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Post by Ripper on Mar 4, 2007 12:07:18 GMT -5
Doesnt it bother you when you see a rock star ie. Hendrix, or Townshend destroy a guitar? Those old videos where ol' Pete throws his Les Paul high into the air only to have it crash down onto the stage in pieces. I never understood that. These are instruments that the average guy could only dream of, or have to save for a while to actually own. Lets not stop there. What about the amps as well? Spearing a Marshall stack! My word, I must look away.  Some say it was symbolic. Some say it was to show a sacrifice. I say it was a waste of a gorgeous instrument. Its no wonder the Who didnt make any money till the 70's. They spent all of the money they made replacing their instuments. |
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Post by johan on Mar 4, 2007 14:44:49 GMT -5
I couldn't bring myself to purposely destroy instruments, but then again
1) I don't do cocaine
2) I don't have to make a show before some thousands of people
3) I don't get my instruments for free.
If it were true that the Who didn't make any money that long because they destroyed their instruments, more power to them -- music over money
would like to see more of that nowadays.
j
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Post by sumgai on Mar 4, 2007 15:39:07 GMT -5
deep, Two answers, or scenarios, if you will. johan is correct on all three accounts, but let's add "the spirit of the moment". That doesn't require an external influence of the drug sort, although such sure helps! But if you're caught up in the fervor, you just may forget mundane things like having to replace what you consume in the course of making your (musical) point to the audience.  Moreover, at that time (which I have a feeling you weren't present for, but I sure was!), no one had any idea that there would be a 'collectibility craze' in the future. The economy was strong, manufacturing was booming, the entertainment business overall was on solid ground (meaning, it was nearly euphoric after a spell of ho-hum profits), and most of all, there was an air of "let it all hang out" (thus prompting a song of the same name!). Viewed under those lights, it would seem natural to not worry about possible future values, wouldn't it? And just to dot the i's and cross the t's, just remember that we were all young once, and I'm here to testify that when you're young, you are IMMORTAL! Nothing can touch you, including financial distress! The problems don't come until later, because that's when maturity slaps you in the face one morning, making you realize that not only will you not live forever, but that your wallet won't either!  .......... ;D "Youth is wasted on the young!" ............ ............ To go around the block and come up on the question from the other side....... What if no one had 'destroyed' any guitars back then, during their moments of madness? How valuable do you think such would be today? If all those now-destroyed axes were still extant, do you believe the desire to recapture those lost days of youth would be quite so intoxicating? I propound that if you saw Pete Townsend give a good show, sans smashing up his gear, you'd've been impressed....... but would you want a Gibson LP today, because of Pete's showmanship? I doubt it. If in fact what I say above were to hold true, the only instruments that would be "overvalued" would be those with a direct linkage to dead stars like Jimi and Stevie Ray. Without such a pedigree, we'd all be going "ho-hum, that's a neat axe, but it's worn out, and there's lots of them, so who cares." No, it's the desire to reconnect with our youth, when we were care-free, and we wished like you-know-what that we could afford to break a guitar a day, just like our guitar heroes, that's what's driving collector prices beyond the Stratosphere. ;D sumgai |
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Post by ChrisK on Mar 4, 2007 17:34:24 GMT -5
The story goes that the Who were not making a lot of money when they stated smashing instruments, and the initial smashed ones weren't even theirs.
They were rentals!
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Post by dunkelfalke on Mar 5, 2007 3:13:45 GMT -5
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Post by johan on Mar 5, 2007 4:35:37 GMT -5
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Post by UnklMickey on Mar 5, 2007 9:40:40 GMT -5
"Why doncha kiss her, instead of talking her to death?" " Youth is wasted on the young!" |
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Post by ChrisK on Mar 5, 2007 12:36:17 GMT -5
Feldergarb!
Let's be honest.
" Youth is (just) wasted!"
Permutations abound.
Duct tape is like the Force.
It has a light side, and
A dark side, and
It holds the universe together.
