[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL "2012 Music Odyssey [part one]"
12.19.12
BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
On the surface it’s easy to just assume that 2012 wasn’t that great of a music year. Regardless, I actually think because of a few solid releases and big moments it may have actually been a better year than 2011. The bar was set pretty low though. I’m talking purely from my own point of view here. I miss the days of rock being prominent, hip hop having substance, and pop stars being unique. There is good music out there if you hunt it down. It just seems that there has been a shift in what defines talent and what credibility really means. I don’t want to be the old guy complaining about “kids these days”. It’s not “the kids”. It’s everyone.
In the first part of this two part series, I’m going to take a look back at the year that was 2012…
POINT & LAUGH: ROMNEY SUPPORTERS
HA! HA! THEY’RE WRONG!
As the well-read young entrepreneur/performer, Jay-Z is credited to declare “I Got 99 Problems, But Mitt Ain’t One”. The election has come and gone. The liberal supporters are back to not caring and everyone else can get back to their “rallies”. I won’t get too political about anything, but a lot of famous musicians don’t have that same sensibility. A lot of famous musicians are really quick to spout off some really vile and horrible nonsense and some even took it to the extreme of publically supporting the now DEFEATED Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Not everyone who got stuck in the political spats was supporters. The Killers for instance, were innocent bystanders. Mitt Romney was said to be a fan of theirs. While they’re not fans or supporters they put out an “Anyone’s allowed to like us” message. Fair enough. Tom Morello was not too nice about Paul Ryan’s claims of being a big Rage Against The Machine fan. Still, the expired Romney/Ryan ticket did have its share of vocal supporters.
You’d expect a Hank Williams Jr. to say some “down home” stuff about Obama and support for Romney. The trickle down of that means pretty much a majority of country musicians AND of course Kid Rock goes on to do the same. You’re not even supposed to be surprised with a lame as shit band like Three Doors Down get on the Romney train. What does surprise you is when Nicki Minaj spouts off nonsense like “I’m a Republican Voting for Mitt Romney”. Who even cares if it’s true? She is the worst of humanity and she supports Romney… I think THIS is why he lost.
(Please note the sarcasm.)
BIO PIC’S GALORE!
More Movies About Music!
The bio pic in music is a sketchy thing. Sometimes a movie telling a story about a real musician will be exaggerated and over the top, badly acted, and gives nowhere near the dues deserved. In the same respect there are some great bio pics out there. The facts are always questioned, but “The Doors” is one of my favorite movies of all time. Others love them some “Walk The Line”, “Ray”, or “La Bamaba”. There are a lot of factors like story, direction, actors, etc. but the actual subject is the main importance. If the musician had an interesting life then a movie about the said life should also be interesting, right?
In 2012 a handful of future biopics were announced. Andre 3000 is going to finally be playing Jimi Hendrix, which is probably one of the most wanted bio pics I can think of. The problem here is that the Hendrix estate and the makers of the movie couldn’t come to terms so there is NO JIMI HENDRIX MUSIC IN THE MOVIE ABOUT JIMI HENDRIX! That blows my mind. They get around this with the plot devise of telling the story of Hendrix’s early rise. I still want to see this, but if I’m supposed to get behind a movie about Hendrix I want to see him light a few guitars on fire, rock out to “Hey Joe”, and wake up all of those hippies at Woodstock with the Anthem. At one point I heard that “Omar” from “The Wire”, the awesome Michael K. Williams, will be playing Ol’ Dirty Bastard in a movie about the last years of his life, I’ve heard a few things about a Janis Joplin movie, and apparently Sacha Baron Cohen is going to take on the massive role of the massive personality that was Freddie Mercury. All of these seem really interesting potentially awesome. Will we actually see a final product from these projects? I hope so… as long as they don’t suck.
BIEBER AND DRAKE MAKE CANADA PROUD?
Aging Pop Stars Graduate High School!
Drake makes Canada proud by giving credit to him finishing up high school to the University of Kentucky, an American education institute. It’s crazy to think that he spent all of those years on Degrassi and he never got his high school diploma. For whatever reason, success and fame most likely, he dropped out. It’s cool he went back regardless, but no thanks to Canada!
On the contrary, Canada gets the love for Justin Bieber finishing his high school education. This past summer he graduated high school with a diploma from his home school St. Michael Catholic Secondary School in Ontario. He was one of 192 students, but he was too busy stealing the innocence of young ladies across the land to attend the actual graduation.
Stay in school, kids!
LEGAL ISSUES AND FLAT-OUT CRIMINALS
I Fought The Law And The Law Won?
