Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

[wingco]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

Great piece, as everyone has said. Balances properly high regard for AA and hope for his personal and creative wellbeing with a vivid sense of his present state of play. And Adam Ant was the bomb. When he ruled, all was briefly right with the pop world. Back then, I imagined things would only get better, or at least stay this good. Naively, I never anticipated that they would deteriorate. 2010 represents an advance in time on 1981 but in no other sense.

[Wyatt Earp]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

Rispekkt to Lucia Lanigan, but my own favourite bit of music writing this year so far remains, just, Taylor's thing on The Fall's narrative songs. Happy to accept that this preference mainly reflects my own lonely obsessions, though.

[Calvert]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

Why on Earth... wrote:

Jann Wenner is actually the co-founder, publisher and editor of Rolling Stone. So, you know.

That's even more mental.

Why would he feel the need to add the 'of Rolling Stone Magazine' bit?

[MsD]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

What's wrong with stating where he's from? It helps contextualise his comment, not that two words need much contextualising. He's probably used to adding that bit automatically. At most Q&A sessions people are asked to state their name and their organisation, it's just .. normal.

[Purves Grundy]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

Whether or Not Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone Magazine feels the need to append "of Rolling Stone Magazine" to his name when writing internet comments is open to debate.

It's probably a pretty safe bet that the actual Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone Magazine can spell his own name right, though.

[Ray de Galles]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

Ha ha ha, I hadn't noticed that.

Harry Truscott of Truscott's Stationery Store.

[Er Liquidatore]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

Given how much of a has-been Adam Ant is, is it even name-dropping to say that you know him?

[Wyatt Earp]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

Purves Grundy wrote:

Whether or Not Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone Magazine feels the need to append "of Rolling Stone Magazine" to his name when writing internet comments is open to debate.

It's probably a pretty safe bet that the actual Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone Magazine can spell his own name right, though.

Ha ha ha. (I should have checked that; I assumed it was a McCutcheon typo.)

[Ray de Galles]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

The_Liquidator wrote:

Given how much of a has-been Adam Ant is, is it even name-dropping to say that you know him?

As Carcass asked, let's not go there on this thread, eh?

[MsD]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

Better still, get over it altogether, it's boring, and I'm not trying to impress anyone here. Which is just as well, eh.

[Wyatt Earp]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

Aside from all that personal stuff, which is indeed boring, and focusing on Adam himself: I'm always a bit dubious about the term "has-been". The logic of it seems to be that it's better never to have achieved anything extraordinary at all than it is to have done so while young. Citizen Kane isn't tarnished by the fact that Orson Welles later became more famous for the way he pronounced "oloroso".

With a few exceptions, pop's as much of a young person's game as football. And ex-players don't get called "has-beens"; it's accepted that their flames burn briefly.

[MsD]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

nuffin

[Calvert]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

I interpreted The Liquidator's post as not being entirely serious.
No?

[Wyatt Earp]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

It's a no-win situation for most people involved in pop, I think: do an Ant, do a Jagger or do a Hendrix.

Brian Cox came up with a solution, but he's almost unique. Charlie Higson too, arguably, except that pop-wise he's more of a never-was than a has-been. (I liked his band, but I seem to be one of about twenty who did.)

[Er Liquidatore]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

I have to say Wyatt, and I hope I'm not being too personal when I say this, that I do love your straight bat.

[Wyatt Earp]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

Aye, it's bad OTF posting is this, you've got to build an innings.

[WOM]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

Speak English, you two.

[MsD]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

Why "no-win"? An artist is driven to create, and if they can make a lifetime profession out of doing that, and never have to have a crap job, that's great for them, surely? For many musicians, the process is what matters, the ones that seek "acclaim" and superstardom are the minority, really. Some are positively relieved to have less attention and pressure on them.

I know the paps love to snap people in their slippers and say "look how the mighty have fallen" but that person is often just glad they can walk around in their slippers at three in the afternoon.

It's only tragic if they "crash and burn", or can't adapt and cling to some delusion, always want to be number one. Who does that, really? I can see it might be a disappointment when your star first starts to fade, but surely you'd get over that if you could continue to do what you love.

[Wyatt Earp]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

MsD wrote:

Why "no-win"?

I mean "no-win on the scale of values implicit in the word 'has-been'".

[Er Liquidatore]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

If I may put my serious hat back on, some artists are driven by more than just the desire to create; fame and fortune are just as powerful motivators. I don't think say, H from Steps was artistically crushed when the band split up, but I'm sure he was upset at the idea he wouldn't be on telly and making any money any more.

[Wyatt Earp]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

(Which I, like you, don't subscribe to.)

[Wyatt Earp]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

I don't know AA, so this is obviously pure speculation, but on the face of it, it was a bit of both for him. Looking flash and grabbing your attention, and so on. Succès de scandale. Which is great, for my money.

[MsD]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

The_Liquidator wrote:

I don't think say, H from Steps was artistically crushed when the band split up, but I'm sure he was upset at the idea he wouldn't be on telly and making any money any more.

Well, some might be like that, but A Friend of Mine was mightily relieved when he no longer had to play to "crowds of people looking up at us like retarded spaniels" and could concentrate on studio work.

If you look at the number of people involved in pop, the big star narcissistic lead singers are very few, aren't they?

(I agree re. AA, I think it was both.)

[Er Liquidatore]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

If you look at the number of people involved in pop, the big star narcassistic lead singers are very few, aren't they?

True, but has-been isn't a term applied to producers, drummers or bassists, is it? It's reserved for pop stars, who let's be honest here, are carrying a rather large collective ego around with them.

It's a cold, harsh world, is pop music. In one decade, out the next.

[WOM]

Simon Price Interviews Adam Ant

Well, Paul Simon said "every generation throws a hero up the pop charts". Fairly true. There's usually nothing uniquely special about any specific pop star's talent. They just appeal to a certain crowd with certain songs at a certain time. After that time passes, the next audience comes along and creates their own stars. It's very few that endure, with the same degree of fame and success, for much longer than a decade.

See also: comedians.