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Andie
Andie
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REAL tragedies

Posted over 3 years ago
  • Artist:
    Harry Chapin
  • Album:
    Greatest Stories Live, Verities and Balderdash
  • Track:
    Better place to be, Mr. Tanner, W.O.L.D., Cats in the Cradle, 30,000 pounds of Bananas
People go on about how sad it is that people like Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix were 'taken from us' at such an early age. Let me clear something up... first of all, all these people mentioned brought on their own demise, so I don't feel one bit sorry that they are gone. Talented or not, it was a result of their own fuckuppage that they were 'taken' from us. Some would have us believe that they were taken up off the street by God's own divine grasp. Not the case. They were human, and fucked up and found themselves dead as a result of their own actions. A couple of them ~cough`~Jim Morrison ~cough~ were well on their way to being has-beens as it was, they were spiralling so far out of control.I feel worse about the people who passed before the world really had a chance to see what they were capable of, usually of freak causes. Cliff Burton, Steve Ray Vaughan... But mostly, I wish we could have seen more from Harry Chapin. His early death was IMO truly a tragedy in music.I have been in love with his Greatest Stories Live LP since I was about 7 years old, and in the near twenty years, I have not tired of it. No, I grow to love it more and more, and I find it is a prime example of Chapins talents as not only a musician, but a story teller and a showman, which is evident in they way he engages his audience throughout this CD.Unfortunately he was killed in 1981 in a car accident as his career was taking off. I would highly recommend this CD to anyone who enjoys good storytelling and is into a folky kind of sound.
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Comments (35)

  1. champy
    champy says Have never heard Harry Chapin. Sad story, but thanks for the reccomendation...I'll have to check him out!
    Permalink posted 12/01/2006
  2. lemontwist
    lemontwist says Harry Chapin is amazing. My earliest memories of music was begging my mom to put on the Dance Band On The Titanic song we have on the record player. :)
    Permalink posted 12/01/2006
  3. mutterimieli
    mutterimieli says Love Harry Chapin, another one of those "brother-in-law used to play and sing his songs to me" artists!
    Permalink posted 12/01/2006
  4. slantera
    slantera says Luckily, Dimebag Darrell and John Lennon lived long enough to do more. However, you can't help but wonder what more we could have heard. As for Cliff.....I always try to imagine what insane bass solo's he could have made. He is, by far, one of the most unique bass players, period. I have yet to hear someone match his style or do better than what Cliff created. As for your entire post, well said.
    Permalink posted 12/01/2006
  5. Scarlett Echo
    Scarlett Echo says I have a slew of Harry Chapin cds. He was my father's favourite music artist. You're so right about glorifying artists that F up their own lives. I guess we're supposed to pity self-destructive souls and believe the B.S. that one isn't creative unless you are a) mentally ill b) a drug addict or C) mentally ill AND a drug addict. There have been extremely promising artists who've been taken in their youth or prime (by no fault of their own) that could have contributed so much more to the planet but it's just not as juicy story as the self-destructive ones and sadly, they are often almost forgotten.
    Permalink posted 12/01/2006
  6. RGM
    RGM says Yea, Cliff, Dime, SRV, SRV Man! Hey just got his shit together! But Don't forget Randy, He had plans outside Ozzy, heard he wanted to quit at one point, but Ozzy conviced him to stay. I felt sorry for Kurt, like I keep saying something not right about all that. A lot of money at stake for one. Great post heard the name, I don't recall hearing him, but I may have back in the 80's sometime in my Hollyweird Daze....
    Permalink posted 12/01/2006
  7. guyt2030
    guyt2030 says Hmmmm... I don't believe in glorifying that things that destroy creativity... One shouldn't dwell on an artist's life more than his or her art...
    Permalink posted 12/01/2006
  8. Andie
    Andie says guyt >> no I totally agree. I'll admit, I did the whole crying and lighting candles thing when Kurt died, but cut me some slack, I was 13 :-P I think it is some kind of morbid fascination with self-destructive personalities we as a culture have.... the need to know that there is always some one worse off than you. Even with money and fame, people are still fucked up. I just hate this false martyrdom some of these 'artists' recieve, because they couldn't handle their particular reality.
    Permalink posted 12/01/2006
  9. dutch618
    dutch618 says My mother saw Harry Chapin's last performance before his accident. I've always been jealous that she got to see him.
    Permalink posted 12/01/2006
  10. Wanbli
    Wanbli says For me, the most powerful presence whom was taken away too young and had yet to bring his light to the darkest corners of the Earth was Bob Marley. I am thankful that his spirit of love is there everytime one of his songs is played.
