Various Talents
Okay, several things to note:
James Brown, of course, died a couple of days ago - on Christmas. More than enough has been said about Mr. Excitement by now, but I haven't yet seen anyone remark on that date. It's kind of a nice coincidence, though.
To me, the most interesting fact about James Brown's career was the fact that he fined his musicians if they made any mistakes during concerts. Well, why not? Music is an art form, to be sure, but it's also a craft that needs care and attention, especially if a person's getting paid for it. James Brown's musical innovations have so entered the collective unconscious that, like other originals, we almost don't notice how creative they were, but most of us have yet to learn that lesson about playing properly.
Then, too, Gerald Ford died last night.
Like all other presidents who die, Ford is now being roundly eulogized by all and sundry. (Including, as an aside, George W. Bush, who referred to Ford as a man of "quiet integrity, common sense and kind instincts" - none of which characterizations, interestingly, apply to George W. Bush).
This is very sweet, of course, and true enough, but with all due respect I can't get very excited about the passing of a president whose main qualification seems to have been that he was a nice guy. I hope he's happy where he is now.
On the other hand, as others have noted from the well-known SNL sketch of ten years ago, this leaves open the question of whether or not Tom Brokaw is gay.
Finally, and completely unnoticed, today is the 100th birthday of musician, raconteur, television talk-show pioneer, famous neurotic and well-known hypochondriac Oscar Levant.
We need more people like him around today, those who make a profession of slaughtering sacred cows. Jon Stewart stands almost alone at the moment, and even he can't hold a candle to Oscar. I, for one, would consider him a most necessary role model if he had never done anything more than say, as he did:
"There is a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line."
RIP all.
Benshlomo says, Which of these men would you most like to sit down and have a beer with?
James Brown, of course, died a couple of days ago - on Christmas. More than enough has been said about Mr. Excitement by now, but I haven't yet seen anyone remark on that date. It's kind of a nice coincidence, though.
To me, the most interesting fact about James Brown's career was the fact that he fined his musicians if they made any mistakes during concerts. Well, why not? Music is an art form, to be sure, but it's also a craft that needs care and attention, especially if a person's getting paid for it. James Brown's musical innovations have so entered the collective unconscious that, like other originals, we almost don't notice how creative they were, but most of us have yet to learn that lesson about playing properly.
Then, too, Gerald Ford died last night.
Like all other presidents who die, Ford is now being roundly eulogized by all and sundry. (Including, as an aside, George W. Bush, who referred to Ford as a man of "quiet integrity, common sense and kind instincts" - none of which characterizations, interestingly, apply to George W. Bush).
This is very sweet, of course, and true enough, but with all due respect I can't get very excited about the passing of a president whose main qualification seems to have been that he was a nice guy. I hope he's happy where he is now.
On the other hand, as others have noted from the well-known SNL sketch of ten years ago, this leaves open the question of whether or not Tom Brokaw is gay.
Finally, and completely unnoticed, today is the 100th birthday of musician, raconteur, television talk-show pioneer, famous neurotic and well-known hypochondriac Oscar Levant.
We need more people like him around today, those who make a profession of slaughtering sacred cows. Jon Stewart stands almost alone at the moment, and even he can't hold a candle to Oscar. I, for one, would consider him a most necessary role model if he had never done anything more than say, as he did:
RIP all.
Benshlomo says, Which of these men would you most like to sit down and have a beer with?
posted by benshlomo at 9:39 AM
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