Favorite Dead Performer

by Yerusalyim 52 Replies latest jw friends

  • Abaddon
    Abaddon

    Well, Jeff Buckley was the first one I thought of as I actually met him, and then Kurt Cobain, and Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, er, Keith Moon, and John Bonham... but we're missing somehow John Winston Lennon, although he's in a different class (murdered), but how can you miss the dead Beatle guys, shame on you, and then there's Marvin Gaye, and Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole, oh yeah, and Robert Johnson, they are all worthy of mention... and Ian Dury... and Jeff's dad, Tim, and Eva Cassidy, oh the humanity... and you gotta mention Bill Hicks too, although he's a comedian, not a musician. Oh, and the original guitarist of the Gin Blossoms, you know, the only talented member of the band, the one who could actually write good songs?

    Unfortunately we cannot include every member of every boy band or lame girl group, or little marketing packge band, Steps, S Club 7, N-Sync, Westlife, Five, yeah we know who they are... why can't those fuckers die and leave us Jeff and Eva to duet in a world free of crap music.

    How about a little bit of direct action musical critiscm. Hey, Emenem, ma-nah-nah-nah (dooh-dooh-do-do-do), what ever your name is, guarantee yourself immortality... DIE. It worked for Tu-pac and Biggie, and they were SHIT too. God, I hated that cover of 'Every breath you take' maudline misappropriation of a decent song to mourn a half-assed rapper... well, a big assed rapper I suppose would be more accurate.

    Is it me or is 83.6% of modern MOBO utter SHIT? Come back come back the Sugarhill Gang, oh Grandmaster Flash, save us in our hour of need, uh-hu-hu. God even Prince in his good times is vastly prefferable to the Fugees, if that guy says 'One time' ONE MORE TIME, I'm gonna buy me a sniper rifle...

    And don't worry, this is equal opportunities bad-mouthing... Marylin Manson, you little butt-wipe, you think you're BAD? Hah. You're a side project of Trent Reznor, accept you are mostly shite, although I do like some of your songs your image is so, god, I don't know, a re-tread of Ozzie and Iggy, with none of the class and freshness. Old old old. Get a day job before the sad, disaffected teenagers of the world wake up and burn your CD's.

    And whatabout oh, they are so bad I can't remember their NAMES, like Counting Crows, but with a black singer, had an album called Fairweather Johnson that sold like 'I have an STD' T-shirts. Oh my god, they were so, mediocore.

    And Stevie Ray Vaughn and Elvis are vastly over-rated.

    As far as Elvis goes, sorry, I subscribe to Bill Hicks on this one... rock stars should die like real stars die... with a big bang. Let's face it, if someone had crept up behind Elvis in 1960 and blown his brains out he would be far greater, his reputation would not have to overcome the odium of all those damn film, and Vegas, and the all-in-one suits, and dying of a cholesterol overdose whilst sat on the toilet with the 'last scrap of kingly produce floating beneath him'... that's not rock'n'roll, no way. He should of died with dignity.

    As for Stevie, ah, I had this ex-gf who LOVED Stevie, but I just didn't get it, whenever I hear him I want to hear Hendrix instead as he just gets on my tits with his (thankfully) unique brand of long-winded intermnable red-neck swamp boogie. Ugh.

    I also think that honesty in band names should be enforced by law. Dire Straits, YES, apt, honest, direct... Simple Minds? You BET your ass they are... U2... nah, howsabout YOU TWATS, far better... great songs (well, a dozen good songs in how many years?), but what a bunch of jerks...

    I could go on, but I have work to do...

    Keep on rocking in the free world...

  • Pubsinger
    Pubsinger

    Presley, Hendrix, Lennon, Britney (whoops just wishing again!) and Marley are obvious legends who spring to mind.

    I really liked Kirsty McColl (I'm sure I've spellt that wrong?)

