As Relates to Loaded

This follows a facebook conversation about this:

If art works, not just because it works, but because the observer passionately wants it to work, then yes. Then no? So yes it did and now it doesn't. If it doesn't endure is it still art? I'm not arguing IF it endures. If it becomes art to me because I so badly want it to be, then blink twice, twirl thrice and it no longer matters to me... was it art, did it stop being art, or did I (or it) stop being relevant?

When I was THAT age I wanted everything, anything, nothing, less... but I did so, developmentally having no choice in the matter, Passionately. Youth isn't wasted on the young. It's just a simple reality that the young guzzle gas.

So I'd be OK if I called today's music 'noise' or 'sissy pop' or simply worthless crap, as that would have me doing what my dad did before me and his before him. It's a matter of culture. But here's my version of looking back at Sinatra, or Mario Lanza - Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey, and saying I can't listen to them anymore, and those boxers were overachieving light heavies in a different era. I can revisit the first three Velvet Underground albums and find just wonderful things all over them... and by the way, I like a fair amount of what I hear today, even if I don't listen to as much anymore.

Two days ago, I hit the play button and was hoping for a wonderful, comfortable, not plaid shirt and got an uncomfortable, derivative denim shirt in a room where country rock geetar licks belonged not a whit, but lived on almost every track.

Doug Yule, is that you? Lou, was that you thinking you were normal and before you decided to be an iconic art star? You thought you had an album 'Loaded' with accessibility, didn't you?

I'll grant you, it was an album of process, Sweet Jane and Rock & Roll two enduring gems, but otherwise... not a good album.

Makes me a little sad... she ain't got nothin' at all.

CONCLUSION:

I have always professed that we are all the versions of ourselves. I'm not only the 50 something Harvey, but also contain the 19 year old Harvey as well (just missing some Pall Malls and about 60% of my energy and endurance). Point is, it ALL stays with us, so above was only a, perhaps, clumsy and too quickly thrown together way of saying :

"I bought 'Loaded' on CD at Time Traveler last week and anxiously threw it on, expecting to hear a wonderful, funny, smart, and evocative album from end to end, but heard two songs that did this and the rest was largely rubbish. How disappointing."

Fact is, it DID transform me back in the day, as a stand alone album and as part of what the Velvets meant to me overall, which was huge. So I had my time with it back in the 70s and am grateful. But after I-podding 'Sweet Jane' and 'Rock & Roll' I'm done with it.

OK then. Sorry. I'll try to be m0re articulate in the future. And I will, undoubtedly fail.

6 Degrees of Face

So I just topped 300 Facebook friends. Some of them true friends, some of them friendly acquaintances through the biz I'm in, my reason for being on Facebook a hybrid of 'friendship' and 'networking.' But truly, friendships come from everywhere, or at least should, so such
distinctions should go by the wayside.

For example, I have a 'friend' in Herb Scannell. He's a serious player in the TV biz. Former President of Nickelodeon, where my ex worked and I produced a number of things, he's also a Tin Huey fan. We did work together, tangentially, on some Nick UpFronts, the most notable, the one he and I were totally in synch with as I produced Devo Unplugged onstage at the Waldorf, as "Los Devos."

But he and I, on Facebook, have talked about music and how, should I unearth my copy of that taped Devo performance, I'll burn him one and send it off. No bidness whatsoever.

In other cases, I'm an unabashed whore. I even got my wrist slapped, by the very service that even boasts the profile option of 'networking' for sending out announcements to all my pals, in and out of the business, to come see Gold Teleproductions' new website and reel, which we are, justifiably proud of. they shut down my ability to mail for a few hours as punishment. Boo.

http://www.goldtele.com

But the reason I'm writing this is because I randomly stumbled upon a phenomena. I have friends from all over. Yes, Ohio, where I live has a lot, but my school chums are spread across the country, my business associations are overwhelmingly in NY and LA. When I search a name, any name, even one attached to no one I know, pages open up where I can scroll down and almost every one of them has at least one friend we share!

Is 300 some sort of critical mass on Facebook that makes this like the you know who game?


Never felt more tribal in my life. Never had such a useless epiphany in my life either.

Just thought I'd share.

PS Since I published this, Dolli explained to me that Facebook is instinctive in the sense that it sorts, starting with number of shared friends, then location.
Thanks honey.

Next up for Dolli????