that and more here!
To get things started...(Ill probably expand on my thoughts here later)
I've read biographies on the following people: Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Arthur Lee, Grace Slick, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, the Velvet Underground and John Lennon. (I feel like Im missing one...hmm...)
Out of those, the one that struck me as the most fascinating AND the one who seemed the coolest, like a person Id really want to hang out with, was Syd Barrett. By far. He seemed like such a romantic, sweet, life-of-the-party type of guy before things went south. And even after, he spent his time gardening and painting for the love of the craft (burning the canvases afterward) which I find pretty noble. There's an adorable anecdote about some kids coming up to him when he was outside to settle a bet--I forget what exactly but it had to do with them arguing about imaginary creatures. And Syd patiently explained that the unicorn (or whatever it was they were arguing about) could do anything they wanted it to. Syd, to me, was just one of those all around gentle souls that were too pure for this world. I read two different bios about him and they both left me with that impression, so it wasn't just an overly rosy author either.
Brian is the one whose work I respect the most of course, and in many ways his story was the most interesting and dramatically satisfying (with SMiLE being a climax as if written in a novel, and its return in 03 like the perfect resolution to his career). But I don't think he'd be particularly fun to spend time with--just because I get the feeling he'd be very quiet and guarded the whole time.
Jimi Hendrix was pretty fucking cool as well. He seemed surprisingly tender and innocent, not to mention nostalgic about his childhood as well. Not sure why, but I expected him to have a harder edge. He struck me as the most "everyman" of all of them. He struck me as the most confident as well. He'd just go up on stage with the best guitar player in Britain and blow him away at his own event without even meaning to. My fave anecdote from the book was how Keith Richards' girlfriend discovered him at a bar and took him back to her place where they dropped acid and listened to Bob Dylan.
Brian Jones seemed the most tragic out of all of them. He struck me as like the quiet kid in school who no one talked to and took for granted, but if you made the effort to engage you'd find a really sweet person. I got the feeling he was never totally appreciated by the other Stones, and was hurt by that. THEY struck me as kinda shitty guys to be honest, the kind of fairweather friends who make you feel like crap, until they need something out of you and then suddenly they're in your face. Now, I freely admit this bio could have been and probably was biased. But regardless. I'm also convinced he was murdered after reading it. Anyway, out of all of them, he's the one I related the most to. Being quiet, the fairweather friends, his mannerisms, all of it.
I enjoyed reading it, but I cant recall too many details of Janis Joplin or the bio I read of her. Now I feel bad It actually fits the general tone of the book as well, which seemed to portray her in much the same way, kinda overlooked by her peers and mistreated even after she broke into singing. But man, her life sounds like it must have been AWFUL back in Texas. She was just treated like garbage for not being conventionally attractive or feminine. The most disturbing anecdote of the book was how, after hearing about Hendrix' death her response was supposedly "damn, he beat me to it." Overall, she, like Jones, seemed like the one most in need of a hug and a REAL friend/lover in her life.
Arthur Lee sounds like a cool enough guy. Its a shame he turned down Monterey and the band never really had a manager because I think it's deeply hurt him and Love's longterm reputation. They've become kinda obscure and niche while EVERYONE still knows who Hendrix or the Doors are. But Love was like THE band in their day AND they cut the most timeless and beautiful album of 1967 yet they dont get nearly enough credit for it. Still, while I massively appreciate the band, and think both he and the book were pretty cool...I actually gotta confess I didn't finish this one. There were just other books I was dying to read, and nothing exciting was really happening. One day Ill try to get back into it.
I couldn't get through the book about the Velvets either. It was just SO self-indulgent and self-congratulatory I couldn't stomach it. Im not and never was the biggest fan of theirs either. I like their first album okay, but I find it to be highly overrated. Anyway, I was curious about them so I tried to learn more...couldn't get far into it.
Jim Morrison was just a wild child through and through. He seemed to be a little bit too high on himself for my tastes, or at least that was the impression I got. He could also be a real jerk sometimes--the one anecdote that stood out most to me was how he was said to have stolen a fan's rings and then given them to another girl he was interested in. He was definitely a fascinating character though, there's no question about that. But I think he's the kinda person you'd rather read about than hang out with. It's interesting too, all the mystery about his death.
