^
or a gangster (Al Capone)
Vale / in Memorium
Moderator: bbmods
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stui magpie
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stui magpie
- Posts: 54843
- Joined: Tue May 03, 2005 10:10 am
- Location: In flagrante delicto
- Has liked: 132 times
- Been liked: 168 times
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stui magpie
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Mugwump
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^ Sure. Some of the artists and scientists I admire most were horrible human beings. Sir Isaac Newton, for instance, was a monster. So was Richard Wagner. The work and the life should be separable, and we should be able to carry these facts in mind.David wrote: No worries! I agree with a lot of what you write here, and was having a similar discussion on Facebook today about good old Roman Polanski. While I strongly believe in evaluating art and artistic oeuvres without regard for the creator's personal virtues, I also feel that we should be careful not to allow our admiration for an artist to minimise the unethical or illegal things they may have done. As you say, we too often engage in hero worship in this society and it can cloud our ability to recognise that these figures are human beings, with all the failings that entails.
Chuck Berry was a legendary rock musician, perhaps the greatest; he also seems to have been prone to committing unethical, sexually exploitative acts. We can and must accept both of these concepts at the same time. There is nothing inherently paradoxical here.
What interests me is the way that people roar about (say) Sir Tim Hunt's rather silly wittering about women in science and he is forced to resign - and yet Chuck Berry's really sinister behaviour is airbrushed out of his obituaries.
I think this is because rock'n'roll gets such a free pass because it fits so comfortably with the libertarian assumptions of the elites of our age. Like everyone else, I like the rock music I like, and I can still play Berry's defining guitar licks - but I think it is overrated as a cultural commodity, and the stars of rock'n'roll are granted licence to behave and pontificate in ways that would not be tolerated in more serious areas. Still, at least Berry did not regale me with witless opinions on politics. And unlike John Lennon, the ne plus ultra of the type, he was not truly nasty to the people who were close to him. It takes a special kind of viciousness to do that.
Two more flags before I die!
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think positive
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Mugwump
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Cub Coda's biography from Allmusic.com includes the following:
'Of all the early breakthrough rock & roll artists, none is more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He is its greatest songwriter, the main shaper of its instrumental voice, one of its greatest guitarists, and one of its greatest performers. Quite simply, without him there would be no Beatles, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, nor a myriad others. There would be no standard "Chuck Berry guitar intro," the instrument's clarion call to get the joint rockin' in any setting. The clippety-clop rhythms of rockabilly would not have been mainstreamed into the now standard 4/4 rock & roll beat. There would be no obsessive wordplay by modern-day tunesmiths; in fact, the whole history (and artistic level) of rock & roll songwriting would have been much poorer without him. Like Brian Wilson said, he wrote "all of the great songs and came up with all the rock & roll beats." Those who do not claim him as a seminal influence or profess a liking for his music and showmanship show their ignorance of rock's development as well as his place as the music's first great creator. Elvis may have fueled rock & roll's imagery, but Chuck Berry was its heartbeat and original mindset.
... for all of his off-stage exploits and seemingly ongoing troubles with the law, Chuck Berry remains the epitome of rock & roll, and his music will endure long after his private escapades have faded from memory. Because when it comes down to his music, perhaps John Lennon said it best, "If you were going to give rock & roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'." '
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/chuck-be ... /biography
'Of all the early breakthrough rock & roll artists, none is more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He is its greatest songwriter, the main shaper of its instrumental voice, one of its greatest guitarists, and one of its greatest performers. Quite simply, without him there would be no Beatles, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, nor a myriad others. There would be no standard "Chuck Berry guitar intro," the instrument's clarion call to get the joint rockin' in any setting. The clippety-clop rhythms of rockabilly would not have been mainstreamed into the now standard 4/4 rock & roll beat. There would be no obsessive wordplay by modern-day tunesmiths; in fact, the whole history (and artistic level) of rock & roll songwriting would have been much poorer without him. Like Brian Wilson said, he wrote "all of the great songs and came up with all the rock & roll beats." Those who do not claim him as a seminal influence or profess a liking for his music and showmanship show their ignorance of rock's development as well as his place as the music's first great creator. Elvis may have fueled rock & roll's imagery, but Chuck Berry was its heartbeat and original mindset.
