Monday, December 31, 2007

Eggs, headbutts and guitars

The whole point of this is to abandon any kind of structure and logical flow, and just write whatever comes in to my mind. No it’s not stream of consciousness, because there is also bound to be a fair bit of unconscious. A mind is supposed to be a logical thing isn’t it.

[Note: It is a sad day when I forget how to spell conscious. Oh, Microsoft Word. Incidentally, if you were a college drop-out and started a company in a garage, would you call it Microsoft? No, right? Silly geeks. Oh, what’s that? I’m doing a phd, so that makes me a geek as well?]

So how would you connect Zidane, Jason Newstead of ex-Metallica fame, Bruce Dickinson, England, Sharon Osbourne, and the cultural nowhere that is the kind of rock and roll on Billboard?

Zidane was that French-Algerian footballer who got into a verbal fight with a team-member of whoever was the other finalist in last year’s football world cup, got mad about something said about his sister/mother, and decided the-hell-with-world-cup, this is what I think of your dirty little talk, you mutherfucker, and proceeded to head-butt said team-member. He was suspended, France lost the match, the cup. Zidane supposed – despite later apology – self-respect to be greater than money/fame.

In a similar manner, Jason Newstead, tired of being singled out as sole receiver for whatever mood the other 3 of Metallica felt like , and denied a chance to work on a project of his own while the Almighty Rock Band decided to take a break, thus rendering him bored, quit. Probably, getting a psychologist on board to help deal with 3 super-inflated ego’s also played a part in his removal. A psychologist, for heaven’s sake! After 20 years of playing music together, what does it say if you have to hire a stranger to figure out why you act like an 8 yr old with the guy you were buddies with when you were 8 years old?

It appears that Mr Newstead had, after all, a shred of self-respect, though it came a decade after putting his name to the shameless crap put out by that Great Band for a decade. His decision to come on Rock Star:Supernova was puzzling thus. Who the hell was that ex-guns and roses guy anyway? And Tommy lee? Does Newstead want to play with these idiots? At least, the Great Rock Group had talent! So what, if they were bastards?

Eek, Jason Newstead. I lost my love for you too. You quit Greatest Rock Band Ever (in the 90’s, because we can divide history into neat little packs of ten), and very good of you to do so seeing how they have become a sad joke, a reminder that there is nothing that does not have a price. To come on to a reality TV show with a bunch of has-been’s relegates you to a has-been. Worse still, it relegates you to a has-been who wants money and fame!

In 2005, at what is called Ozzfest, Sharon Osbourne annoyed by Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden fame commenting on the slime that helps grease the Great Big Rock Scene, decided to respond in her usual mature manner to hire people to throw eggs, cut off sound and interrupt the performance of a band that was paying to be at that festival. Does it get any worse than this? Oh well, this is a woman who claimed she got breast implants because her husband (Ozzy, sometimes, I wish you had overdosed in 1984) likes to play with bigger boobs. And that she didn’t mind Ozzy screwing other women, because she used to suck off all his guitar men.

Dickinson responded, calling the crowd “…if you see anyone raising their hand to throw an egg or something, make sure that when it comes down, it comes down in two-fuckin-pieces, all right!!!

Maiden will never play Ozzfest again. Miss O tried to rake things further, by calling the band to “get over it” but doing the very opposite by releasing a press statement to the same effect. Worse, she claimed that it was the band’s management that was trying to get the most out of the situation, since this was the “most press the band had got in the US for 20 years”. Tsk, tsk. Iron Maiden never released any reply to this piece of silliness.

Self respect and honesty – 1 and a half
The opposite – 2 and a half

Perhaps there is hope for humanity after all. Sheesh my coffee has finished. I’d put a stick of cinnamon in it. That was a nice touch.

*cough*

Testing...1...2...3

(in hushed whisper)

is this thing on?

*BAM*

"Waiter! More wine please!"