Grace Slick...oh boy. I mean, Im not gonna lie I love her. That story about trying to dose Nixon is awesome. White Rabbit is maybe my favorite song of all time--even after all the other albums and songs Ive discovered just the last couple years alone. It's the perfect encapsulation of the childlike fantasy AND foreboding unknown that make psych rock so awesome all in one 2 minute track. Her whole persona and "look" inspired the style I'm currently going for with my own hair. I could go on and on. Anyway, I was really curious to know more about her, particularly about her first marriage to Darby Slick and their band The Great Society. She and the Airplane were also the ONLY band at all 3 major rock festivals of the decade, Monterey, Woodstock and Altamont, so I wanted to see her perspective on those individually and as a group. But her autobiography just plain sucks. It's scrambled, it's not well written at all, and at times it's embarassing to read. She doesn't go in detail about any of that stuff I mentioned at all. Darby just gets a passing mention "oh yeah we got married" and then never again. I really wanted to know how receptive or devastated (probs the latter) he must have been to have his stunningly gorgeous and talented wife leave him for another band, take their best songs with her, AND divorce him as well. For me, that'd be suicide-level blow to the ego. I stopped reading when I saw each music festival was literally only given ONE PAGE (!!!) each. It's interesting too, because a couple of the other books above would mention her and the Airplane since they were so big in the scene. And invariably she came off as kind of a bitch in each account. Goading on the concert goers "how'd you get here? In a bike? I came in a limousine!"/"who won the war? That's right--we did!" and stuff of that nature. Not sure if I misinterpreted those passages or not, and playfully teasing people was just her shtick though.
I haven't finished reading about Lennon yet so I wont comment.
Id really like to read bios about Kurt Cobain and Michael Jackson too. They seem like interesting figures. Any others youd recommend checking out?
In this thread, let's talk about our fave artists as PEOPLE. IE, not focus on their music so much as their life, their mannerisms and their disposition. For any of you who've read biographies or seen documentaries about some musicians, what did you think? Anyone who's met an artist in real life, what did you think of them? Any interesting anecdotes you know? Any obscure but fascinating figures we ought to look up? Any PARTICULAR bios you'd recommend? Which artist could you "have a beer with?" Which do you respect for what they did, even if you think they were a jerk? Post all that and more here!
To get things started...(Ill probably expand on my thoughts here later)
I've read biographies on the following people: Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Arthur Lee, Grace Slick, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, the Velvet Underground and John Lennon. (I feel like Im missing one...hmm...)
Out of those, the one that struck me as the most fascinating AND the one who seemed the coolest, like a person Id really want to hang out with, was Syd Barrett. By far. He seemed like such a romantic, sweet, life-of-the-party type of guy before things went south. And even after, he spent his time gardening and painting for the love of the craft (burning the canvases afterward) which I find pretty noble. There's an adorable anecdote about some kids coming up to him when he was outside to settle a bet--I forget what exactly but it had to do with them arguing about imaginary creatures. And Syd patiently explained that the unicorn (or whatever it was they were arguing about) could do anything they wanted it to. Syd, to me, was just one of those all around gentle souls that were too pure for this world. I read two different bios about him and they both left me with that impression, so it wasn't just an overly rosy author either.
Brian is the one whose work I respect the most of course, and in many ways his story was the most interesting and dramatically satisfying (with SMiLE being a climax as if written in a novel, and its return in 03 like the perfect resolution to his career). But I don't think he'd be particularly fun to spend time with--just because I get the feeling he'd be very quiet and guarded the whole time.
Jimi Hendrix was pretty fucking cool as well. He seemed surprisingly tender and innocent, not to mention nostalgic about his childhood as well. Not sure why, but I expected him to have a harder edge. He struck me as the most "everyman" of all of them. He struck me as the most confident as well. He'd just go up on stage with the best guitar player in Britain and blow him away at his own event without even meaning to. My fave anecdote from the book was how Keith Richards' girlfriend discovered him at a bar and took him back to her place where they dropped acid and listened to Bob Dylan.