    And I actually saw Michael Hutchence on the INXS "Kick" tour circa '85

  • DIM
    DIM

    John Lennon
    Marvin Gaye
    Nick Drake
    Kurt Cobain
    Tim Buckley
    Jeff Buckley
    Skip Spence
    Bob Marley
    Ian Curtis

  • peaceloveharmony
    peaceloveharmony

    i forgot to mention bob marley and jimi hendricks and billie holliday. ahh so many great ones. of course john lennon too...

    and julie, you mentioned phil hartman...man, do i miss that man's humor. i love catching old simpsons episodes with him

    love
    h

    Most people think, Great God will come from the skies, Take away everything And make everybody feel high. But if you know what life is worth, You will look for yours on earth: And now you see the light, You stand up for your rights.~~Bob Marley

  • Pubsinger
    Pubsinger

    Abbadon

    RAOTFLMAO!!

    "Is it me or is 83.6% of MOBO utter shit?"

    BBWWAAAAAAA!

    The MOBO awards have got to be the most racist awards ever. I do not know how they get away with it. Sure there are a few token "white" artists, but can you imagine the uproar at the "Only music with ABSOLUTELY NO black influence AT ALL" awards.

    Its just an euphemism for excluding other cultures and causing divisions in something which is universal.

    And as arguably all popular music has its roots in black blues (sic)music, then everything should be allowed in.

    Just my 2p.

  • Yerusalyim
    Yerusalyim

    Frank Sinatra ain't dead, He's just resting deep underground for a great come back. Frank if you can hear me, I MISS YOU, Man. Frank is my hero, wouldn't give ya a plug nickle for his life style, but THE MAN CAN SING! That's right, I said CAN. HE AIN'T dead, he can't be.

    Yep, Love Phil Hartman, especially in The Simpsons, which is probably the single best series in history. HOMER!

    YERUSALYIM
    "Vanity! It's my favorite sin!"
    [Al Pacino as Satan, in "DEVIL'S ADVOCATE"]

  • spike
    spike

    Chris Farley
    John Cannon
    GOD played by George Burns

  • Xena
    Xena

    Marilyn Monroe of course

  • Makena1
    Makena1

    Abaddon wrote: And Stevie Ray Vaughn and Elvis are vastly over-rated.

    As for Stevie, ah, I had this ex-gf who LOVED Stevie, but I just didn't get it, whenever I hear him I want to hear Hendrix instead as he just gets on my tits with his (thankfully) unique brand of long-winded intermnable red-neck swamp boogie. Ugh.

    Abaddon - I don't know you, don't agree with the above statement, but respect your opinions. At the risk of turning this thread into an argument, I submit the following quotes from other players that I hope you do "get" or respect, especially Eric Clapton (who some have told me I resemble a bit, so perhaps I am biased):

    B.B. King

    "... not just a loss to music, it's a loss to people as a whole. The only thing that keeps me from crying is knowing the joy he brought us."
    "I've said that playing the blues is like having to be black twice. Stevie missed on both counts, but I never noticed it."

    "... he was always quick to show gratitude to me and other artists who have been around. But when it came to playing the blues he earned plenty of respect himself."

    Eric Clapton

    "I don't think anyone has commanded my respect more, to this day. The first time I heard Stevie Ray, I thought, "Whoever this is, he is going to shake the world". I was in my car and I remember thinking, I have to find out, before the day is over, who that guitar player is. That doesn't happen to me very often, that I get that way about listening to music. I mean, about three or four times in my life I've felt that way, in a car, listening to the radio, where I've stopped the car, pulled over, listened, and thought, I've got to find out before the end of the day, not, you know, sooner or later, but I have to know NOW who that is.

    "...and I remember being fascinated by the fact that he never, ever seemed to be... lost in any way. It was as though he never took a breather... or took a pause to think where he was gonna go next, it just flowed out of him. He seemed to be an open channel and music just flowed out. It's going to be a long time before anyone that brilliant will come along again."

