The Record Crate

I don’t understand “Rock” musicians anymore. It seems like everyone’s intentions are always the same when their career begins to jump off. You’ve heard it before, how “it’s not about the money.” I wish I owned a time machine that would take me back to Liverpool, Haight Ashbury, L.A., New York City and Hawthorne California to tell all of these old rock ‘n’ rollers struttin their lady lumps on stage and pull the ultimate trump card. I bet I’d be the influence for a hit song or two. Dang…I might even be graced with the god-forsaken industry title of “The man.”

The truth of it all is that whether it’s labor or love, at some point, it’s always about the money. In the ABC TV Movie The Beach Boys: An American Family, Mike Love seems to be the guy that pushes the original group to record, on account of his wifey being all pregnant and junk and not having enough money to support her. The Who sing the immortal like “I hope I die before I get old” in their landmark song “My Generation.” I’m pretty sure the Who have gotten old. They’ve lost 50% of their original line-up (I’m currently pouring some out for Keith Moon and John Entwhistle). I saw the Who once, right around the turn of the century (as if that’s not a literal cliche to make you feel old, sans Moon and Entwhistle. While Moon drank himself to death in the 80s, Entwhistle had recently left the building. The weird thing about the show, was that Ringo Starr’s (of The Beatles) kid was playing the drums for the Who. At some point these bands need to draw the line. I love bands like The Who. They laid the foundation for everything I find sacred, but don’t you think that it’s a little depressing watching a bunch of 50-something dudes strutting their joints and singing the songs of their youth to a crowd that is, at the same time, trying to feel young again?

The Police are a prime example of my point. They knew, or at least I thought they knew, when enough was enough. There were times, between their last show in the 1980s and their reunion tour in 2007, that they turned down a million dollars to play a single show. While their reasons were personal and not age-related, it still illustrates my point. Why would a band, who conceeeded to their egos and personal lives, hit the stage twenty some-odd years later and play their old songs? To me this seems entirely based on money. Andy Summers, the Police’s guitar player, mentioned in a Rolling Stone article that he didn’t need the money [from the tour] but it’s always nice to have. Greed? Maybe not on his part. He went on record to say he was financially sound (thanks to hefty record royalties…something that artists of today will never get to enjoy). I think Summers might just be helping out his pals. Maybe they’re the ones who need the money. Stewart Copeland probably not so much, but I can understand why Sting would br hurting. Those Tantra classes must be burning a hole through his transcendental sexified pockets.

What’s my point…great question. At a certain point, these artists need to know when to call it quits. However, greed’s a funny thing. They have to know at this point that their records are timeless. For me, that’d be enough. As long as my music could influence half the globe or more, I’d consider it a job well done. The Stones have put out multiple copies of their albums, half-assed promotional tools and even created a fan club/money pit, just so they could see a return on their youth. I say enough is enough. People will cherish these works of art for the rest of their lives and then some. They’ll pass these records down to their grand kids and tell them “This was the music that made me who I am. This is what I listened to when I’m your age.” Does it feel wrong to anyone else that these artists, like the Rolling Stones and every other artist making a “comeback” 20 years past their prime, are conning their fans out of more hard-earned money than they need to spend?

I’d hate to cite the terrible economy, but maybe this is the eye-opener that fans everywhere have needed. It’s always great to live out one’s youth every once in a while, but I can confidently say that I will not be paying $200.00 to see Blink-182’s World Tour in 2030.