Keith Richards Autobiography, part 3
Well, as I have come to know Keith Richards, from what I am able to glean
out of his autobiography, Life, I must admit, I like the guy. I like his soulfulness the most, his loyalty to his band-mates, and his
commitment to creating music that means something to him. We can thank his
love of American roots music for some of his decentness. He is keen to be giving to
the audience and is absorbed by this job. I find not much to repeat about his
monumental drug problems, nor about his carousing with now once-famous celebrities.
I would be unnecessarily cruel to him if I were to comment on that nonsense. The power of
fame is a hollow stupid sucker punch. He is not a great prose writer, but, that is to be expected, because he
is foremost a songwriter. He is half musician and half poet-type. He is comfotable
using short phrases and clauses that express what is on the top of his mind….
"Economic language." That is the way the book goes
down, snippets, sort of, and the more I read, the more snippets there were.
Great language in a book flows better than that, but it is not awful. Rather than painting compassionate landscapes to tell his tale,
which I feel is the best way to tell a story, he just mouths off. There is, however,
value in people who do that, i.e. people who are not glib but who are feral
or who are visceral. I find pomposity in the media even worse than Keith’s
ailment. America’s media is really an ethical wreck. Thankfully, Keith will have no part of that. He is a master at creating and recognizing great rhythmic grooves. He understands the emphasis on the two and four counts on the snare drum as being the essence of rock and roll rhythm 
choose to let their music do the talking. I have read scores of books about
musicians but can only recall, "The Eye is on the Sparrow" by Ethel Waters,
that was actually written by the artist. I might be corrected and will
acquiesce to a more scholarly type’s survey.
All that being said, the guy is not really a narcissist from what I can
see and that says a lot about a fellow who lives in a stupid business in a media stupid country.
He loves truth and grittiness. His deepest nature is to be forthright and kind. He
likes to give the underdog a chance because he is an underdog. He, Mick and the other Stones listen very very carefully to American music. They are
masters of it. And furthermore, if they do a cover they are able to make a
good song much much better. That is no small feat. Time is On My Side is a classic example of taking a good song and making it great. He grew up poor in postwar England. He is very tough. Carries a gun,
will physically defend himself, but basically just wants to have fun with his
blokes. Not much of the small stuff disturbs him. Remember that he was a
junkie. Death lived on the other side of many a door. That being said, I would get
a kick out of Keith in person. The world is a much better place that he has been in it.
27 years seems to be a common age for famous young musicians of rock and
roll to die. Because of Keith’s drug abuse he is lucky to be alive and not
serving jail time. I do not give a free pass to very many multi-millionaires but Keith gets
one here. I have met my share of famous musicians and some of them are
shallow and skewed well below the average person’s taste buds. Some of the things I get from Keith’s book is that he has absolutely
confirmed to me his love for Jimmy Reed and other old blues and soul artists. He became world famous and wealthy copying their “feel” and improving on it.
He was deeply effected as a child-survivor of WWII Britain. He is smart, much smarter than I thought he was, honestly. I was arrogant. Some people simply are not good with linear ways in words and thoughts. If you want to get what a rock and roller, not a folkie nor a Western World intellectual type, really thinks like, check out his biography. The essence is in there. I could have skipped the many drug escapades in the book. He is much kinder too than I thought he was. I know good prose when I read it. My favorite musician/book in memory is
Song For My Fathers, a relatively obscure book. Read that one. All for now. Thanks for reading.
Roger and out Www.rogersalloom.com —— End of Forwarded Message
Well, as I have come to know Keith Richards, from what I am able to glean
out of his autobiography, Life, I must admit, I like the guy. I like his soulfulness the most, his loyalty to his band-mates, and his
commitment to creating music that means something to him. We can thank his
love of American roots music for some of his decentness. He is keen to be giving to
the audience and is absorbed by this job. I find not much to repeat about his
monumental drug problems, nor about his carousing with now once-famous celebrities.
I would be unnecessarily cruel to him if I were to comment on that nonsense. The power of
fame is a hollow stupid sucker punch. He is not a great prose writer, but, that is to be expected, because he
is foremost a songwriter. He is half musician and half poet-type. He is comfotable
using short phrases and clauses that express what is on the top of his mind….
"Economic language." That is the way the book goes
down, snippets, sort of, and the more I read, the more snippets there were.
Great language in a book flows better than that, but it is not awful. Rather than painting compassionate landscapes to tell his tale,
which I feel is the best way to tell a story, he just mouths off. There is, however,
value in people who do that, i.e. people who are not glib but who are feral
or who are visceral. I find pomposity in the media even worse than Keith’s
ailment. America’s media is really an ethical wreck. Thankfully, Keith will have no part of that. He is a master at creating and recognizing great rhythmic grooves. He understands the emphasis on the two and four counts on the snare drum as being the essence of rock and roll rhythm
.
There are damn few autobiographies by famous musicians. I guess theychoose to let their music do the talking. I have read scores of books about
musicians but can only recall, "The Eye is on the Sparrow" by Ethel Waters,
that was actually written by the artist. I might be corrected and will
acquiesce to a more scholarly type’s survey.
All that being said, the guy is not really a narcissist from what I can
see and that says a lot about a fellow who lives in a stupid business in a media stupid country.
He loves truth and grittiness. His deepest nature is to be forthright and kind. He
likes to give the underdog a chance because he is an underdog. He, Mick and the other Stones listen very very carefully to American music. They are
masters of it. And furthermore, if they do a cover they are able to make a
good song much much better. That is no small feat. Time is On My Side is a classic example of taking a good song and making it great. He grew up poor in postwar England. He is very tough. Carries a gun,
will physically defend himself, but basically just wants to have fun with his
blokes. Not much of the small stuff disturbs him. Remember that he was a
junkie. Death lived on the other side of many a door. That being said, I would get
a kick out of Keith in person. The world is a much better place that he has been in it.
27 years seems to be a common age for famous young musicians of rock and
roll to die. Because of Keith’s drug abuse he is lucky to be alive and not
serving jail time. I do not give a free pass to very many multi-millionaires but Keith gets
one here. I have met my share of famous musicians and some of them are
shallow and skewed well below the average person’s taste buds. Some of the things I get from Keith’s book is that he has absolutely
confirmed to me his love for Jimmy Reed and other old blues and soul artists. He became world famous and wealthy copying their “feel” and improving on it.
He was deeply effected as a child-survivor of WWII Britain. He is smart, much smarter than I thought he was, honestly. I was arrogant. Some people simply are not good with linear ways in words and thoughts. If you want to get what a rock and roller, not a folkie nor a Western World intellectual type, really thinks like, check out his biography. The essence is in there. I could have skipped the many drug escapades in the book. He is much kinder too than I thought he was. I know good prose when I read it. My favorite musician/book in memory is
Song For My Fathers, a relatively obscure book. Read that one. All for now. Thanks for reading.
Roger and out Www.rogersalloom.com —— End of Forwarded Message
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
