[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL "2012 Music Odyssey [part two]"
12.26.12
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 second part of this two part series, I’m going to take a look back at the year that was 2012… HOLOGRAMS!!!
Digital Ghost Hunting…
In April of 2012 a lot of people collectively shat themselves at Coachella. It was the Sunday headliners spot with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg taking the stage. I personally had it streaming on YouTube in the background as I read, wrote, or did whatever. It was good background music because the energy was definitely there. Then it happened! A projected hologram of the long deceased Tupac Shakur appeared on stage. There is nothing to deny about this. While it is kind of surreally weird, it’s one of the coolest things to happen at a concert in recent memory. The Tupac hologram and Snoop tore it up on stage and the people at Coachella and that saw it on line and even afterwards will never forget it. It was truly one of those “magical moments” in music that are starting to become rare and too far in between. Technology CAN be used as artist medium, but there is also a bigger problem to worry about.
Right after the Tupac hologram got into the media there was a few days where that was the big hot topic. Everyone watched it on YouTube, talked about it, and then the speculations began. The cynical folk started groaning and wondering where it would pop up next. There was tons of “what ifs” and “hope they don’ts”, but sadly it started to come out a little more. First we hear of Queen looking to digitally recreate the late great Freddie Mercury, then not too long after the Jim Morrison AND the Jimi Hendrix estates were working on theirs as well, and then why not Elvis? Kurt Cobain? The Beatles? Mozart?
But why stop there? It was said recently that TLC was thinking about a “Left-Eye” hologram. Why would a Jay Z want to tour when he can just sent a hologram show out there? Why couldn’t a U2 do one concert live in a studio and have it projected as holograms to 100 different locations worldwide? Why am I giving anyone any ideas? Dammit, hologram Tupac! Hologram Biggie would have never let this happen. PASSING OF LEGENDS
Rest In Peace.
In 2012 we lost a few really big names in music. There were plenty more than what I’ll list here to die in 2012. I didn’t snub anyone on purpose and I’m sure there are people that I’ve been a huge fan of that passed away as well. These four were just the first to come to mind. Whitney Houston is the first one that comes to most people’s mind. She was an outstanding voice and seemed to have a lot of spirit. Her untimely death was sparked by a little controversy but it seems to be settling to let the pop icon rest in peace.
Adam Yauch, MCA of the Beastie Boys, died at the age of 47. He had cancer since 2009 and battled through it for a while. They recorded a last album, had a tour scheduled, and were just inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Music fans also lost Davy Jones of the Monkees. He was 66 and was on a solo tour. He has been an actor for years and was pretty much the poster boy for the Monkees. He was also on an episode of “The Brady Bunch” AND “Boy Meets World”. I’ll always stand by the fact that the Monkees are one of the most underrated and underappreciated bands of all time.
The 82 year old music icon Dick Clark passed away in 2012. He was famous for hosting American Bandstand, like a million other things, and of course hosting the New Year’s Eve ball drop every year. Even in the later years of him struggling with health he’d still manage to show up and speak to the viewers at home. He could and should easily be considered one of the ultimate music fans of all time. HILARIOUS STAGE ANTICS
Puke, Prat-falls, and Lots of Laughs!
I’m fairly certain Beyoncé fell on stage this year, but I could be wrong. For some reason I can imagine like a dozen different news stories about her taking a dive on stage. She’s Mrs. Z so I’ll not even look it up and just assume her balance is the best of ALL TIME… OF ALL TIME! That cannot be said for Axl Rose. At a show in France he attempted to jump onto a platform during “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and fell. I bet Slash counts “Falling Axls” to get himself to drift sleep on those restless nights. This is still not as embarrassing as some people’s hilarious stage antics of 2012.
In late September teen pop idol Justin Bieber was performing in front of 18,000 people in Glendale, Arizona. A little more than an hour and a half into this performer the 18 year old quickly turned his back to the sea of screaming fans to vomit! He blames milk, but I think he may have accidentally heard himself sing. What? I could make WAY cruder jokes about Justin Bieber and white liquids. WAY cruder!