    Permalink posted 12/01/2006
  11. ennuikiller
    ennuikiller says wow, the only one you mention that really did themselves in was Kurt as far as i know....and even he must have been in a serious phychological breakdown, complicated by drugs to be sure, but again, it is tragic, and i do pity them all.......
    Permalink posted 12/01/2006
  12. debi
    debi says Harry was an amazing artist (although even he admitted to being a 'third-rate folk singer'. I went to many of his concerts in the late 70's since I"m from Long Island - and so was he (his family still lives here). We were driving to the July '81 concert at Eisenhower Park (a benefit concert as many were - he had a foundation to end world hunger). So hard to believe when we heard the news on the radio, that he was killed on the way there in an accident on the expressway. If you've never heard him, give a listen to Cats in the Cradle, Mr. Tanner and Mail Order Annie. If at least one of those doesn't make you get a tear in your eye, you've got a hard heart.
    Permalink posted 12/01/2006
  13. Andie
    Andie says Ennuikiller >> Just because they didn't off themselves on purpose doesn't mean their death wasn't their own doing. Debi >> A better Place to be is one that always gets me, and The Shortest Story even made my grandfather get weepy... and their wasn't much could make that man cry.
    Permalink posted 12/01/2006
  14. Terry Staunton
    Terry Staunton says "all these people mentioned brought on their own demise"? You arrogant, judgmental shit, Andie. Enjoy the MOG as some kind of puritanical high horse as much as you want, but I ain't gonna be stopping by your corner of the playground again. Sad, silly, stupid, infantile bitch.
    Permalink posted 12/01/2006
  15. B42
    B42 says Uh, I wouldn't go quite that far but do feel that you are not understanding of the circumstances surrounding these artists' demise. Drinking and drugging is not always something that a person has the power to control once they are caught in it's grip. I miss Jerry Garcia most of all but can readily identify and understand why and when he left us because I've done the homework.
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  16. Andie
    Andie says I know it's not something that can always be controlled, but do we need to glorify it and make martyrs out of them? I'm speaking of the difference between those who die in freakish twists of fate, and those who slowly destroy themselves by succumbing to a lifestyle. And to Terry.... you can call me infantile, but look who's resorting to name-calling.
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  17. sugarbaby
    sugarbaby says Art, mental illness, and addiction go hand-in-hand as creativity is sometimes the only way that people can express their inner demons. To suggest that Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, or Kurt Cobain are responsible for their own demise and that we should discount their legacy because of it is terribly misinformed. Addiction isn't a party that people attend willingly.
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  18. Andie
    Andie says That's the trouble I have... words like tragedy, and legacy, all serve to glorify the deaths. How well would some of these people be remember if it weren't for their martyrdom?
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  19. holyfool
    holyfool says Well said, sugarbaby. I think the reason people tend to mythologize these people is because a lot of them had the balls to fight their demons in public, to go through pain most of us would never have the guts to. As for Hendrix in particular, no one really knows why he died. Some say OD, some say just a freak happening, some say murder. Same thing for Morrison. I don't buy for a minute that he OD'ed on smack. Heroin wasn't his style. and one thing you have to keep in mind is that people weren't really aware of the effects of their drug use as we are today. They were still experimenting, trying to change the world with a tab of blotter acid. To them, it was just a good time and a learning, creative tool, not a way to escape from reality but a way to create a new one.
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  20. holyfool
    holyfool says And I say let the deaths be glorified. These people created the myths, and all cultures need a mythology. Just because someone died in a plane crash or had an aneurysm or whatever doesn't make their death any more tragic than someone who died because of alcohol or drugs. I think you're missing the point. The point is in _what's_ been taken away from us, not _how_. For my money, Jim Morrison's death is a much greater loss to music than Chapin's, which is not to say I don't like Chapin's music because I do. But I think, at the end of the day, the mark left on the face of music by the Doors will be far deeper than Chapin's. That is the true tragedy.
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  21. sugarbaby
    sugarbaby says Amen, holyfool.
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  22. Andie
    Andie says Okay holyfool, you make some very good points, some things I hadn't thought about. Part of my point -- Would we be having a discussion on the influence of the Doors had Jim not died? Would Kurt Cobain STILL be getting an entire issue of Circus dedicated to him every April had he not died? And I guess that I also have an issue with glorifying drug use and the 'live fast, die young' ethos. Even if it is a negative light, it's still being glorified, and I find it problematic. When we talk about the influences these BANDS had, why is the credit not given to the other members of the groups? I don't often see people walking around with Ray Manzarek on their T-shirts. "Light my Fire" one of their more popular songs was acutally written by Robby Kreiger, I believe.
