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Clapton’s new single

The cutoff has to be The Smiths. I have a full set of Smiths albums (including a fully signed first album) and absolutely nothing of his solo work!
 
Neither were ‘young Morrissey’ though. I can’t think of anything racist or far-right nationalist in the Smiths lyrics, it all seemed to come out in the solo stuff later. Maybe Johnny Marr, who seems a thoroughly decent bloke, kept him in check? I’ve never bothered reading any books or interviews, but it would be interesting to know what the other three felt and whether such views had anything to do with the Smiths falling apart so acrimoniously.
 
Truly great in Cream, some good stuff after, latter day performances are like watching paint dry.

Kinda feel bad for him actually: He's clearly drug, alcohol and relationship damaged, has obviously lived in his own weird bubble for several decades and seems to be very rapidly running out of friends. Not the best ending for such a legacy...I hope he can turn it around somehow.
 
IIRC RAR was also in response to Bowie's perceived dalliance with the far-right. But David was cool....

That said, Clapton was/is an awful human being. That an apology had to be dragged out of him for the Birmingham incident is proof of that.

Love Cream though.
 
Paul Mc said:
IIRC RAR was also in response to Bowie's perceived dalliance with the far-right. But David was cool....
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RAR was in direct response to Clapton’s outburst. But yes, your correct. He wasn’t the only one. The difference is Bowie later recanted, admitted he’d been a coked up knobhead and made a substantial donation to RAR whereas Clapton has never made a proper or adequate apology. Indeed he seems to be getting worse.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/apr/20/popandrock.race
 
It’s many years since I read it but I remember the late Ian MacDonald’s essay on Bowie and his Ill advised fascination with Nazism & the occult in his The People’s Music as being particularly good. As MacDonald describes, it was an association that went deeper than a cocaine induced Nazi salute at Victoria Station.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1844130932/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Cheese said:
About multi-millionaires recycling another culture's music, we could also mention Charlie Watts
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Charlie Watts? Charlie Watts, really? Why did you choose him? One of the most intelligent, sensitive persons in rock. He was very aware what they were doing. Look at this (on the issue especially 4:00 to 6:20)

 
Paul Mc said:
And Bryan Ferry saying the Nazis had the best uniforms.....
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Well, I guess it still shouldn’t be a problem for a professional taylor of today to say that the German uniforms were the best, for the technical reasons he understands. Or for a military engineer to say that, say, the Blitzkrieg strategy was ahead of its time in Europe. Or that the V2 were a brilliant technical achievement. I can’t help it, they were.

Likewise, a singer should be allowed to say the same things. Why not ?
 
Tony L said:
Plenty of other amazing guitarists out there; try Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Grant Green, Joe Pass, George Benson etc.
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None of whom sound like Clapton, and Clapton sounds nothing like any of them, though...

Tony L said:
If you want blues go right to the source; Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters etc.
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.. but some listeners don't want "blues" in general, if that blues is not pleasant listening for them; I want to hear the music that pleases me; if that happens to be the two flowing Clapton solos in Crossroads, as opposed to the clunky, angular acoustic work of Robert Johnson, so be it. Those you named may well be the "source", but I find the derivative to be the more pleasing listen.
 
Fair enough, and you are obviously not alone as he sold shed-loads of records. It is just a form that has never resinated with me. I’m far too young for the UK white blues of the 60s and in hindsight Hendrix is all that connected with me, but I’d argue that was closer to jazz than rock. FWIW I don’t get Led Zeppelin either! To be honest for ages it made me think I just didn’t like blues, but then I eventually found the far more edgy, direct and raw American stuff, which as you say is a very different thing. I like that!
 
Paul Mc said:
And Bryan Ferry saying the Nazis had the best uniforms.....
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He's a dafty but thankfully it hardly makes him a fully paid up member of Combat 18. Lots of musicians seem to have a bit of a fascination with that sort of stuff. Lemmy for one. And this lot...

An_ideal_for_living.jpg


Jeff Henneman having the SS logo totenkopf on the fretboard of his signature guitar was spectacularly stupid. Though I'll confess it hasn't stopped me listening to Slayer.
 
The punk flirtation with fascist imagery was pure trolling IMO. It was absolutely guaranteed to rile their parent’s generation and cause public outrage. Sex Pistols, Souxsise, Sid Vicious, Throbbing Gristle etc kicked it off and some slightly later bands like Joy Division ran with it. There was no racism to it and the punk culture was hugely linked with dub reggae, ska etc. There was a Nazi skinhead thing, Oi! etc, but the punks threw them out of gigs.
 

A fine rant from Ken Micallef on precisely this thread’s topic and just how many great artists right through history were deeply flawed people.
 
Tony L said:
A fine rant from Ken Micallef on precisely this thread’s topic and just how many great artists right through history were deeply flawed people.
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I disagree with him lumping Jim Gordon in with some of those other examples. Yes, he did brutally murder his mother, but he was without question very seriously ill. I have no qualms listening to any of the many albums Jim Gordon played on; Spade Cooley records, on the other hand, I find a bit more problematic.

Everybody has to draw their own line. I'm more likely to ignore Clapton because he's boring than because of any of his other failings.
 
kasperhauser said:
Everybody has to draw their own line. I'm much more likely to ignore Clapton because he's boring than because of any of his other failings.
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The one that I found surprising in the list was Prince as his homophobia was religious and that just goes with that territory. It is the default position. I don’t remember ever noticing it either. I don’t know anything about Jehovah’s Witnesses beyond their anti-science BS, but homophobia has been pretty much endemic in Christianity, Islam, Judaism etc throughout history and countless numbers have been murdered over the centuries as a result. I see that as being different to say Stan Kenton (who I didn’t know raped his children), Miles Davis (wife beater), Stan Getz (all round arsehole) etc and the various rock ‘n’ rollers who married children/cousins etc.
 
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