Gonna Keep On Tryin’ ‘Til I Reach My Highest Ground
Friday. Yeah! Today has been typically boring so far. I've been working on my post-upload spreadsheet for most of the morning and I'll probably be doing some more work on my presentation later this afternoon. I found out today that not only is the company monitoring our internet usage, but also that every single one of our instant messages is being printed out and read as well. Now, I'm sure that there's some fine print that says that they have the right to do so since the conversations are taking place on their software, but really, there's something fundamentally offensive to the idea that our private conversations are being printed out and read by management. This type of stuff really ticks me off and I honestly don't know how much more of it I can take.
Since it's Friday and I always try to start my weekend out right with some jammin' tunes, I busted out some old Stevie Wonder on my drive into work. Now, I'm talking about the old, funky Stevie Wonder, not the cheesy wuss stuff that he put out in the '80s. How could someone who put out such groovin' tunes as Boogie On Reggae Woman and Sir Duke turn around and put out such vapid drivel a decade later? I think there is a line in the movie High Fidelity regarding this, something like "can an artist be forgiven of his current transgressions based on his past achievements?" I would look it up on IMDB, but I don't want to get busted by the corporate internet police...
Anyway, I really like Stevie's older, funky releases. Sure, everyone has heard Superstition or Higher Ground a million times, but they still never cease being fun to listen to. Living for the City is another great one, as is Uptight (Everything is Alright). I had a lot of fun listening to these songs this morning and I'm willing to bet you would, too. While I wouldn't recommend the entire Stevie Wonder catalogue, definitely check out his earlier stuff and find out why so many people still hold him in such high regard despite his general lameness in the 1980s.
Since it's Friday and I always try to start my weekend out right with some jammin' tunes, I busted out some old Stevie Wonder on my drive into work. Now, I'm talking about the old, funky Stevie Wonder, not the cheesy wuss stuff that he put out in the '80s. How could someone who put out such groovin' tunes as Boogie On Reggae Woman and Sir Duke turn around and put out such vapid drivel a decade later? I think there is a line in the movie High Fidelity regarding this, something like "can an artist be forgiven of his current transgressions based on his past achievements?" I would look it up on IMDB, but I don't want to get busted by the corporate internet police...
Anyway, I really like Stevie's older, funky releases. Sure, everyone has heard Superstition or Higher Ground a million times, but they still never cease being fun to listen to. Living for the City is another great one, as is Uptight (Everything is Alright). I had a lot of fun listening to these songs this morning and I'm willing to bet you would, too. While I wouldn't recommend the entire Stevie Wonder catalogue, definitely check out his earlier stuff and find out why so many people still hold him in such high regard despite his general lameness in the 1980s.
posted by john at 3:48 PM
4 Comments:
I think that you can absolutely forgive later-life suckiness because of early life genius. A few particular artists come to mind (some have even been putting out the later-life shite longer than the good stuff, but the good stuff still overpowers it in my mind):
1) Elton John- Goodbye Yellowbrick Road is one of the best albums EVAH, and then he did Disney. sigh.
2) David Bowie- Maybe it's because I'm more afraid of techno than Americans, but I just don't get his recent stuff. However, Ziggy Stardust is fucking genius.
3) Paul McCartney- I even forgave the early Wings stuff, as they came up with a few fun songs (Maybe I'm Amazed, Jet, Live and Let Die, etc.), but later Paul stuff is like old bonbons left in a drawer, doomed for all internity to stick to the wrappers...
4) The Stones- Great example of artists that have ended up putting out more shite than good due to their prolific nature through the 80s and 90s. However, their early stuff has allowed them to do pretty much whatever they want for they will remain safely tucked away in the world's best bands anyways.
I love Some Girls and Let it Bleed in particular...
5) The Cure- pretty much the same story as the Stones. They just should have stopped earlier. Their genius is so apparent in their early work, that most fans can just ignore the last 4 albums and pretend they stopped with Wish.
Other honorable mentions of folks that can continue producing and selling albums because of formerly earned cred go to Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, Madonna, Pavement, Morrissey, Sting, Prince, U2.
Folks that have managed to evade such a thing by ending before they started sucking, or have established an evolving sound to keep them relevant:
the Pixies, the Smiths, the Police, Wilco, the Beatles, and Pulp. In my humble opinion...
Wow, long comment. I love talking about this shit, though...
Hi Lisa-
I'm with you on all of these, except I have to admit I've never been much of a Cure fan. I did a post on the Rolling Stones' Bigger Bang album a little while back and the simile I gave at the time (which fits all of these artists) is that they are like the aging sports star that has hung around in the league for too long. At one time he was the best there ever was, but now he is just a shadow of his former self and easily shown up by the younger generation. Each season he tries to make a comeback he only further erodes his own legacy. The same is for these bands. The fan base keeps buying the new stuff hoping to get a glimpse of the genius of their earlier work, only to be further disappointed about how far they have strayed from their prime.
I like your Paul McCartney comparison as well. I almost got to see Sir Paul in concert back in the early 90s. However, I ended up in the emergency room instead. I'll spare you that story...
I love Pavement's older stuff.
I gave up on Elton John when he did that tribute to Diana. I'm sorry, but is it wrong to not like that song?
Keep on posting long comments. I love talking about this stuff, too...
Oh, I want to add George Michael to that list (your Diana song reminded me of this). Say what you will about Wham! but in the early 90s, George was doing interesting stuff. And then he started the gay club mix shit. I have nothing against gay club music, but when you have a voice like that, I consider it a major waste of talent to say the least.
About the Cure... perhaps you've only been exposed to the typically "cure" stuff? There really is stuff within their repretoire to satisfy all musical tastes. I just might be able to make a Cure fan out of you. It's harder now, though, because like people hearing the Smiths now, their sound is dated... ah, well...
The Cure?... I don't know... ;-)
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