Lady Gaga proved herself to be more a man than the Canadian heartbreaker when she didn’t puke once and run off, but spewed chunks MULTIPLE TIMES during the song “The Edge of Glory”. She just kept puking and dancing like any… uh,… uh… um… junkie stripper(!?) would do? This shit sounds like it comes straight out of the script from Showgirls. She was a good sport about it and even tweeted the video herself. Why wouldn’t she be? REUNIONS & BREAK-UPS
Bitches’ Be Trippin’
Bands come and go. Some bands will last forever like Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, or U2 but a lot of bands are lucky to get a few albums out and a few tours in before they break up or die off. It happens to great bands and to shitty bands.
In the biggest and worst news in music history it was announced that after THIRTY YEARS the British group Chumbawamba broke up. The multi-sex and mutli-instrumental band famous for pissing the night away with “Tubthumping” is gone. This happened in July and there are people I’m still nervous about dropping this bomb on. Tears will be shed.
Meanwhile the uncle/nephew pop duo LMFAO is “taking a break”. STFU! WTF?! OMG! FML! ;-)
(Those weren’t reactions but rather the name of their future solo projects.)
Then these bands will get back together! 2012 gave us a few different reunions that were worth noting and getting excited about. At the Drive-In came back for a spell, 2 Live Crew got back on the road, Van Halen trekked forward in their happy rehab reunion tour, and even The Melvins showed back up.
Jack White proclaimed that there is “absolutely no chance” that The White Stripes will reunite. Ouch! Same with Axl Rose and Guns N’ Roses. Don’t these musicians know that despite their own stances, personal lives, and current endeavors they OWE it to us to play the same songs over and over again with people they’d prefer not to! It’s so mean and heartless of them. MADONNA: STILL FULL OF SHIT
After All These Years!
Madonna is a pop icon. There is no way around that fact. You can love her or hate her, but she has a collection of hit singles, albums, performances, and big moments that cement her legacy. That said, it seems she gets a little crazy at times. I don’t know if she’s just really eccentric, wants attention in a desperate way, or just over the top crazy. It’s part of her charm, but at the same rate it’s gotten a bit tiresome.
In 2012 she kept getting herself in the news with “antics”. Madonna made a comment referring to President Obama as a “black Muslim”. She’d later claim she was being “ironic”. During the same tour she used images of swastikas, cut shows short, and used World World II footage onstage in Poland. There is surely more, but these are the ones that stood out in the plethora of news reports from the tour.
When was the last time Madonna was in a headline pertaining to how good her music is? WHAT THE EFF?
Random 2012-ness!
Some things that happened in 2012 are not really easy to label or put into a category. A few things were cool. Let’s start with those. Adele kicked some major ass at the Grammys. She won like thirty eight awards and earned every one of them. One of the best modern bass players alive, Flea, celebrated his 50th Birthday. Snoop Dogg proved how stoned his is by declaring he’s now going by “Snoop Lion”. Jay minus Z and Kanye West set a world record for most consecutive performances in a show when they played “Niggas in Paris” TWELVE TIMES! And guess where they were? PARIS!
Radiohead pissed off crazy people again. The band had a show in Kansas City, Missouri where the anti-gay group Westboro Baptist Church stood outside and protested. As far as I know I’m pretty sure Radiohead went home and cowered from the protest. Yes, Radiohead is no more!
We saw Psy blow up onto the scene with “Gangnam Style”, Skrillex still made the sounds of a coked out cat in a trash can fashionable, and Lana Del Rey snuck her way into the limelight and into Axl Rose’s heart.
Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong had a fit on stage and is now in rehab for substance abuse. He had a breakdown on stage where he went off and got vulgar. It was the most “punk rock” thing the guy has ever done. Soon after, he went into rehab to get his shit together. The tour was changed around and the guy is working on getting better. That’s the cool thing. In the meantime check out his “outburst” and enjoy!
In closing it was said that due to an investment in the social networking site Facebook, “Elevation Partners” made ONE POINT FIVE BILLION DOLLARS! That’s some “Dr. Evil” money. The company bought 2.3 percent of the company in 2009. Whose group is this and who stood to make a killing? Bono! That’s right! BONO! Muhahahahahaha!!!