... for all of his off-stage exploits and seemingly ongoing troubles with the law, Chuck Berry remains the epitome of rock & roll, and his music will endure long after his private escapades have faded from memory. Because when it comes down to his music, perhaps John Lennon said it best, "If you were going to give rock & roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'." '
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/chuck-be ... /biography
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Piesnchess
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Captain_MyCaptain
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Tannin
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(Cross-posted from the VPT thread.)
Oh no! The best caller in the game - not just footy, practically any game. Drew was the master.
Drew dreamed about calling sport even as a little boy growing up in Sydney. It was all he ever wanted to do. One day, still only in his teens, he was one of a small group of youngsters who managed to get an interview with the ABC Sport Department, which took place at a Sydney footy ground some hours before the game. (Being Sydney, this was Rugby League of course.)
The interview went OK. Rather to their surprise, the boys were then invited to call a few minutes each of the no-account seconds game that happened to be on. Obviously, no-one knew any of the players or their numbers. that was OK, said the senior man, you haven't had a chance to study, just make something up or say "Number 3" or "the full-back".
When Drew's turn came along, he knew every player on both sides and called them accurately. Young Drew loved his sport and "just happened" to know every player in every team - first and seconds both - in the New South Wales Rugby League. So he ignored the instructions and called them all by name.
He got the job.
He was posted to Western Australia as a cadet, and thrown straight into calling the completely unfamiliar game of Aussie Rules. Took to it like a duck to water, and never looked back.
Even when he was right royally shafted by Tony Abbot's disgraceful "no cuts to the ABC" savage cuts and sacked, he took it in good spirit and finished his days at an inferior commercial broadcaster, never showing any trace of bitterness. He just went on calling sport in his inimitable way.
Go well Drew Morphett. Top bloke; best sport broadcaster of our generation. No-one else ever managed your unique blend of easy-going style, true-to-life accuracy, tremendous knowledge, understanding, and infectious good humour.
You will be sadly missed.
Oh no! The best caller in the game - not just footy, practically any game. Drew was the master.
Drew dreamed about calling sport even as a little boy growing up in Sydney. It was all he ever wanted to do. One day, still only in his teens, he was one of a small group of youngsters who managed to get an interview with the ABC Sport Department, which took place at a Sydney footy ground some hours before the game. (Being Sydney, this was Rugby League of course.)
The interview went OK. Rather to their surprise, the boys were then invited to call a few minutes each of the no-account seconds game that happened to be on. Obviously, no-one knew any of the players or their numbers. that was OK, said the senior man, you haven't had a chance to study, just make something up or say "Number 3" or "the full-back".
When Drew's turn came along, he knew every player on both sides and called them accurately. Young Drew loved his sport and "just happened" to know every player in every team - first and seconds both - in the New South Wales Rugby League. So he ignored the instructions and called them all by name.
He got the job.
He was posted to Western Australia as a cadet, and thrown straight into calling the completely unfamiliar game of Aussie Rules. Took to it like a duck to water, and never looked back.
Even when he was right royally shafted by Tony Abbot's disgraceful "no cuts to the ABC" savage cuts and sacked, he took it in good spirit and finished his days at an inferior commercial broadcaster, never showing any trace of bitterness. He just went on calling sport in his inimitable way.
Go well Drew Morphett. Top bloke; best sport broadcaster of our generation. No-one else ever managed your unique blend of easy-going style, true-to-life accuracy, tremendous knowledge, understanding, and infectious good humour.
You will be sadly missed.
�Let's eat Grandma.� Commas save lives!