Brian Jones seemed the most tragic out of all of them. He struck me as like the quiet kid in school who no one talked to and took for granted, but if you made the effort to engage you'd find a really sweet person. I got the feeling he was never totally appreciated by the other Stones, and was hurt by that. THEY struck me as kinda shitty guys to be honest, the kind of fairweather friends who make you feel like crap, until they need something out of you and then suddenly they're in your face. Now, I freely admit this bio could have been and probably was biased. But regardless. I'm also convinced he was murdered after reading it. Anyway, out of all of them, he's the one I related the most to. Being quiet, the fairweather friends, his mannerisms, all of it.
I enjoyed reading it, but I cant recall too many details of Janis Joplin or the bio I read of her. Now I feel bad It actually fits the general tone of the book as well, which seemed to portray her in much the same way, kinda overlooked by her peers and mistreated even after she broke into singing. But man, her life sounds like it must have been AWFUL back in Texas. She was just treated like garbage for not being conventionally attractive or feminine. The most disturbing anecdote of the book was how, after hearing about Hendrix' death her response was supposedly "damn, he beat me to it." Overall, she, like Jones, seemed like the one most in need of a hug and a REAL friend/lover in her life.
Arthur Lee sounds like a cool enough guy. Its a shame he turned down Monterey and the band never really had a manager because I think it's deeply hurt him and Love's longterm reputation. They've become kinda obscure and niche while EVERYONE still knows who Hendrix or the Doors are. But Love was like THE band in their day AND they cut the most timeless and beautiful album of 1967 yet they dont get nearly enough credit for it. Still, while I massively appreciate the band, and think both he and the book were pretty cool...I actually gotta confess I didn't finish this one. There were just other books I was dying to read, and nothing exciting was really happening. One day Ill try to get back into it.
I couldn't get through the book about the Velvets either. It was just SO self-indulgent and self-congratulatory I couldn't stomach it. Im not and never was the biggest fan of theirs either. I like their first album okay, but I find it to be highly overrated. Anyway, I was curious about them so I tried to learn more...couldn't get far into it.
Jim Morrison was just a wild child through and through. He seemed to be a little bit too high on himself for my tastes, or at least that was the impression I got. He could also be a real jerk sometimes--the one anecdote that stood out most to me was how he was said to have stolen a fan's rings and then given them to another girl he was interested in. He was definitely a fascinating character though, there's no question about that. But I think he's the kinda person you'd rather read about than hang out with. It's interesting too, all the mystery about his death.
Grace Slick...oh boy. I mean, Im not gonna lie I love her. That story about trying to dose Nixon is awesome. White Rabbit is maybe my favorite song of all time--even after all the other albums and songs Ive discovered just the last couple years alone. It's the perfect encapsulation of the childlike fantasy AND foreboding unknown that make psych rock so awesome all in one 2 minute track. Her whole persona and "look" inspired the style I'm currently going for with my own hair. I could go on and on. Anyway, I was really curious to know more about her, particularly about her first marriage to Darby Slick and their band The Great Society. She and the Airplane were also the ONLY band at all 3 major rock festivals of the decade, Monterey, Woodstock and Altamont, so I wanted to see her perspective on those individually and as a group. But her autobiography just plain sucks. It's scrambled, it's not well written at all, and at times it's embarassing to read. She doesn't go in detail about any of that stuff I mentioned at all. Darby just gets a passing mention "oh yeah we got married" and then never again. I really wanted to know how receptive or devastated (probs the latter) he must have been to have his stunningly gorgeous and talented wife leave him for another band, take their best songs with her, AND divorce him as well. For me, that'd be suicide-level blow to the ego. I stopped reading when I saw each music festival was literally only given ONE PAGE (!!!) each. It's interesting too, because a couple of the other books above would mention her and the Airplane since they were so big in the scene. And invariably she came off as kind of a bitch in each account. Goading on the concert goers "how'd you get here? In a bike? I came in a limousine!"/"who won the war? That's right--we did!" and stuff of that nature. Not sure if I misinterpreted those passages or not, and playfully teasing people was just her shtick though.
I haven't finished reading about Lennon yet so I wont comment.
Id really like to read bios about Kurt Cobain and Michael Jackson too. They seem like interesting figures. Any others youd recommend checking out?
You're a great person BBF.'' - iluvleniloud about me and I.
I should add that Pat was normally the most affable person imaginable. I don't know about fave artists but The Equals made some great music in their day.