Enough of this hand wringing over the dispensation of one’s filthy lucre. On to more important, relevant matters….
I was listening to my iPod (“o,”, not “a”) this morning when Pearl Jam’s live cover of The Who’s “Teenage Wasteland” came up. Now, I enjoy music. Quite a bit. But it’s not a religion for me like it is for some people I’ve known, and I’ve never really understood the image of the agog fan pressed up against the railing, drenched in sweat and God-knows-what-else, at a show.
That said, I do sometimes imagine myself in the shoes of a famous rocker. Listening to Eddie’s voice this morning got me thinking about which rock singer I’d most like to be for a day. Eddie’s pretty high up on the list, maybe #1. He’s the poster boy for angst-ridden, earnest vocals and uncompromising artistic vision. He loves Neil Young and hates Ticketmaster. He’s easy on the eyes. AND he’s arguably the most powerful rock vocalist of my generation (I admit that I love to debate this one). He’s the guy Chris Cornell dreams about being when he goes to bed at night. Neil Young is in second place, I suppose, though gosh, I wouldn’t want the pressures of his home life for anything. Still…it’s frickin’ Neil Young! Third place? David Lee Roth. I know, I know; he’s the anti-Vedder. But look, there’s probably never been anyone who had so much fun on stage. And he can do the splits. If “Runnin’ with the Devil” doesn’t change your life in some small way every time you hear it, you probably also don’t tear up at the end of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, either. You heartless bastard.
Were I a woman, my top three would be, in this order: Tina Turner (“Proud Mary”), Debbie Harry (“One Way or Another”), Pat Benatar (Heartbreaker”).
So, who’s your (living) rock idol?