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  23. ennuikiller
    ennuikiller says Anyone who could write something like "the future is uncertain and the end is always near" is a pretty good lyricist at worst...and I think Jim would be the Doors front man dead or alive, he's just got that look a bit better than the rest of them, ya know?
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  24. holyfool
    holyfool says Well, that's why they call them "frontmen", you know? They're the main focal point for the fans to relate to. Very few bands can pull off the replacement of a lead singer, AC/DC being one of the few I can think of to do so. And the Doors credited all their songs to "The Doors", not individual writers (at least not until _The Soft Parade_). It didn't (doesn't) matter who wrote what, because in the end it was a creation by the band, not the writer. The fact is, they were four unique people who made something equal to more than the sum of its parts. Just listen to some of the live Doors recordings to hear the frankly amazing musical interplay between all four members on stage. And when one piece of that formula is gone, the magic is lost forever. After Jim died, The Doors released 2 more albums, both of which were terrible and the sales reflected that. To be honest, I don't even know if those albums are even in print. As for the "live fast, die young" ethos, well, that's rock n roll. There was a time when rock music was dangerous and scary to those not part of that world. Nowadays, music is pretty vanilla and safe, nothing really for parents to be concerned about. As such, you don't really see any rock stars indulging in the way they once did. Pete Doherty is just a clueless schmuck. He's got the excess part right, what he's lacking is the _style_. There's no panache with him. He's just a sad, confused crack addict with intermittent talent. This is a music that demands sacrifice from those that create it, that rewards amazing creativity with ruin and heartbreak all so we can raise our lighters during the slow songs. That's what makes that discussion so interesting: What _would_ the Doors be up to had Jim lived? Or Janis? Or Jimi? Would they have been able to keep that creativity flowing and come into a late stage, worldwide recognition and appreciation of their otherworldly talents, like Johnny Cash or Bob Dylan? Or would they have lost it and faded into obscurity and mediocrity like Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship, reduced to playing county fairs and nostalgia shows? They created the myths...
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  25. Andie
    Andie says Rather than trying to underplay their contribution, I'm just trying to point out that sometimes contribution is 'overplayed' because they are presented as such tragic figures... Come to think of it, all I was trying to point out is that I like Harry Chapin. Go controversy.
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  26. Scarlett Echo
    Scarlett Echo says Quote:I’m just trying to point out that sometimes contribution is ‘overplayed’ because they are presented as such tragic figures… I agree with you, Andie. It's happened with actors, too. Saying so doesn't negate the artists' talent but dying young or tragically does bring many artist to more widespread attention than they *might* have had, had they lived a longer, healthier life.
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  27. B42
    B42 says "She took off to find the footlights, and I took off to find the sky..."
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  28. holyfool
    holyfool says I think people do tend to romanticize stars when they die early deaths. I'm not sure why it is, maybe something to do with unfulfilled potential, or the mystique of what could have been. Do all of them deserve the mythos that gets built up around them? No, probably not, but when these stars die early, chances are they haven't yet had the chance to release any crappy work. All they have left behind is the good stuff. And when you consider that the main 3 (Jim/Janis/Jimi) had careers that lasted roughly only 4 years (1966-1970), that makes it all the more amazing. It makes it pretty easy to put these people on a pedestal, despite (or perhaps because of) their faults and vices. At the end of the day, being a rock star is about one thing: the freedom to not have to grow up, eternal youth. And who doesn't want that?
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  29. ScottyB
    ScottyB says A good point well made... And I do actually need some Harry Chapin in my collection...
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  30. Andie
    Andie says Holyfool. Did I mention I like the way you debate?
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  31. holyfool
    holyfool says lol...it's funny, I only get like this when I'm talking about music. Sometimes politics...I live for conversations like this.
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  32. Andie
    Andie says I know the feeling.
    Permalink posted 12/02/2006
  33. ScottyB
    ScottyB says Again - Great post - I love seeing people connect like this... Have you seen this show from Wolfgang's Vault? Harry Chapin from the Rainbow Theatre in 1977...I haven't streamed it, but thought you may have an interest... http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/ConcertDetail.aspx?id=20049908|2835 Enjoy!
    Permalink posted 12/03/2006
  34. jimmybearpearson
    jimmybearpearson says Chapin was a poet. Miss him, too.
    Permalink posted 12/09/2006
  35. Hellsatana
    Hellsatana says Chapin Rules
    Permalink posted 12/29/2006

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