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Post by ux4484 on Mar 5, 2007 12:46:02 GMT -5
"Why doncha kiss her, instead of talking her to death?" " Youth is wasted on the young!" I was thinking more along the lines of: "I hope I die, before I get old" This line hit home in particular when I saw a recent concert shot of The Who with Roger wearing glasses (looked like bifocals) and Pete wearing a white rolled-up-arm T-shirt looking like an escapee from a nursing home....YIKES. I kind of lost it for Pete when he trashed John Hiatt for "Perfectly Good Guitar" a few years back on the Tonight show. He came off as a grumpy old man with zero sense of humor (Just in case you didn't know he already WAS one from his tirade on Windmills and being deaf), I thought right then that they should never tour again. |
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Post by Ripper on Mar 12, 2007 13:54:50 GMT -5
I think its time for bands like the Who, Stones etc... to give it up, call it a day, career or whatever name you choose.
They have nothing musically to say anymore. The ONLY reason they tour or put out an album is to make money.
I agree with ux4484...Townshend looks like an old fool now. Hes jealous that his generation ( there must be song there somewhere) has come and gone. Yes, they have made some great music, but I feel that ANY artist is given only so many rabbits to pull from a hat...Once its dry, its dry...time to let it go, give up the ghost and enjoy your money.
Im a huge Beatles fan, but ask me how many Macca c.d.s ive bought in the past 20 years.
None...
I feel though hes a musical genius, and he was a part of the greatest pop band in history, he has nothing to say anymore...at least not musically.
I guess thats why I dont buy many c.ds these days.
Man im old!
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ugmold
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Post by ugmold on Mar 22, 2007 15:37:48 GMT -5
It use to bother me watching them smash their guitars, now I like it.
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ltb
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Post by ltb on Jun 10, 2007 1:51:45 GMT -5
Yes!
It bothers the heck out of me. Many would love to have a decent guitar and to watch someone purposely destroy something that someone put time and love into building just to have it destroyed is crazy (in my book).
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alfonso
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Post by alfonso on Jun 11, 2007 16:43:53 GMT -5
I think it was an investment, it shurely costed less than a payed space on media and got the same or more space. Not to mention the effectivity of the message that could have different layers of communication, rebel, crazy, free or powerful.....then, for what i know, most of the times it was crappy copies or empty stacks just near the real ones...anyway I tend to believe it was something planned to get a return in fame and sales. |
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Post by lunaalta on Jun 11, 2007 17:13:27 GMT -5
Are/were there that many guitarists who smash up their guitars?
Saw Jimi smash a white Strat' up at the Saville theatre one time in the past. He wrote a poem on it backstage and then set light to it and started getting his own back on the noisy Marshall rig he had.............
Amazing just didn't seem to go far enough!
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Post by lunaalta on Jun 11, 2007 17:14:54 GMT -5
'Amazing just didn't seem to go far enough!'
As a description of the event, I meant to say.
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Post by echobase2002 on Jun 12, 2007 12:47:27 GMT -5
It bothers me if that's something the performer has to do for success. The Who/Hendrix could make it on their songs. Some modern "punk" and "metal" acts need the destruction to get any kind of noteriety.
Example: London Calling. It's one of the best albums ever, regardless of the cover.
Buying a guitar for the purpose of smashing it.....sounds like having kids so you can send them off to war. Enough philosophy.
Remember the Cake song "Rock and Roll Lifestyle":
How much will he pay for a brand new guitar, one that he'll ruthlessly smash at the end of the show? And how long will the workers keep building him new ones? As long as their soda cans are red, white and blue ones.
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Post by warmstrat on Jun 20, 2007 5:48:41 GMT -5
good lord it makes me want to cry. i saw yngwie live with G3 in denver on DVD and we actually just fastforwarded over the bit where he smashes the first guitar. then when he throws the other one around, we ignored him and instead drooled over Steve Vai's Jem (and his pimpin' black shirt)
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Post by ux4484 on Jun 20, 2007 16:54:48 GMT -5
As I (kind of) mentioned earlier, this says it all. |
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Post by vonFrenchie on Jun 21, 2007 16:15:28 GMT -5
echobase, I actually have the London Calling poster right behind me, great album, sweet picture but Im not a fan of breaking my own guitar.
John McCrea, of Cake, said it right. How can some people afford their rock n roll lifestyle.
The Who were broke for the majority of their early career... because they broke all their rental instruments.
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Post by echobase2002 on Jun 27, 2007 16:18:27 GMT -5
right on
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.......... ;D
