Comments on: Yesterday’s Concert: Pfft.

By: links for 2009-01-20 « Overton’s Arrow

links for 2009-01-20 « Overton’s Arrow — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:14:20 +0000

[...] Yesterday’s Concert: Pfft. - City Desk - Washington City Paper "I just had to wonder how the music would have been different had Hillary Clinton been elected instead. Maybe Fleetwood Mac, I guess. But really the only thing missing was Sting and his fucking lute." HA! (tags: Obama concert music Mall inauguration) [...]

By: Terry Moran

Terry Moran — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:58:05 +0000

Mike - No, I'm not THAT Terry Moran. But your choice of metaphor betrays your penis-envy.

By: curm

curm — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:51:36 +0000

I saw Aretha Franklin with a 120 person gospel choir at the Kennedy Center tonight in the special annual Martin Luther King show. Now that's a boomer who when she wants to, can still turn it on. A very touching, moving show.

I will take her over Garth and James Taylor. Wasn't the lack of under 40 rock acts on the Lincoln Memorial bill in part due to the producers of the program (George Stevens, Jr. (The Kennedy Center Honors), and Don Mischer (Olympic Ceremonies), and partly due to narrow commercial rock radio and video programming if popularity still had to be accounted for. I think Daughtry would have been just as dull.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:25:19 +0000

I guess there's just no accounting for taste.

By: Mike Riggs

Mike Riggs — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:06:23 +0000

@22: Are you the Terry Moran? Because that would be awesome if the Terry Moran--the one and only Terry "Fish-face" Moran--was so offended by a little ole City Desk post that he stomped all the way down to our comment board and let Andrew have what for! Also, who knew that Terry Moran was such a huge dick? Not me!

By: Terry Moran

Terry Moran — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:03:30 +0000

1.Herpes had been around a long time before the Boomers finally talked about it and tried to do something about it. 2. Billy Joel can still write and play the pants off anyone from Generation X and after. 3. Your cynical condescension is symptomatic of an entire generation of wretched, pseudo-journalists. You assume that you're entitled to have an educated insight about an event other people actually attended because you "listened (to it) on NPR". Thankfully, you also have the unwitting arrogance to reveal that you were "fortunate enough not to experience (it) in person". How pathetic.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 01:45:50 +0000

I couldn't help but wonder if this concert could have been put together 10 years ago. John Mellancamp? It didn't strike me as very forward thinking. Or much of a change for that matter.

By: Jana

Jana — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:04:13 +0000

Andrew, Don't forget that the "boomer" generation covers over a 15 year period. Not all "boomers" were born early enough to enjoy the "richness" you are accusing us of. Some of us still work to even pay the utility bill. But most of us still have hope that democracy of the people, for the people and by the people will work. I think we have a better chance now than if we had another republican in office. Not only that, a pep rally is always a good way to raise hopes and bring the team to a unified front. The future is going to be difficult. There will be hard times ahead and a good cheerleader is necessary to make the sacrifices easier to swallow. Let's hope you wake up and smell the shit you are throwing soon.

By: Jim Slattery

Jim Slattery — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:58:24 +0000

oh and before everyone chimes in to say it wasn't HIS "Shout," I know that, perhaps I should have said, his COVEE of "Shout."

By: Adams Morgan

Adams Morgan — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:57:52 +0000

Oh give me a break. The City Paper gets more irrelevant with each passing week.

By: Jim Slattery

Jim Slattery — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:57:08 +0000

It was an awesome concert. Mary J. Blige was great. Garth Brooks a baby boomer? Come on. His "Shout" was a lot of fun. And Pete Seeger was great! You should spend less time trying to be so freakin' clever and more time sitting back and enjoying something.

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:29:43 +0000

If we're going by the most literal definition of baby boomer, then a boomer is someone who was born during the spike in the birth rate after WWII. That would be in the late 40s/early 50s. If you're born in the late 50s/early 60s or afterwards, a boomer you are not.
But as for Andrew's main point, yes the concert was lame. What do you expect from a Presidentially-approved show at the base of the Lincoln Mem'l? I don't think an uber-subversive act like Negativland, Billy Bragg, RATM, et. al. would go over too well in that setting in front of that crowd.

By: Andrew Beaujon

Andrew Beaujon — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:52:29 +0000

Well if you Googled it, that's it settled, then. As to other points your reply, curm, I don't think it's a question of taste--as I noted, I like many of the artists who played. But I think the lineup, plus Obama's Clinton-heavy cabinet, sends a message that's surprisingly off-key for an organization that rarely hit a clanger during the general campaign. And as to your comment that "somehow [I] didn't notice" the younger acts--hey dude, read my twitter feed!--they did not interfere with the overall tone of the show in my opinion.

By: Mike Licht

Mike Licht — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:47:11 +0000

Garth Brooks does Sam Cooke; Renée Fleming trills Rodgers & Hammerstein.

Too bad they cut Peter Seeger's Guns n' Roses tribute.

By: curm

curm — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:10:25 +0000

I was born in 1961 and according to google some historians say the 'boomer' birth era ends at 1960 (while others say 1964). I don't consider myself a boomer and I bet Obama does not either.