The Oppenheimer Report -10/15/12

　

Scary Pete

At present, I am reading the second autobiography by a famous musician/songwriter. I recently finished Keith Richards’ Life, which I read on the recommendation of a fellow rock fan, and I am now almost finished reading Neil Young’s Waging a Heavy Peace. I am a slow reader, always have been, and I do not generally read as much as I have of late, but I am really enjoying these life stories. I do not usually consider autobiographies to be page turners, but the stories these guys tell interest me because 1. They involve sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll, and 2. I am interested in the craft of songwriting. Richards said he wrote the famous Stones hit Satisfaction in his sleep. Young wrote his famous song Old Man about the former caretaker of the ranch he owns in Northern California. While I have always assumed Keith Richards was a drug-addled punk with the IQ of a turnip, his story proves him to be anything but (stupid I mean … he was definitely drug-addled). Along with fellow songwriter Mick Jagger, Richards penned some of my favorite rock'n' roll hits of all times, songs like Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Honky Tonk Woman, Sympathy for the Devil, Shattered, and Brown Sugar. The Rolling Stones album Beggar’s Banquet is one of my top ten favorite albums of all times. To me, it was fascinating to read the context in which many of these songs were written. Young’s book is of course written in an entirely different voice, but I feel I know both these men a little better for having read the accounts of their personal lives. One thing is clear, the muse of rock'n'roll is ever demanding and both of these fortunate songwriters have suffered some serious challenges in their personal lives. Richards has been clean (not sure about sober) for about ten years, and as of the writing of his book, Young had just quit drinking and smoking. Apparently, he liked his weed. He wasn’t sure if the muse would revisit him clean and sober, but I don’t think he will ever quit.

There was a segment on 60 Minutes last week about a forgotten Mexican American songwriter from Detroit named Sixto Diaz Rodriquez (Rodriguez for short), who had a brief career in music back in the late 60s and early 70s. Like so many talented songwriters, he was doomed to obscurity, and for the past thirty years, had lived as a common laborer in Detroit. Unbeknownst to him, his albums caught fire across the sea, in places like South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. He was likened to Dylan, and he became a legend when rumors surfaced that he had committed suicide while performing onstage. When he was re-discovered, living in poverty in Detroit, he became an instant star again, achieving fame beyond what he had ever before known. He’s over 70 now and this sudden and long overdue recognition seems to come as a surprise to him. Famous and humble are not two words I usually put together, but this guy is the real deal. I watched him perform on Letterman not too long ago, and he really does have something special. Not knowing anything about him, Shauna and I were both impressed and thought he was one of the better musical acts to play on that show. He reminded me a bit of Leonard Cohen. The funny thing is that he had no idea of the impact his songs had had on a generation of South Africans. What a shame. Better late than never.

When I started to write songs back in the early 80s, like so many other pie-in-the-sky wannabes, I wanted to become famous. That aspiration quickly evolved into a simple desire to be heard. Not unlike many other “artists” I still want recognition, but after having wallpapered my bedroom with rejection notices from music publishers and record companies over many years, I became more realistic. I’ve been performing on the open mike circuit for over 25 years, I can safely say there is a lot of unrecognized talent out there; 95% of it performs better than I. Yes, I still seek recognition, but often that can be the death of creativity. Lucky for me, this is the age of information and I can put my songs out into cyberspace to be ignored by the masses. The trick is not to get discouraged. I suspect I will be writing songs as long as I am able.

Speaking of songwriting, I noticed on YouTube there are some pretty funny NHL lockout songs floating around. Today I listened to a few of them, and my personal favorite so far is Shut the Puck Up by Scary Pete. You can Google the song title or just go to Pete’s website (http://www.scarypete.com) if you want to see the video. It gave me a belly laugh. This disgraceful NHL display of unbridled greed and ego should be lampooned for all to see, and I hope this public relations nightmare somehow negatively impacts those shameless NHL owners and players at least half as much as it has the loyal fans and the hundreds of thousands of hard working people whose jobs rely on professional hockey. How about putting a cap on ticket prices you greedy sons of bitches! Perhaps it’s time for me to throw my as yet unwritten NHL-bashing song into the ring.

      - Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED