Every week, we encourage you to let your guard down, crawl out of the indie rock bunker, and embrace your guilty pleasures. You’re welcome…
Sting solo: Five reasons to love the noun, the verb, and the man:
1. Dream Of The Blue Turtles
Too much of Sting?s solo debut was a pretentious jazz-tastrophe, but not even the combination of his overwrought lyrics and Branford Marsalis? meandering sax could wreck “Fortress Around Your Heart,” or lessen the delight we feel when Sting rhymes ?little boy? with ?Oppenheimer?s deadly toy? (in Russians, one of the top-three Cold War songs of all time).
2. His Friend Raoni
Sting was loving the environment back when most of you were in short pants, so the next time you get up on your Al Gore-lovin?, clean burning, hybrid high horse, remember that Gordon got there first, and he brought this guy with him.
3. The Seven-Hour Tantric Orgasm Thing
Sometimes we wish he weren?t such a dick about it, but hey ? that?s just Sting being Sting.
4. His Mastery Of Thespianism
You know all about the terrible, and the execrable, so we?ll focus on the not-so-bad, including his turn as Billy Idol on the Sinatra Group (SNL, 1990), where Phil Hartman (as Sinatra) gets him with one of our all-time favorite one-liners ?You don?t scare me! I?ve got chunks of guys like you in my stool!? We also liked him as the crusty bar owner who sells out his son in Guy Ritchie?s pre-?I?m Guy Ritchie? classic Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
5.He Finally Patched Things Up With Stewart Copeland
Let?s be clear: in no way does the upcoming Police reunion tour make up for Desert Rose, but at least it?s a start.
But seriously, got an idea for It’s OK To Like…? E-mail tips at stereogum.com.
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Suggestion for a slight amendment: It’s okay to like solo Sting until around Ten Summoner’s Tales. There’s more good than bad in his catalog up until that point.
Sting. Sting would be another person who’s a hero. The music he’s created over the years, I don’t really listen to it, but the fact that he’s making it, I respect that.
No, it’s not ok to like Sting. He’s so unbelievably dull!
No it’s not!!
d had it right. it WAS ok to like Sting until around Ten Summoners Tales. Then he hit the deep end where he found:
? Stevie Wonder’s terrible harmonica cameo (I’m sorry, but Stevie has a “Good Til…” point as well….)
? A Desert Rose in a Jaguar. (Far less rad than what Max Fischer purportedly found in a Jaguar.)
? a bunch of albums that all sounded like the same elevator. on a loop.
? musketeering with Bryan Adams and a way past his prime Rod Stewart. (Wikipedia calls this the pinnacle of his career. Long live the wikis.)
? singing with Puff Daddy at the MTV music awards.
Geez, having brilliant backup musicians like Manu Katche, Dominic Miller, and Vinnie Colaiuta (polyrhythms on Ten Summoner’s Tales’ Seven Days is a monster) alone makes his music worth listening to. I agree that most of the stuff after Ten Summoner’s is more Sting on cruise control though.
Go away you fucktard. You’re so insecure you don’t even know what you like. You care too much about what other people think about you.
It’s OK to like Michael McDonald. Forever. If you’ve ever seen ‘Yacht Rock’, you know why: he kept smooth music alive well into the 80s, he provided the beat for Warren G’s ‘Regulate’, he sang backup for Steely Dan on ‘Peg’, Kenny Loggins on ‘This Is It’, and he is the Greatest Blue-Eyed Soul ster for All Time. That’s right Hall & Oates, Steve Winwood, et al.
Yep, D has it right–the early Sting stuff was pretty good–not sure what his direction was after that…
Listen to “I Hung My Head” on American IV by Johnny Cash…nuff said.
the whole 7 hour tantric thing was a lie. Sting’s an idiot.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/658473.cms
i’ll take michael mcdonald over sting solo too timmy!
listen to his solo cover of little wing- trust me you’ll like it.
um? the photo of Kyle McLachlan below Sting’s on the Dune jam is pretty effing atrocious as well. Special agent sci fi con
okay this “it’s OK to like” column is just plain terrible.
i got half way through befor realizing it wasn’t STRING solo’s . cause iv always loved string solos
Stereogum, I’ve had my doubts about you for a long time and you’ve just fucking jumped the proverbial shark. There IS no sane, logical reason to like Stink’s solo career. You’re just being contrarian.
signed,
Gordon S.
No occasional good moments or canny sideman choices excuse Englishman In New York.
(And The Police were/are overrated while we’re at it.)
Sting is the biggest douche bag ever. Have you ever heard his version of “Tempted” by Squeeze? Jesus Christ – not that “Tempted” is all the great to begin with, but my balls sought shelter in my pelvic cavity when it came on the radio. Sting can eat it raw.
The Lute!! you forgot about the lute. The goddamn Lute!!!!
But Stewart is awesome.
i agree with the majority of the commenters (esp. the “sting can eat it raw” quote). what a douchebag. and yes, while we’re at it, the police are hugely overrated. and to think, their reunion is going to be the music news of the next 12 months. i need a new interest.
Did that guy say “fucktard”?
Wow, what a mostly horrible assemblage of opinions. The Police were brilliant. Sting’s solo stuff was solid up through the Soul Cages, and then inconsistent from Ten Summoners Tales on.
It’s easy to hate Sting based on his persona, in the same way it’s easy to hate Bono, but he’s a talented fucker who’s written more great songs than all of your favorite indie bands combined.
Gosh, so many Sting haters. For those of you who cannot appreciate songs like “Fortress Around Your Heart” and “Englishman in New York,” you’re too indie for your own good.
It’s also OK to hate the Police AND Sting!
It’s also OK to hate Barry
‘fortress around your heart’ is a GREAT song. and ‘the soul cages’ is a fine, fine album overall.
and sting’s ‘desert rose’ attempt at crossover electro arguably is > madonna’s.
don’t hate, appreciate.
Seriously, I used to think this site was ok. There is nothing – nothing good about Sting. or Phil Collins. Ever.
Who do you listen to, Rye?
Seriously, I used to think this site was ok. There is nothing – nothing good about Sting. or Phil Collins. Ever.
Agreed, Rye. Let’s go listen to Gabriel-era Genesis.
I don`t agree with all the bad things some people say about Sting.It`s a matter of taste of musical style.And Sting is completly my taste. I love him alot.The man is just to much.LOVE YA.
Michelle from Portugal,Algarve
“Dream Of The Blue Turtles” is great. The double live “Bring On The Night” is absolutely fantastic. The “Bring On The Night” film is really good. After that Sting has a handful, at most, of listenable tracks. It’s a shame really. He’s stated publically that he had a writers block, and it’s pretty obvious from listening to the albums. Giving him props for a decent cover of a Hendrix classic is a backhanded compliment; he would have tried pretty hard to f up such a great song.
I was wrong about what I said about Sting and Phil Collins. Its just that I have a tiny pecker and I have to take it out on people who have done something with their lives. I’m sorry.