We’ve had David’s debut solo album If I Could Only Remember My Name on repeat thanks to Clark Collis’s unexpected blast from the past, so call it a time of deep Crosby appreciation here at Stereogum HQ. And seeing him talk smack to Reuters about young starlets’ vacuous lives during promo interviews for his new autobiography? Synergy! He begins by talking about the import of the story his book has to tell, and moves on to the vagaries of the industry:
“If I was writing about a life like Paris Hilton’s, I wouldn’t want to read it, it would bore me to tears. But this is real stuff, life and death.”…
Crosby saves his biggest gripe for the large companies which he says have ruined the music industry, resulting “in people like Britney Spears, who cannot write, sing or play.”
“It hasn’t produced any Bob Dylans, it is not going to produce a James Taylor or a Joni Mitchell,” he said. “It produces crap.”
As long as Hinder is a chart-topping act, no one is gonna argue with that, David. Meanwhile, Crosby is back on pot, which he wants to see legalized (“It is certainly better for you than booze”), but regrets his arrest for pot and gun possession while on tour in ’04. Of course, you have to say that if you wanna sell books! His autobiography Since Then: How I Survived Everything and Lived to Tell About It seems interesting, though, and even though he’ll never have the cool of, say, Neil — his songwriting will always be legendary. As for our current retread obsession: If you like “Guinnevere,” you’ll love If I Could Only Remember My Name.
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He’s right about the current state of the recording industry. If you haven’ t heard it, check out his first solo album If I Could Only Remember My Name–it was quite good.
if you love that album, then you gotta get wit’ Ryan Adams and give up some love for the masterful Phil Lesh – the man on bass for many of those tracks. He could use the vibes as he is going in for prostate cancer surgery soon – here’s to a speedy recovery, Phil!
PS track down a copy of the entire Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (P.E.R.R.O) sessions for outtakes, extended versions, and basically the bsides from this album, lovingly recorded on reel-to-reel tapes and circulated pretty widely.
if you love that album, then you gotta get wit’ Ryan Adams and give up some love for the masterful Phil Lesh – the man on bass for many of those tracks. He could use the vibes as he is going in for prostate cancer surgery soon – here’s to a speedy recovery, Phil!
PS track down a copy of the entire Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (P.E.R.R.O) sessions for outtakes, extended versions, and basically the bsides from this album, lovingly recorded on reel-to-reel tapes and circulated pretty widely.
CSNY’s versions of Crosby’s “Wooden Ships”, “Almost Cut My Hair” and “Long Time Gone” at MSG earlier this year were not only highlights of that show, but among the best live music performances I’ve heard this past year.
The music industry may not be producing any Bob Dylans, but it has produced a pretty cool modern update of CSNY in the Gentleman Brawlers! Check them out if you haven’t, of course they don’t sound just like CSN, they’ve got their own thing, but the harmonies are excellent and send a shiver up your spine in a similar way.