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I Am Filled With Nog
Dec. 25th, 2006 08:12 pmAnd rum.
And this holiday has been great, but for the loss of one of my idols . . .
The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business --
Mr. Please Please Please --
Soul Brother #1 --
The Minister of Super Heavy Funk --
Mr. Dynamite --
THE GODFATHER OF SOUL -- !
Mr. James Brown, goddammit.
Two things. 1) In all the obits I've seen and heard thus far, his influence has been talked about, on and on, and he's been given credit for his showmanship etc. etc., but no one has BOTHERED to use the words SONGWRITER or even the deserved COMPOSER to describe the man.
(okay, just looked, the Times says "songwriter" right up front, good, but not enough given all else I've seen)
The man WROTE and ARRANGED that revolutionary music, and should be appreciated as the ARTIST who did that, not just the SHOWMAN standing there performing it (well, "standing there" is no way to ever describe James . . . uh, "movin' like a motherfucker," then). I never saw the man live, and I will regret that forever. I had the chance several times in the late 80s when I was at NYU and he played the Lone Star, but I always blew it off and figured I'd get to it later. Damn. (a friend of mine went to the Lone Star without me once and wound up sitting below James as he danced on the bar -- he felt blessed to have been covered in James' sweat)
2. My favorite JB story. The Governor of Georgia once called James "Georgia's Ambassador to the World." As a result, a few years later, in one of James' run-ins with the law, his lawyer tried to get him off on the grounds of "diplomatic immunity." Personally, I think the judge should have given it on the basis of chutzpah.
As for Xmas, it's been GREAT this year. It's been a long time since I got gifts that made me feel like a little kid getting what he wanted ("TOYS!"), but getting the 80 gig iPod did it for me (thanks Dad and Ivy!), as it did for Berit getting the jigsaw she's wanted (thanks again Dad & Ivy!) and the Playstation 2 and Dance Dance Revolution set (thanks Gary and Luana!).
We will now Dance Dance Revolution the Xmas nite away, in honor of James.
And this holiday has been great, but for the loss of one of my idols . . .
The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business --
Mr. Please Please Please --
Soul Brother #1 --
The Minister of Super Heavy Funk --
Mr. Dynamite --
THE GODFATHER OF SOUL -- !
Mr. James Brown, goddammit.
Two things. 1) In all the obits I've seen and heard thus far, his influence has been talked about, on and on, and he's been given credit for his showmanship etc. etc., but no one has BOTHERED to use the words SONGWRITER or even the deserved COMPOSER to describe the man.
(okay, just looked, the Times says "songwriter" right up front, good, but not enough given all else I've seen)
The man WROTE and ARRANGED that revolutionary music, and should be appreciated as the ARTIST who did that, not just the SHOWMAN standing there performing it (well, "standing there" is no way to ever describe James . . . uh, "movin' like a motherfucker," then). I never saw the man live, and I will regret that forever. I had the chance several times in the late 80s when I was at NYU and he played the Lone Star, but I always blew it off and figured I'd get to it later. Damn. (a friend of mine went to the Lone Star without me once and wound up sitting below James as he danced on the bar -- he felt blessed to have been covered in James' sweat)
2. My favorite JB story. The Governor of Georgia once called James "Georgia's Ambassador to the World." As a result, a few years later, in one of James' run-ins with the law, his lawyer tried to get him off on the grounds of "diplomatic immunity." Personally, I think the judge should have given it on the basis of chutzpah.
As for Xmas, it's been GREAT this year. It's been a long time since I got gifts that made me feel like a little kid getting what he wanted ("TOYS!"), but getting the 80 gig iPod did it for me (thanks Dad and Ivy!), as it did for Berit getting the jigsaw she's wanted (thanks again Dad & Ivy!) and the Playstation 2 and Dance Dance Revolution set (thanks Gary and Luana!).
We will now Dance Dance Revolution the Xmas nite away, in honor of James.