Sadly, some folks got nabbed for smoking weed and possession. Snoop Dogg was detained by Norwegian Customs Officials for entering with marijuana and cash. He was fined $8,600 for carrying more cash into Norway than legally allowed. Odd law. It happened in America too though. Earlier in 2012, Snoop got busted with less than half an ounce by a drug sniffing dog in Texas. Dude can’t catch a break. It’s like if a cop sees him they’re under the impression that he’ll be carrying. Where ever did they get this crazy idea? It’s not just Snoop. Wiz Khalifa was cited in Nashville for Marijuana possession, Fiona Apple was arrested in Texas for possessing some hash, and the tax payer’s money around the country was continued to be wasted on herbal fun.
Hip Hop and Country prove to have something more in common than “Cowboy Troy” as both Flavor Flav and Randy Travis both got charged with assault. Flavor Flav’s was a serious family issue, but Randy Travis got a ticket after getting into a scuffle/argument with a man in a CHURCH PARKING LOT. It’s probably really safe to say Chris Brown is more disgraceful than any of this stuff. He was ordered back to court over stuff about his community service and his probation. This all stems back to the six months of community service he got after beating the shit out of Rihanna. Seems a little light if you ask me.
Leave it to Insane Clown Posse to sue and go after the FBI. Not too long ago the FBI classified ICP fans, “Juggalos”, as a legitimate “gang”. The group is going after the law for unfairly labeling them and their fans as a “Gang Threat”. I wonder how all of this is going to pan out? Yeesh!
THE JOHNNY DEPP INVASION
Bitches’ Be Trippin’
Is Johnny Depp living out the coolest life of all time? Sure he is one of the best actors alive today and has been in some of the most financially and critically successful movies of all time. He also seems like a cool guy and has other talents. What a jerk! One of his many skills and passions is music. He was always a musician and loved music. He made this apparent since day one when he was in a band. He would always support music and be into it, but in 2012 it seems like he took a huge step towards making somewhat of a career out of it.
He launched a new publishing label under HarperCollins so he could release “The Unraveled Tales of Bob Dylan” written by Douglas Brinkley. Then he shows up in the Paul McCartney music video for “My Valentine” earlier in the year. He can also rock out with the best of them. At the MTV Movie Awards he joined The Black Keys on stage to play “Gold On The Ceiling” and “Lonely Boy” with them. This wasn’t the first time he’s popped up on stage though. During a show at the Hollywood Bowl Johnny Depp joined Aerosmith on stage to play “Train Kept A-Rollin’” and is supposed to be providing backup vocals in a track that may or may not make their next album. The biggest collaboration seems to be with Marilyn Manson. They’ve been friends for a while, but 2012 saw them join forces more than a few times. Depp plays lead guitar and drums on the cover of Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” on Manson’s 2012 Born Villain. Depp manned-up and joined Manson on stage at the 2012 Revolver Golden Gods Awards for a nice rendition of “Sweet Dreams”. It was an untelevised show for a lot of metal heads so no one really knew who the dude with the hat was. Manson let them know by proclaiming “If you don’t recognize my personal friend, my personal savior, my personal guitar hero, Johnny Depp!”
2013 Goal: Manson and Depp tour with The Doors!
FEUD(S) OF THE YEAR?
Don’t Mess With MiMi!
In 2011 Nickelback was the Thanksgiving Day half time for the Detroit/Green Bay football game. Fans were SO disgusted by this decision that a petition actually went around to have them replaced. No one likes Nickelback. So it’s hard not to proclaim the feud of the year as “Nickelback vs. Ears”. This is a war that will carry on as long as mediocrity and dumb
ness is accepted.
Could it be Drake and Chris Brown? Chris Brown has proven to be okay with hitting girls so Drake seems like the right choice for someone to “beef with”. They got into a fight at a night club and then had a lot of bullshit twitter wars and interview drops. It was all hype and nothing ever really came out of it. Some of their underling got hurt, they got “street cred”, and people with an IQ over 4 laugh their asses off at the dumb shit. Drake would destroy Chris Brown. That dude was stabbed on Degrassi, spent years in a wheel chair, and is now not only walking… but rapping in bad sweaters! Beware!
Nope, the feud of the year goes to the battle with the most testosterone and danger. The 12th season of American Idol saw new judges come on board. Two of them were Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj. Mariah has had more hits than just about anyone. She has an amazingly crazy voice to match an amazing crazy appearance. She’s just hot. You can’t dispute that. In recent years she’s had some questionable moments, but no matter what the talent is always there buried in the crazy. None of this can be said for Nicki Minaj. She’s just crazy. She must have attention and her way. Her skewed perspective is more like a teenager who is different just to be unique. She brings NOTHING to the table. She is a cartoon character with no substance or soul. Her vocal and rap skills are a gimmick that will hopefully pass soon enough. During this American Idol stuff she took it upon herself to lash out at Mariah Carrey for being a diva about something. Isn’t that cute? I’m not even a fan of Mariah Carey’s music, but to think this robotic Gaga reject is making loud and obnoxious threats at her? It could all be a big farce to get attention, but they’re going to have to pull A LOT more than that to make the general public really gets behind Minaj. This is not even worth Nick Cannon’s mom’s time.
