Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Hotel California: LA from the Byrds to the Eagles - A Short Precis (Laurel Canyon For Beginners)

Woodstock was the apex of peace 'n' love hippiedom.

The Manson Murders* and Altamont shot the 60s clean outta the sky.

Cannabis was the drug for peace 'n' love 'n' sharing, maaaaan.

Cocaine was the drug for selfishness and cynicism.

Whatever was goin' on, David Crosby was at its centre, tubily naked in the hot tub with small breasted women.




*The headline on some American magazine at the time called Charles Manson "The most dangerous man in the world."

Were they being ironic, or just up their own arses?

22 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:30 PM

    Just sensationalist, Geoff. It was all about sensation, wasn't it.

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  2. Anonymous2:46 PM

    You wouldn't want to meet the bloke out the Turtles on a dark night. (He was the only one that Joni hadn't done it with I think)

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  3. I wanted to watch BBC 4 last night but I had to Shampoo my hair. Oh, the irony.

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  4. Richard - How could Manson have been the most dangerous man in the world if he was told to do it by the Beatles?

    Murph - I can see him getting in the hot tub and eveybody else getting out.

    Wyndham - I hope you didn't use the same shampoo that David Crosby uses.

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  5. Ever see Lisa Cholodenko's excellent movie 'Laurel Canyon'? It's a recent attempt to recapture those hazy days.

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  6. Crosby scares me. Anyone who'd smoke crack when driving however nicely they sing I keep a wide berth of.

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  7. Anonymous7:06 PM

    I don't think they were particularly small breasts, it's just those pictures were pre-the surgically enhanced era.

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  8. Dick - I'll look out for that one. I like Frances McDormand.

    Billy - I wouldn't share a hot tub with him.

    Realdoc - They were small in comparison with Crosby's head.

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  9. Anonymous11:00 PM

    Hey, I haven't watched it yet. Stop spoiling it for me. OK, just one thing, what are the dates for Woodstock 2007, and will the Incredible String Band make it to the film this time?
    I am just going to move away from the towers, and give the brown acid a miss. No rain, no rain.

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  10. Anonymous11:01 PM

    Hey, I haven't watched it yet. Stop spoiling it for me. OK, just one thing, what are the dates for Woodstock 2007, and will the Incredible String Band make it to the film this time?
    I am just going to move away from the towers, and give the brown acid a miss. No rain, no rain.

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  11. Anonymous11:06 PM

    Hey, I haven't watched it yet. Stop spoiling it for me. OK, just one thing, what are the dates for Woodstock 2007, and will the Incredible String Band make it to the film this time?
    I am just going to move away from the towers, and give the brown acid a miss. No rain, no rain.

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  12. Anonymous11:09 PM

    That was posted twice because of blogger, not because I am a brainaddled anachronistic tree shagging old hippy.

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  13. Crosby Stills and Nash were shite. The Eagles were worse.

    Here endeth the lesson.

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  14. I didn't think you were, Vicus.

    The hippy dream died when James Taylor discovered smack.

    smenita

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  15. I find them both reasonably pleasant, Tim. Not earth-shattering, but pleasant. Like a neat summer lawn.

    Crosby said that the Eagles didn't take chances. Well I don't see any ground being broken with CSNY.

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  16. Anonymous1:19 PM

    I'm going to Marrakech next week.

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  17. All aboard the plane!

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  18. Anonymous5:58 PM

    I absolutely loved that prog, and wont have a word said against old hippies. We ate shite till 1966 and then we tried to break free. It was the right thing to do.
    And here is the difference between CSNY and the Eagles. CSNY did it for the music and the Eagles did it for the money. Yuk, they were the symbol of the failed revolution.

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  19. If they didn't do it for the money why did they get a manager who could get them a good contract with a big record company? How did Crosby afford the best drugs in LA? They all do it for the money. The Eagles just had more commercial songs.

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  20. Anonymous9:23 PM

    So Geoff, you saying the only reason anybody does anything is for money. That's not totally true - there are some people who operate above thet level. Am I being naive here?
    There's no way Neil Young or Joni just did it for the money, surely to god.

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  21. Anonymous11:13 PM

    What Tom said.
    Murph, the Turtles were just so much fun. So what if the guy is 60 and fat. They performed pop with such joy that everybody wanted to join in. He later performed with Mr Zappa. I think he was with Mr Zappa at Liverpool when I saw him. My memory, for some reason, is a little hazy about that evening.
    I don't think it matters about the motives. The music of CSN around 1970 was just so joyful and captured an important part of the spirit of the times. I know they blew it, they know they blew it. How many of us would not succumb to more money than we could spend, and endless supply of sex, drugs and fame. That is why I have chosen the path of the sanyasi, and you won't be seeing me in concert with Robbie Williams.

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  22. Maybe session musicians do it just for the money. But if you're creating something musical, you're doing it for the love of your own music. Neil & Joni love their own music but you can't say they would do it if they didn't get paid well for it. They started out with a very commercail sound. Neil Young's produced some horrendous albums but he's made plenty of money out of them, his career didn't just stop because he was ripping off the fans.

    It's always been a music 'business' and the artists in the programme, with a lot of help from David Geffen, did very well for themselves.

    No, it's never just about the money but money is a big part of it. Robbie Williams doesn't do it purely for the money, the poor tit thinks he's creating something. I don't see him laughing all the way to the bank - I see more of a tortured artist, but without the talent.

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