To say that Raspberries' records make up a major part of my DNA would not be an overstatement. That love carried over into Eric Carmen's solo career, at least up to his fourth album, "Tonight You're Mine." But Carmen has unfortunately complicated my life. The news of Karl Wallinger's passing hit me hard and I needed to say so. If this was 2014, and I had heard of Eric Carmen's passing, I would have written something as equally heartfelt. Instead, I am struggling with wanting to hear "Go All The Way" and "Let's Pretend" and the fact that Carmen was not only a MAGA-loving, Trump supporter, but a QAnon putz, as well. That may be easy to ignore for some. But it's mostly what I think about first, as I reach for a Raspberries record.
That said, I am well aware of the fact that if we stopped listening to artists, or stopped watching films or going to theater, or simply ignored every sporting event based on the character of those creating it, we'd all be locked in a room with no windows, playing with a Rubik's cube. Still, it doesn't make it any easier to pay tribute to Eric Carmen upon his passing, except maybe...the best of his music was all created before Trump existed. I'll give him that.
18 comments:
Eric Carmen's last 10 years were problematic. To say the least. Those songs are glorious. They always will be. I'm not sure how to reconcile that myself. But, man, those songs...
Even more disappointing now that I learned Carmen was a nice Jewish boy.
I don't think I've heard anything Raspberries or Eric Carmen except "Go All The Way", which is fine Power Pop, but I'm not a Pop guy and nobody told me I had to hear more.
Now I know I don't need to. Thanks!
Love the art, not the artist. At least I keep telling myself that.
I made a playlist of Raspberries' Best because of an offhand comment of yours and have dug it ever since. Happily, BEFORE I heard he got nutty politically late in life. I'll easily ignore that and enjoy the music. Much more fun than ignoring the music. :)
I'm listening to the Raspberries right now. And yes, "love the art..." but occasionally it's difficult.
Hey — Phil Spector murdered a woman. That doesn’t mean I can’t listen to “Be My Baby.”
Well the Ronettes didn't do anything!!
Eric Carman's operatic style turned me off so he has never been on my radar. Finding out he was a conspiracy right wing asshole amuses me to no end.
Eric Clapton is another extremely problematic musician for me.
Post 'Derek & The Dominos' his music got very very uneven (frequently boring) and his politics many times worst. He has sucked so much enjoyment out of my listening to his music. Even the early stuff I love.
A pox on both their houses!
Lefty Captain Al (Stop the war! Any war!)
:-)
The Raspberries killer cuts are undeniable. Tonight is the very definition of PowerPop. The best example Listening to All By Myself earlier I wondered if Eric Carmen told himself I want to make a song that's basically Nilsson's Without You with a dash of Life On Mars. I"ll ignore his politics for today, and I hope every day moving forward. Let's hope The Lemon Twigs don't campaign for George Santos's re-election.
When I first learned that he died yesterday, I was really saddened. I wasn't aware of his politics and I have to admit it tempered my sorrow a bit. I do have a hard time reconciling artists like Eric Clapton and Van Morrison with the way I react to their music. It's not like they're preaching about fiscal responsibility but rather that they are promulgating dangerous ideas that are outside any objective viewpoint and rely on nothing but bluster.
I love Eric Carmen's music even though he thought the way he did. We all have dear old friends who have drunk the kool-aid of late but yet we manage to stay friends with them. It's tough but we do it. So I'll continue to listen to The Raspberries and Eric's solo stuff but it will be different.
What has been hitting me most, with the large number of musical heroes that have been falling by the wayside as of late, is the fact that we're all waiting our turn. When we were young, we lost a lot of musical giants but mostly they passed of their own doing. Not following their lead was easy. Don't drink a whole bottle of Jack Daniels and snort heroin and you'll probably survive. However, we don't have that choice as we follow our idols into their 70s and 80s. We're in line. It's inevitable and that's what's troubling.
I didn't know that about Eric Carmen. The same guy that wrote Sunrise? Hard to balance that one. I only started listening to Arkeology. What a treasure trove. England and Austrailia seems to have a good supply of pop writers who have matured and changed over the years but still write great pop songs. Can't really think of many Americans. Just now listening to the Squeeze The Knowledge and Neil Finn Out of Silence. The skill in composing pop songs just baffles and amazes me. How do they know to put that extra something right there in the song. Looking forward to Weller's new one.
I have been struggling with this all day since I read your post earlier today. Because of the political thing. I'm a huge Raspberries fan, and of course, that puts a stain on it. I don't know what to say about that kind of thing... Eric Carmen, Phil Spector, Gary Glitter. I don't know. With that said, I still love the Raspberries. And I am bummed out about this.
I went to see one of those reunion shows at BB Kings, in '04 or '05 (?). I NEVER go to reunions, but I went to that one. It was sooooooo good.
Go put on Cyrus Erie's GET THE MESSAGE right now! Just listen to that shit!
RIP
Hahaha hpunch and that awful scenario for The Lemon Twigs.
Yesterday and today I've gone from Raspberries' Best to World Party's Private Revolution to Raspberries Fresh to World Party's Goodbye Jumbo. Not done because I keep hitting rewind Put The Message In The Box, which is so glorious.
cmealha really hit the nail in his last paragraph.
Every day is truly a gift - enjoy the music.
Randy
Don't let your TDS ruin your musical taste.
I've loved the Raspberries for decades but never really thought much about Carmen, it was just about "Go All the Way" and "Let's Pretend." It seems to me there's a difference between your garden-variety MAGA type and a QAnon supporter, with the latter having a screw loose somewhere. I was taken by the comment from Steve Van Zandt who said he never had a feud with Carmen, considered him a friend, the kind where you avoid talking politics. Then there was Carmen's response to Pete Frampton:
I love your music, Pete, but I would never presume to tell you, or anyone else, what network they should watch. I respect your right to disagree with me, and you should respect my right to disagree with you. That used to be the way things worked here in the USA. Carry on.”
I certainly am sorry that whatever it was that drove Carmen it drove him in that direction, but I have to admit in this case, he had a point.
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