By Hans Ebert @HansEbertMusic Visit: www.hans-ebert.com
Ever get the feeling that you’ve pretty much done it all? Or at least seen it all? Jeez, that reminds me of an Adele song.
These feelings are happening more and more often to friends. And to myself. Not to be a downer, but there are those days when one wonders if there’s any point waking up.
Waking up for what? And to do what? Put one’s life in Reverse just to try and fit in to everything that’s not going on around you? Everything that has a strong sense of déjà vu but without -any relevance? Zero creative spontaneity?
Trying to make spontaneity an exacting science where there must be vacuous committee meetings before arriving at something appealing to the lowest common denominator and which still needs layer upon layer of approval processes by those once known as bean counters? Well, ho hum…It’s not exactly how something like The White Album became a reality.
It’s probably why, the upcoming movie, “Yesterday” at least piques my interest. It’s about “Jack”, the only person in the world who’s heard of the Beatles and their songs. It makes you wish you were “Jack”. It’s kinda “Back To The Future: The Musical.”
Someone recently mentioned how ideas these days are in short supply, to which I asked, “In short supply, or is there actually not much new thinking out there?” And then we talked about “Jack” and the upcoming biopic of Elton John- “Rocketman”.
How many more sons and daughters of “Bohemian Rhapsody” are in the works? The thought is not only frightening, it’s frighteningly boring. The Elton John documentary “Tantrums And Tiaras” had it all, said it all. It was honest. It wasn’t Elton In Hollywood.
Interesting was hearing media mogul Barry Diller being interviewed on CNN recently. Smart man. He’s seen it all and shot straight from the hip. He asked what even a movie is these days and how many people care, especially those described as “millennials”?
Mr Diller also made the point that we’re living in a nanu second age. No one really has time for much, let alone going out to watch a movie for a couple of hours. That’s so 2014 or whenever it was that the whole world just HAD to see “Avatar”. It’s incredible how much the world has changed- and not for the better. It seems to have come to a full stop.
Today? Well, there’s Netflix, but let’s see how far this bus goes. Same for Spotify. And Instagram which is quickly morphing into soft core porn and relentless self promotion where the numbers bought by those desperate to be noticed just don’t add up. Thousands of “views”, but around five fake “comments”? This is “engagement”? These number of “views” say what about the “content”? That people like it? And? Now what?
Ignore this crap? It’s tough when people share irrelevance. Like a car crash, one has to check it out. Why? Gawd knows. Curiosity? When we know what that did to the cat.
Seems like we’ve chosen to become voyeurs of life instead of participating and helping it evolve.
Plenty was created before the mobile phone. Before happy to be stuck inside of Mobile with the online blues and second hand news from those with nothing original to say.
Yet, we read this “content” instead of curling up with a good book or even trying to finish writing that book or song that’s been in the works for years.
Last night, there was the realisation that I was never a fan of the Stones. Respecting them for carrying on at their dote age is one thing. The music? The last record from them that made any impact on me was “Beggars Banquet”. If being totally honest, it was Brian Jones who kept me interested in the Stones. And when they were managed by Andrew Loog Oldham. He swam against the tide. Still does.
There are plenty of singers and bands we say we’re fans of, but are we really? REALLY. For example, I can’t stand AC/DC, Alice Cooper, KISS, Velvet Underground. And after a strange encounter with Lou Reed, their music sounds toxic to these ears. Dark and evil. Hey, we’re all different.
What’s been good for the soul other than going back to watch episodes of “Seinfeld”, “The Muppets Show”, movie making that gave us “Godfather 1 and 2”, “Goodfellas”, the original TV series of “The Twilight Zone”, “One Step Beyond” and nearly anything starring Christopher Walken have been the taste of things to come from John Mayer and Norah Jones. Good, simple music without pretensions- but enhanced with some new twists and turns.
Pretensions. It’s around too much. Sure seems like it. It’s what made me unsubscribe from the daily ramblings of a popular American blogger. Why?
Though having always questioned his relevance and penchant for name dropping about Irving and Lyor and Claudius and toga parties, it was about him blogging about attending an Elton John post Oscar party yesterday- a fawning piece of warmed over waffles for septuagenarians who don’t get out much.
As for him opining that the Oscars was all about the MUSIC- yes, in CAPS- and some crap about how when the music gets inside of you yada yada yada, well, yeah yeah yeah. Whatever. I wanted out. Immediately.
It’s no longer about being “in”, man. It’s about being OUT and without having to wave the Indie flag to make some stupid “anti-establishment” statement. That’s just more pretentiousness. It turns off many who can see through the fakery of it all. It’s childish. Plus, And? You’re an Indie artist. But with no talent. And now what?
Less is more. It’s the key driver to where we’re heading until a kernel of inspiration is the only thing we need to continue creating from a clean slate.
The excess is falling on deaf ears. It’s had its day. Excess and collecting clutter is only for hoarders. Hoarders going nowhere. But that’s fine. If they’re happy with wherever life is taking them online, fine. It’s just not for me. Somewhere else is…
Comments