punk rock blues

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Worker's Playtime: Live 8 and the Real World

First the good news, for me at least. I've been hired by a local business owner as an all-around handyman/gardener. Basically I'm the Sausage King's Bitch, but it's steady work, albeit more back breaking than what I'm used to. I spent 6 hours yesterday pulling weeds and have been walking around like Fred Sanford imitating Groucho Marx since. Luckily all I had to do today was snow coat a roof, which was essentially a paint job and, due to the miracle of extension handles for paint rollers, required a minimum of bending.

I was discussing the televised portions of the Live 8 concert with a friend yesterday and felt a real sense of dismay about the whole thing, both in political and musical terms. Now, granted I've been depressed lately and am likely painting with a darker brush than needed and also, due to not having MTV/VH1, I was only able to see what was televised on the local ABC affiliate, so I saw a limited sampling of the acts, but honestly it made me want to never pick up a guitar again.

Not that that act would make a whiff of difference in the world, but I was struck and disturbed by how the show made me feel. I was depressed by the commercialization of what was meant to be an humanitarian effort. I don't blame Geldof. I think he really means what he's doing and believe that he's accomplished much good work. I was sneering at all the Nokia commercials (couldn't be helped, I know it was commercial tv after all) and although I probably should have been heartened by the 'peoples' ability to text message their names to the huge onstage screens, thus becoming part of the show, literally right up there with the artists, all I could thing about was the fact that some phone company was getting 99 cents for every name on that crawl, allowing some a false sense of stardom/participation while people starved to death every 3 seconds.

I know, I know, there's no pleasing everyone, least of all me when I get on my high horse and it's easy to criticize from the comfort of an American couch. So shoot me. In the words of Lou Reed "They say you ain't got no heart, I don't have enough heart for 14.000 assholes." Nothing's that simple. Of course music plays as people die. Of course people spend 400 million dollars on a movie while people starve. Of course people spend 100 million dollars a week watching said movie while people starve. That's just the way of the world.

Some world!

Anyway, enough psuedo-political posturing, let's get to the skewering of the music. As a card carrying guitar rocker from back in the day, I am loathe to admit that the performance that moved me the most, made me forget for a moment what I perceive as the futility of human existence and just had me and the critters rocking was Will Smith's performance of 'Switch'. I've always respected Smith in a way. His music never gave in to the temtations of profanity and violence as a selling tool. He strikes me as a man who has principles and anyway, 'Switch' just swung and rocked and rolled and moved in much the same way my sainted Iggy Stooge did in the days before his cruise ship commercials.

Madonnna's version of 'Like A Prayer' brought tears to my eyes. That song always does, I don't know why. The presence of that lost looking woman who's life was saved by Live Aid 20 years ago was somehow hopeful. Not for a moment did I suspect that she was from Central Casting, at least not until now. In any event I applaud Madonna for surviving and growing from sex icon to elder stateswoman of the 80's. She also has turned out to be a hell of a singer as well as showman/shaman (Shawoman? Sounds like a doo wop background vocal).

Speaking of elder statesman, am I the only person in the world who thinks that Pink Floyd have outlived their usefullness as a musical force? I mean, everyone's got the right to earn a living, but I was saddened by their less than lack lustre performance of 'Money', a song they've had, what? 30 years to get right? Gilmour's vocals were beyond ragged and the whole 'reunion' hoopla was a major anti-climax as Roger Waters looked about as lost as Madonna's stagehand. Now, had they brought Syd Barret out and crashed and burned through a trainwreck version of 'Astronomy Domine', now THAT would've been something.

Paul McCartney, in fine voice and cultural iconography, did a great job, although I was disheartened to see the wonderful U2 playing second fiddle. Although their performance of 'One' was the first time I ever saw the band be anything less than transcendant. Only an off night with the cameras running, I'm sure, maybe just my mood, but depressing to say the least.

The Who. Now I've been dogging the Who for years now. Mainly because they refuse to go away after promising and promising they will, and for re-re-and re-rereleasing 'Tommy' like every 2 years, but I have to say Townshend looked and sounded more rock and roll than anybody on that show with the exception of Will Smith. Although I couldn't help but think of all those 20 somethings in the crowd who were probably wondering who these old guys were and why were they playing the theme from 'CSI'?

That's probably it. The crotchedy-ness (crotchidity?) that comes with old age. The feeling that the music that I had convinced myself had a sustaining power, a faith that rocked like a chair, has passed me by and that my thoughts are no longer relevant. I truly hope that Live 8 accomplishes what it set out to do, which I assume was to raise awareness of the potential for good work to be achieved by the G8 conference in Scotland. I've emailed the White House urging money to be spent in better ways. I email the White House a lot, so I'm probably on a list that gets watched but not listened to. Maybe if more of us urged our goverment to start building the world, rather than destroy it, we might get somewhere. Unfortunately, after the London bombings this morning, the focus has changed yet again.

Some world!

"Betrayal takes two. Who did it to who?" Richard Hell