    Buddy Guy

    "It was an honor to have him do [my] tunes, because just like I went to Muddy Waters and paid tribute to him, everyone pays tribute to someone they admired a lot. Music is handed down to the next generation. And he wasn't just some white kid saying, 'I got it.' He told the truth. 'I got this from Buddy Guy or Albert Collins,' or whoever he wanted to talk about. That was some of his greatness."

    "Stevie is the best friend I ever had, the best guitarist I ever heard, and the best person anyone will ever want to know. He will be missed a lot."

    Bonnie Raitt

    "The most lasting memory I have of Stevie is his passion... I don't think there's anyone that tears into a song the way he did. I think Stevie Ray was coming from some place so deep and so beautiful that there's no one you can compare to him."

    "To me Stevie Ray was the greatest blues guitarist. For fire and passion and soulfulness, he was untouchable. He was scary to those of us who watched him. But he was so humble and gracious as a friend and he wasn't stuck up about his playing."

    Robert Cray

    "... for a long time coming there's going to be a lot of frustrated guitar players trying to pick up on Stevie's stuff."

    "I'll always remember how he kicked my ass all the time on the guitar. It was inspirational, you know?"

    John Lee Hooker

    "The first time we met was in Austin, Texas at Antone's, and it was him and his brother Jimmie. That was fifteen or twenty years ago, and at the time he could play tremendously. And I said 'Someday, this kid's going to shake the whole world up.' And he was one of the nicest people. You couldn't help but like him; you couldn't help but love him."

    "I never cry, but yesterday when I heard [about Stevie's death], I sat down on my bed and cried like a little baby."

    Lonnie Mack

    "As I got to know him better, it was easy to see that he had a really good spirit. Stevie was a giver, man - not only to his friends, but to everybody. He was a very spiritual person."

    "He played his complete self through the guitar. And he knew that playing music wasn't about who sounded better than who else. It was the style that counted, and it was about having a good time."

    Albert Collins

    "We jammed many times, and I had so much fun. I really miss him. He did some Jimi Hendrix, some Albert King, a little of me, but he had it together for what he wanted to do. He had a direction and he made it work. The kids really liked his fire."

    Gregg Allman

    "I remember when he first came out, he was doing [Voodoo Chile], and I heard all these people going 'Ah, he's just trying to do Hendrix.' But he went a lot furher than that. He was absolutely 100-proof pure blues. Albert Collins, Muddy Waters - the essence of that was in everything he played. More than the Allman Brothers, he was straight-down-the-line blues."

    "Stevie was always playing. After he'd get offstage, he'd get on his bus. And he had all these Stratocasters hanging there. He'd grab one and start goin'."

    Joe Satriani

    "As a guitar player, he had an incredible signature tone and an extreme intensity. He played one of the most difficult guitars to play - the Fender Stratocaster - and he played with really heavy strings. And he strung it with high action, which means you have to really work harder than anyone to try to get a sound out. But if you've got what it takes, then what comes out is something very big and bold and original."
    "In August of 1988, we opened two shows for him at the Pier in New York, and I got to really listen to him up close. You could tell he was always striving to find that magical point. He was good at reaching for the magic and finding it."

    "I think what I'll really remember is the way he stood, you know? Sweat-drenched, with his eyes closed, grabbing some incredible note. Someone has to be totally absorbed to play like that.To play that intensely sort of wreaks havoc on the body - it's sort of a painful ecstasy. He played the blues, you know? I guess I'll remember that most of all."

    By the way, your tag line, "Keep on rockin' in the free world" is by the musician that inspired me to pick up a guitar. Neil self-admittedly (is that a word?) is not a great guitar player, but you gotta love his songs, lyrics and the way he keeps reinventing himself.

    Makena
    more of a "poser" than a player, but getting better with age.

  • joelbear
    joelbear

    Dan Blocker (Hoss Cartwright)

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