How To Instantly Make Even The Coolest, Hippest Musician Utterly Boring
December 15, 2009 2 Comments
Put them on PBS.
So I have the TV tuned to this weird Elvis Costello thing I keep running into where he has other musicians on (but why Elvis Costello, I wonder?). There are Bono and The Edge sitting and talking to him. And I find the whole spectacle so boring it’s physically painful to look at. I had to turn down the sound. I’m averting my eyes.
Thing is, I like Elvis Costello a lot (circa late ’70s). And I like U2 a lot (late ’80s). But this is 2009 and they’re on PBS with high production values under gel lights talking to each other in front of a polite seated audience.
I would say it makes me want to puke, except it’s too boring for that. It makes me want to take a sleeping pill so I can nap through it instead of watching it. Same goes whenever I run into any other episode of this thing.
But why is that? As far as I can tell, these people Elvis Costello has on are mostly pretty cool. Right? So is it the seated audience? The acoustic sets?
Really, I just think it’s the PBS. There’s no other explanation that makes sense.
When a rock n’ roll musician starts doing this symposium bullshit, they are washed up.
Bono should be too smart for that. But, maybe because he goes to UN symposia and shit he thinks that “sitdown and intellectualize about what is really an aesthetic experienc” kind of thing is cool.
That’s very disappointing to me.
Elvis Costello has pretty much jumped the shark too.
In about 20 years from now, we’ll see Jack White from the White Stripes on PBS.
That’s the circle of life.
Some people like that kind of s***. I can’t stand it either. Matter of fact I can’t stand any kind of talking heads on TV. Bores me to tears. But some people can listen to it all day long. I don’t get it. Some basic brain chemical imbalance maybe? But is it them or me?